HHS Survey Project Overview

How to Survey a Harp

by Nancy Hurrell

The Historical Harp Society Survey Project has a goal to survey all existing pre-1945 harps for the purpose of forming a web-based database for harp research, a valuable resource for the harp community.

When I was first asked to survey harps for the HHS Survey Project, I thought, “Will it take a lot of time?” and “Do I need special skills to do this?” Now I know it doesn’t take a lot of time to fill in the form. I have learned that the more time you have to spend with a historical harp, the more interesting details you begin to notice. Glossary sheets, provided with the survey forms, give all the information you need. There are clearly drawn diagrams and definitions of the parts of the harp. After surveying many harps in museums, I really look forward to the opportunity to examine a harp. There are always interesting details of artistry and craftsmanship, from painted designs, carved foliage, maker’s labels and royal warrants, to hooks and crochets! It sharpens your skills as a detective, artist and historian.

Where do you find historical harps? They are found in museums, historic homes, and private collections. There may be harpists in your local harp society who own pre-1945 instruments. If you know of a historical harp in a museum in your area, make arrangements ahead of time to visit the harp. Museum curators are extremely busy, and they respond better if your visit is planned well in advance and they know specifically what your needs are. Sometimes they will only allow you to photograph the instrument, but not measure it. Other times you may measure the harp, but not photograph it. In this work, we have to start somewhere, and it’s useful for our project database to just know where a historical harp is located. The project goals need to be explained to the harp’s owner/curator. It is important to tell the harp owner that the HHS will not publish anything without permission, and that the names/addresses of private owners will not be listed on the web database. At the visit, be sensitive to the owner/curator’s requirements. Each harp needs to be treated very carefully.

How do you survey a harp? You will measure the instrument, describe details and photograph it. Here are some useful items to take with you:

SURVEY KIT

HHS Survey forms and Glossary sheets are available on-line.
You can print them out if you can't get your computer close to the harp; a clipboard is useful.
Extra paper is handy for notes or sketches of details.
Tape measures both metal locking and soft are useful. For measuring the height of harps, a metal locking tape measure is easiest. For the soundboard widths, a soft tape measure is safer on the finish of the harp. I like to have centimeters as well as inches; it can give more precise measurements, and most museums use cm. nowadays for measuring instruments.
Pencil is best. Some museums don’t allow ink to be used.
Gloves could be part of your kit. If white gloves are required, usually museums provide them.
Flashlight is invaluable. Often places are dimly lit. And if you are able to see the inside of the soundbox, a flashlight can reveal a harp maker’s name and structural details inside the soundbox.
Magnifying glass can help in reading a maker’s label and can reveal wonderful details in paintwork, carving, and mechanisms.
Camera is very important. Having digital photos makes them easy to store and send to the survey project. With digital photos, I often use the magnifying icon on my computer to reveal details I missed when I was actually with the harp. Digital cameras work well in low light, if flash photography is not permitted, and the image can be brightened and contrast increased as needed later.
A tripod is a useful accessory for taking a full view photo of a harp. A white sheet or poster board for a back drop, or plain wall behind the harp is helpful. In addition to a full view of the harp, close-ups of the parts of the harp are wonderful: mechanism, column, neck, soundboard decoration, base carvings.

The Surveys

There are two different HHS survey forms: Pedal Harps and Non-pedal Harps. The HHS Glossary sheets, which accompany the forms, explain the parts of the harp

I. Identification. The “Make” of the harp refers to the harpmaker or harp company. The “Model” means the type of harp, like single-action or Royal Portable, etc.

II. Dimensions. The height is from the floor to the top of the pillar, finial, or neck of an ethnic harp without pillar. Measure the string lengths from the soundboard to the tuning pin.

III. Construction materials. The most common wood used for harp soundboards is spruce. However, if you don’t know the answer, leave it blank or use question marks.

IV. Action. The type of action can sometimes help determine the period of the harp. Consult the HHS Glossary and diagrams.

V. General Decor. Use the back and extra sheet for additional descriptions and drawings. A magnifying glass can help determine if the soundboard design is a decal or hand painted.

VI. Forms filled out by/date. Don’t forget to sign here. Please ask the owner for permission to publish the photos on our web database.

