FAQ
What are the origins of the Early Pianos
database?
What publications have been drawn from the
database?
What is the scope of the database? What does it
include?
What are the short-term future plans for
Clinkscale Online?
What is planned for adding pictures to Clinkscale
Online?
How accurate and up to date is the database?
I want to submit information on a piano. What
should I do?
Who administrates Clinkscale Online?
What information technologies are used for
Clinkscale Online?
What are the origins of the Early
Pianos database?
The database was first created in 1987 by Dr.
Martha Clinkscale. Information came initially from her systematic survey
of printed sources, including museum catalogs and checklists, journal
articles, dissertations, and other publications. Her visits to museum
collections and private communications with scores of piano owners,
collectors, and scholars provided much information for the
database. New information and corrections to the database have been
continuously entered for nearly twenty five years. (Back to
top)
What publications have been drawn from the database?
Two books were based upon the database:
Makers of the Piano, vol. 1: 1700–1820 (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1993).
Makers of the Piano, vol. 2: 1820–1860 (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1999).
Preparation of the Clinkscale Online began in 2009 and was made publically
accessible in 2011. (Back to
top)
What is the scope of the database? What does it include?
The database includes pianos of all types made up
to the year 1860. Pianos remain in the database whether or not their
current location is known, and in some cases, after they are known to
have been destroyed. The database is not able to accept data on
post-1860 instruments due to practical limits of database maintenance
and administration. (Back to
top)
What are the short-term future
plans for Clinkscale Online?
More features are planned for the database and
website. A separate table of piano makers already exists and will be
made available online. (Back to
top)
What is planned for adding pictures to
Clinkscale Online?
A photo upload feature is coming soon. Photos of
pianos will be integrated into the system. The massive Kenneth
Mobbs archive of photographs, most featuring historic pianos, is
presently being digitized for use in Clinkscale Online. (Back to
top)
How accurate and up to date is the
database?
Every effort has been made by database
administrators to maintain acceptable data accuracy. Nevertheless, due to
the massive number and geographical spread of the instruments,
information has come from many sources. This sometimes results in information that is
sketchy or hampered by a lack of universally accepted
descriptive language. Publication of the database to the Internet will
enable you to help in the data refinement process. (Back to
top)
I want to submit information on a piano. What should I do?
Use the online data entry form to enter your
information. Click the little “+” sign next to the field name for an
explanation of the field and tips for filling it out correctly. An
editor will check over the entry. Please consider sending photos to
assist editors with the description. (Back to
top)
Who administrates Clinkscale
Online?
John R. Watson, who illustrated Martha
Clinkscale’s second volume and assisted with the database in her last
few years, continues work on the database and is responsible for
publishing it on the internet. He is also the Curator of Musical
Instruments at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg,
Virginia. (Back to
top)
What information technologies are used
for Clinkscale Online?
Clinkscale Online uses a Microsoft Access database
on the back end with an ASP.NET interface by programmer James Judson.
(Back to
top)