Instrument: Square Piano made by William Geib
1829 – 1835 (Date manufactured/created)
Square piano made by William Geib, thought to have an association with famed Swedish soprano Jennyy Lind, although the connection is undocumented. The highly ornamental rosewood piano was made sometime between 1829 and 1835, years before P. T. Barnum brought Lind to America for her immensely popular concert tour (1850-1851).
According to the New York Zoological Society Bulletin (Nov. 1920) which described their Jenny Lind Centennial Celebration and a performance at the Aquarium building (Castle Garden), an exhibition of Lind items was presented to the public from October 1 - 23, 1920. Two pianos were displayed that Lind had used at her concerts in America. One was a William Geib piano loaned for the occasion by Mrs. John W. Tobin of New York, and the other piano was made by Chickering and owned by Chickering & Sons. The Geib piano referred to in the exhibit is very possibly the one owned by the Barnum Museum. Prior to its transfer to the Barnum in 2003, it had been gifted to another Bridgeport museum, and the donor at that time referenced its association with Jenny Lind. A newspaper article describing the gift in 1970 states that the first owners of the piano were Mr. and Mrs. John Buckley of New York City, and that Lind was a friend of Mrs. Buckley. Mrs. John Tobin, who loaned the piano for the Lind Centennial exhibition, would have been a later owner, 90 years after it was made. This has since been confirmed by records from the Discovery Museum, which states that this piano was made for Nicholas Dean of New York City, and was a wedding gift for his daughter Augusta, who was marrying John Buckley. P.T. Barnum introduced Jenny Lind to John and Augusta, and Lind and Augusta became friends. This piano was used by Jenny Lind for smaller musicals within the Buckley home, and in concerts.
Pianos by William Geib were considered very fine instruments and not many were made, as Geib left off pianomaking and went on to another career in the late 1830s. Therefore it is plausible that this is the Geib piano claimed to have been used by Jenny Lind and exhibited in 1920.
Featuring a 70-key keyboard off-set toward the left, the piano's rectangular form is referred to as "square." (Later in the 1800s, square pianos were replaced by upright models.) This piano features a central support in the form of a mirrored lyre, smooth columnar legs set on lion's paw feet, and panels of fretwork on the top. Several types of wood are evident, including, a warm golden-toned wood with lightly patterned grain, probably maple, and a rich medium brown color wood, likely mahogany, and flame-patterned wood veneers, which may also be mahogany or rosewood. The keys are made of ivory and ebony wood. The piano lid includes a hinged section that folds down to cover the front of the piano, and can be locked in place.
Painted decoration includes stencilled floral patterns in gold on black. Above the keyboard, at about the middle-C key, the maker's information is painted directly on the wood surface. The rectangular "label" features a gold background with stenciled black borders and lettering. The maker's name, product line, and the address read as follows:
"W. Geib
Manufacturer of
Cabinet Grand Harmonic and Square
Piano Fortes
Church & Chamber Organs
Third Avenue corner of 11th Street
New York"
There are only two pedals on this piano, the soft pedal and the damper pedal, in contrast to modern pianos, which typically have three. The center support structure above the pedals imitates a lyre with 4 metal strings, and has a mirror behind the strings. Carved wood surrounding the mirror forms the lyre shape.
The square piano was a popular instrument in the early 1800s. William Geib was a part of a family of highly regarded pianomakers, with his father John Geib being particularly well known. John Geib worked in London as an organ and pianomaker, and held several patents, but chose to leave England and moved his family to America in the late 1700s. Son William Geib was interested in popularizing the square piano in America. He produced pianos noted for their beautiful, soft sound, and with intricate detailing, which also made them desirable as beautiful furniture for the home. They were expensive to make and were not mass-produced, therefore owning one of these instruments conveyed wealth and status. Geib's business was located in New York City, and according to city directories of the period he changed addresses several times in just a few years, at times working with his brothers, until he left the piano business in 1836 and moved to Philadelphia, where he studied medicine.
According to the New York Zoological Society Bulletin (Nov. 1920) which described their Jenny Lind Centennial Celebration and a performance at the Aquarium building (Castle Garden), an exhibition of Lind items was presented to the public from October 1 - 23, 1920. Two pianos were displayed that Lind had used at her concerts in America. One was a William Geib piano loaned for the occasion by Mrs. John W. Tobin of New York, and the other piano was made by Chickering and owned by Chickering & Sons. The Geib piano referred to in the exhibit is very possibly the one owned by the Barnum Museum. Prior to its transfer to the Barnum in 2003, it had been gifted to another Bridgeport museum, and the donor at that time referenced its association with Jenny Lind. A newspaper article describing the gift in 1970 states that the first owners of the piano were Mr. and Mrs. John Buckley of New York City, and that Lind was a friend of Mrs. Buckley. Mrs. John Tobin, who loaned the piano for the Lind Centennial exhibition, would have been a later owner, 90 years after it was made. This has since been confirmed by records from the Discovery Museum, which states that this piano was made for Nicholas Dean of New York City, and was a wedding gift for his daughter Augusta, who was marrying John Buckley. P.T. Barnum introduced Jenny Lind to John and Augusta, and Lind and Augusta became friends. This piano was used by Jenny Lind for smaller musicals within the Buckley home, and in concerts.
Pianos by William Geib were considered very fine instruments and not many were made, as Geib left off pianomaking and went on to another career in the late 1830s. Therefore it is plausible that this is the Geib piano claimed to have been used by Jenny Lind and exhibited in 1920.
Featuring a 70-key keyboard off-set toward the left, the piano's rectangular form is referred to as "square." (Later in the 1800s, square pianos were replaced by upright models.) This piano features a central support in the form of a mirrored lyre, smooth columnar legs set on lion's paw feet, and panels of fretwork on the top. Several types of wood are evident, including, a warm golden-toned wood with lightly patterned grain, probably maple, and a rich medium brown color wood, likely mahogany, and flame-patterned wood veneers, which may also be mahogany or rosewood. The keys are made of ivory and ebony wood. The piano lid includes a hinged section that folds down to cover the front of the piano, and can be locked in place.
Painted decoration includes stencilled floral patterns in gold on black. Above the keyboard, at about the middle-C key, the maker's information is painted directly on the wood surface. The rectangular "label" features a gold background with stenciled black borders and lettering. The maker's name, product line, and the address read as follows:
"W. Geib
Manufacturer of
Cabinet Grand Harmonic and Square
Piano Fortes
Church & Chamber Organs
Third Avenue corner of 11th Street
New York"
There are only two pedals on this piano, the soft pedal and the damper pedal, in contrast to modern pianos, which typically have three. The center support structure above the pedals imitates a lyre with 4 metal strings, and has a mirror behind the strings. Carved wood surrounding the mirror forms the lyre shape.
The square piano was a popular instrument in the early 1800s. William Geib was a part of a family of highly regarded pianomakers, with his father John Geib being particularly well known. John Geib worked in London as an organ and pianomaker, and held several patents, but chose to leave England and moved his family to America in the late 1700s. Son William Geib was interested in popularizing the square piano in America. He produced pianos noted for their beautiful, soft sound, and with intricate detailing, which also made them desirable as beautiful furniture for the home. They were expensive to make and were not mass-produced, therefore owning one of these instruments conveyed wealth and status. Geib's business was located in New York City, and according to city directories of the period he changed addresses several times in just a few years, at times working with his brothers, until he left the piano business in 1836 and moved to Philadelphia, where he studied medicine.
Transferred to the Barnum Museum by the Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, Conn., to whom it was a gift from Mr. and Mrs. David H. Faile
2003.009.121