VII. Current Owner. E-mail and museum website addresses are useful here.

VIII. History of the Harp. When did the current owner purchase it? Sometimes there are wonderful stories about the persons who played the harp.

It’s customary to give the harp owner a copy of the completed survey form, the HHS Glossary Sheet and copies of the photos taken. Some museums require it.

By surveying a historical harp, you are contributing to a very worthwhile project. It gives you insights into other cultures and periods. I hope it will be as fascinating for you as it has been for me.

	The Historical Harp Society
The Harp Survey Project
What are historical harps? About historical harp research Photos, instruments' descriptions	Purpose Statement The Historical Harp Society has a major research and preservation goal: to catalogue all existing historical harps built before 1945. The project encompasses pedal and non-pedal, western and non-western harps. Our objectives are to: § Create and maintain a list of historical harps: makers, styles, periods, serial numbers, dimensions, geographic locations, photos; and past owners: venues played and other pertinent information. § Maintain a web-based database for updating the project and sharing information for research purposes. The HHS Survey Project Database can be accessed in the ‘Members Only’ area of this website. It contains the list of harps surveyed with descriptions, and also links to relevant museum web pages. The database includes harps made in Germany, Italy, Mexico, Burma, and Africa. For harps made in England, France and America, there are non-pedal and pedal harps from twenty different harp makers. The most common pedal harps surveyed are Erard and Lyon & Healy. Museums participating in the survey project include: Shrine to Music Museum, Smithsonian, Cleveland Museum of Art, The Metropolitan, and the MFA, Boston. Although there are many more harps yet to be catalogued for the project, a picture is emerging, of the types of historical harps in existence and where they can be found in museums and collections. The surveys contain wonderful photos and interesting stories of family histories and professional travels of harps in America. For research on a particular builder, the dimensions and measurements recorded on the surveys are invaluable.
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Additional Links: For Pedal Harp: Survey Form : MS-Word Survey Form : Generic Glossary of Terms Illustrations (.jpg) For Non-Pedal Harp: Survey Form : MS-Word Survey Form : Generic Glossary of Terms Illustrations (.jpg)	Procedures We need your help! If you have an historical harp (pre-1945) or know of an historical harp owned by an individual, institution, historic home or museum, please consider participating in our project. § You can download a survey form here (pedal harp or non-pedal harp). A glossary of terms (pedal harp or non-pedal harp) is included to assist you, as well as some illustrations of harp parts (pedal harp or non-pedal harp). (The forms are MS-Word documents, which may be either e-mailed as attachments or printed out for physical mail. They are designed as "fill-in-the blank." REPLACE as many underscores as needed with your answer;) if your answer needs to be too long, finish the line with "BELOW" and type more at the end of the document, to preserve the formatting. If you do not have MS-Word, click on the link to get a generic form; these can be e-mailed as .txt or .htm files; you may need to re-format them for intelligibility.) § Here is an article on "How to Survey a Harp." § The names of private owners and their addresses will not be listed in the web database; that information will remain confidential. Your participation in this research project is important to us and will make a lasting contribution to the harp community. Contacts: Historical Harp Survey Committee Chair: Nancy Hurrell Hurrellharp@aol.com 82 Parkside Avenue Braintree, MA 02184 Pedal harp expert: Paul Knoke Pkharpguy@aol.com Non-pedal harp expert: Catherine Campbell billcamp@olypen.com
	How to Survey a Harp by Nancy Hurrell The Historical Harp Society Survey Project has a goal to survey all existing pre-1945 harps for the purpose of forming a web-based database for harp research, a valuable resource for the harp community. When I was first asked to survey harps for the HHS Survey Project, I thought, “Will it take a lot of time?” and “Do I need special skills to do this?” Now I know it doesn’t take a lot of time to fill in the form. I have learned that the more time you have to spend with a historical harp, the more interesting details you begin to notice. Glossary sheets, provided with the survey forms, give all the information you need. There are clearly drawn diagrams and definitions of the parts of the harp. After surveying many harps in museums, I really look forward to the opportunity to examine a harp. There are always interesting details of artistry and craftsmanship, from painted designs, carved foliage, maker’s labels and royal warrants, to hooks and crochets! It sharpens your skills as a