In Memoriam

It is with great sadness that we report the death of our friend and colleague, Martha Novak Clinkscale. She will be long remembered for her service to the community of piano lovers and scholars. Martha passed away on April 24 after an automobile accident near her home in Dallas, Texas.

Martha is best known for her important work creating and continuously building “Early Pianos 1720-1860: A Computerized Relational Database.” The project spawned two books published by Oxford University Press in 1993 and 1998 respectively: Makers of the Piano, vol. 1: 1700-1820 and Makers of the Piano, vol. 2: 1820-1860.

Her work on the database continued to the end, and the legacy continues with the website EarlyPianos.org, where the piano database she started remains active and will soon be published as an online resource.

-- John R. Watson

 

EarlyPianos.org is dedicated to the worldwide cataloging of historic pianos from before 1860. The project furthers the work first published by Oxford University Press in Makers of the Piano, 1700-1820 and volume II (1820-1860) by Martha Novak Clinkscale.

The database of early pianos has been continually updated since its beginning in 1987. It now contains over 6350 historic pianos, with more being added daily. Various options for future publication of the material are under review.

The database tells piano historians about instruments for their research. It also helps owners get in touch with people who have specialized expertise in piano history and preservation.

If you have a piano, or know of one that is not already included in the database, please use this link for several ways to register your piano.

EarlyPianos.org results from a collaboration between Martha Clinkscale and John R. Watson, illustrator of volume 2. This website was launched in May, 2007.

Questions or comments? Please contact us and tell us if you would like occasional email updates about the database and our publications.

page updated 2010-06-27
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