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Samuel Wolfenden was well-known to piano makers in the opening decades of this century. Nonetheless even to the generation to which I belong, having entered the trade in the 1960s, his name is not without its significance. Wolfenden combined a wealth of experience acquired in the latter part of the last century with an ability to keep abreast of the times, so that his book contained a great breadth of soundly based fundamental knowledge.

In his Introduction to the Supplement, Wolfenden said that his formula for covered string calculation "has been empirically reached, as the result of many hundreds of experiments." Much of his work is based on practical experience and experiments and in this way it typifies its age. Piano making offers an intriguing combination of theory and practice and a sound knowledge of both are essential. Sometimes he who masters the theory lacks practical know-how and vice versa. Few books are strong on practical aspects, for this represents know-how which usually cannot be acquired from books and for which there is no substitute. Many practical skills do not change, even with the increasing application of machinery, and Wolfenden's book is stronger than most on practical hints. Who else would write on the lubrication of screws and the removal of rusted screws in a work on piano technology?