detective, artist and historian. Where do you find historical harps? They are found in museums, historic homes, and private collections. There may be harpists in your local harp society who own pre-1945 instruments. If you know of a historical harp in a museum in your area, make arrangements ahead of time to visit the harp. Museum curators are extremely busy, and they respond better if your visit is planned well in advance and they know specifically what your needs are. Sometimes they will only allow you to photograph the instrument, but not measure it. Other times you may measure the harp, but not photograph it. In this work, we have to start somewhere, and it’s useful for our project database to just know where a historical harp is located. The project goals need to be explained to the harp’s owner/curator. It is important to tell the harp owner that the HHS will not publish anything without permission, and that the names/addresses of private owners will not be listed on the web database. At the visit, be sensitive to the owner/curator’s requirements. Each harp needs to be treated very carefully. How do you survey a harp? You will measure the instrument, describe details and photograph it. Here are some useful items to take with you: SURVEY KIT HHS Survey forms and Glossary sheets are available on-line. You can print them out if you can't get your computer close to the harp; a clipboard is useful. Extra paper is handy for notes or sketches of details. Tape measures both metal locking and soft are useful. For measuring the height of harps, a metal locking tape measure is easiest. For the soundboard widths, a soft tape measure is safer on the finish of the harp. I like to have centimeters as well as inches; it can give more precise measurements, and most museums use cm. nowadays for measuring instruments. Pencil is best. Some museums don’t allow ink to be used. Gloves could be part of your kit. If white gloves are required, usually museums provide them. Flashlight is invaluable. Often places are dimly lit. And if you are able to see the inside of the soundbox, a flashlight can reveal a harp maker’s name and structural details inside the soundbox. Magnifying glass can help in reading a maker’s label and can reveal wonderful details in paintwork, carving, and mechanisms. Camera is very important. Having digital photos makes them easy to store and send to the survey project. With digital photos, I often use the magnifying icon on my computer to reveal details I missed when I was actually with the harp. Digital cameras work well in low light, if flash photography is not permitted, and the image can be brightened and contrast increased as needed later. A tripod is a useful accessory for taking a full view photo of a harp. A white sheet or poster board for a back drop, or plain wall behind the harp is helpful. In addition to a full view of the harp, close-ups of the parts of the harp are wonderful: mechanism, column, neck, soundboard decoration, base carvings. The Surveys There are two different HHS survey forms: Pedal Harps and Non-pedal Harps. The HHS Glossary sheets, which accompany the forms, explain the parts of the harp I. Identification. The “Make” of the harp refers to the harpmaker or harp company. The “Model” means the type of harp, like single-action or Royal Portable, etc. II. Dimensions. The height is from the floor to the top of the pillar, finial, or neck of an ethnic harp without pillar. Measure the string lengths from the soundboard to the tuning pin. III. Construction materials. The most common wood used for harp soundboards is spruce. However, if you don’t know the answer, leave it blank or use question marks. IV. Action. The type of action can sometimes help determine the period of the harp. Consult the HHS Glossary and diagrams. V. General Decor. Use the back and extra sheet for additional descriptions and drawings. A magnifying glass can help determine if the soundboard design is a decal or hand painted. VI. Forms filled out by/date. Don’t forget to sign here. Please ask the owner for permission to publish the photos on our web database. VII. Current Owner. E-mail and museum website addresses are useful here. VIII. History of the Harp. When did the current owner purchase it? Sometimes there are wonderful stories about the persons who played the harp. It’s customary to give the harp owner a copy of the completed survey form, the HHS Glossary Sheet and copies of the photos taken. Some museums require it. By surveying a historical harp, you are contributing to a very worthwhile project. It gives you insights into other cultures and periods. I hope it will be as fascinating for you as it has been for me.
Return to Table of Contents	Editor (for ideas, submissions, questions about organization, etc.) Cheryl Pfeil von der Heyde, cpfeil@nomadharp.com Webmaster (to report broken links, other technical problems, etc.) David C. Nelson, dchristiannelson@sbcglobal.net	(c) 2008 Historical Harp Society All Rights Reserved Web site content by Cheryl Pfeil von der Heyde Designed by David Christian Nelson updated January 24, 2008