John Brinsmead, 1836-1921
UK Piano Page
John Brinsmead, born in Devon in 1814, established himself in London as a piano maker in 1836. In 1861 his sons John and Edgar joined him and the firm became John Brinsmead and Sons in 1870. In London they exhibited a grand with an inverted escapement action. Also on the 6th March 1868 they took out a patent (No. 774) for an action for "Pianofortes." On the 18th March 1879 further modifications were made (Patent No. 1060), as the following account describes:
"The first part of my invention, shown in Figure 1 of the Drawings, relates to an improvement in the check action patented by me on the 6th March 1868, No. 774, and consists in the combination of a bevel (a) from the top of the jack or hopper (b) and a loop and spring (d), the loop being immediately over or above the notch (e) in the butt and also over the top of the jack, the spring being fixed in the bottom part of the jack, the other end of it being formed with a hook. The hook of the spring is passed into the loop (c), and the butt, loop, spring, and jack are thus connected with each other; the escapement is produced or effected by an arm (f) at right angles with the jack; it is also a part of the jack or in the same body; this arm when in action presses on a button (g) which throws the jack out of the notch in the tile butt, and by this means the escapement is effected. In this position (after escapement) the spring (d) is at its utmost tension, and with the smallest motion or relief of the key (h) the spring reinstates the jack in the notch of the butt ready to give another blow, called repeat."
On the 21st of May, 1881, Thomas James Brinsmead patented a wrest pin so designed that the stress was horizontal (No. 2232). A perforated metal flange in the cast frame took octagonal nuts around a screw-headed bolt where the strings were attached. The tuner needed a special T-shaped tool. This type, when applied to uprights, was called a "top-tuner" as the pins were above the plank, pointing upwards instead of forwards. Over the years he made many improvements to this design. There is a fine example of this type of piano in the museum at the Royal National College for the Blind, Piano Tuning Department, Hereford, England. also one in Johannesburg South Africa
Brinsmead registered many patents besides these two. They were mainly improvements to the frame, soundboard, bridges and bracings. Two interesting patents shown in the diagrams below are related to dampers. The first one is an improved damper system for upright pianos ("birdcage" pianos, as the Americans like to call them) and grands. It is a type of sostenuto (Patent No. 1060).
The second one is a fly damper for grand pianos that I myself have never seen on any of the Brinsmead pianos that I have tuned. However, I can think of many modern grand pianos which could make use of this type of damping mechanism. (The patent is dated 20th August 1886, Patent No. 1060).
In 1883 John Brinsmead was awarded the right to place the distinction "Pianoforte Makers to HRH the Prince of Wales" on the company's pianos. In 1900 the firm became a Limited Company. At the end of 1919 there were rumours that Brinsmead's would have to close, the war having disrupted the work force. The workers went on strike, and by April production stopped at Brinsmead. The strike spread to other companies and the UK piano trade came to a halt. A compromise was reached in July, and the strike ended, but unfortunately Brinsmead's had been broken. Six months later a receiver was appointed.
At their height Brinsmead's were producing 2000 pianos a year. The firm was wound up the following year and bought by Cramer's and then re-launched in 1921. In 1964 Kemble acquired the right to manufacture pianos bearing the names of Brinsmead and Cramer.
Listed below are the premises occupied by Brinsmead's in London. It is not clear if all of the premises were manufacturing sites or just shops.
I did research work on this manufacturer while working at Hunts Pianos UK back in the early 80s, where we came into contact with large numbers of old Brinsmead pianos and other makes. Keys dated inside the pianos would indicate that numbers for 1858 are between 500 and 800.
According to Bill Kibby (England) who also did research work, "the dates from 1870 to 1876 are incorrect. If cross-checked with awards inside the piano, the numbers will be much lower." For example, 13361 corresponds to 1870 and 24744 to 1876.
Some photos of Brinsmead's pianos:
| 1869 - 13361 1872 - 14897 1875 - 24750 1876 - 27500 1877 - 29006 1880 - 31600 1885 - 33000 1890 - 36000 |
1895 - 41000 1900 - 45000 1905 - 54200 1910 - 64250 1915 - 73200 1920 - 79550 1925 - 81600 1930 - 82750 |
1935 - 83200 1940 - 84150 1945 - 84400 1950 - 84750 1952 - 85100 1954 - 85320 1955 - 85450 1956 - 85680 |
1956 - 85680 1957 - 85800 1958 - 85930 1959 - 86050 |
| 1957 - 100500 1958 - 103500 1959 - 106300 1960 - 109700 1961 - 113200 1962 - 116200 1963 - 118500 1964 - 120800 1965 - 123500 1966 - 126100 1967 - 129200 1968 - 131200 1969 - 134100 1970 - 139100 1971 - 143500 1972 - 148000 1973 - 153500 1974 - 159500 1975 - 165800 1976 - 172000 1977 - 178600 1978 - 188550 1979 - 191500 1980 - 197980 |
1981 - 202385 1982 - 211495 1983 - 211495 1984 - 212842 1985 - 217811 1986 - 222207 1987 - 223395 1988 - 229195 1989 - 234995 1990 - 235000 1991 - 240952 1992 - 247101 1993 - 252854 1994 - 257593 1995 - 262730 1996 - 267729 1997 - 279322 1998 - 286284 1999 - 292160 2000 - 298201 2001 - 303749 2002 - 308992 |
Visit the family history site at http://www.brinsmead.net/, documenting the Brinsmead family from early times in Somerset to emigration to the Americas.
If you need more information on your piano please use our history forums to ask questions.