Cabinetmaker & Harpsichord Maker

Cabinetmakers make fine, fashionable, free-standing furniture rather than the built-in elements we often associate with the term "cabinet" today. Kitchens of the period were spaces designed for work rather than fashion and did not require a fashionable array of built-in cabinets.

Cabinetmakers of the period had access to a great variety of woods, but fashion demanded a heavy use of three in particular: imported mahogany (from the Caribbean and Central/South America), native black walnut, and native cherry. The fine grain and texture of these woods made them highly workable, yet durable. Because of the expense of these finer woods, most makers only used them on the show surfaces of a piece. On most secondary surfaces (drawer sides, backs, and bottoms, for example), Cabinetmakers employed secondary woods that were locally abundant, inexpensive, and durable. Williamsburg Cabinetmakers commonly used one variety of Southern yellow pine or another, with white oak and poplar also seeing some use.

English furniture, particularly pieces from London shops, was the height of fashion for Williamsburg's power elite. However, this was costly, difficult to ship overseas, and difficult to custom order (the preferred way of doing business), which opened the doors of opportunity to local craftsmen. Curators estimate that approximately one third of fine furniture in Virginia was imported, while two thirds were of local manufacture. Many shop masters and journeymen were trained in fine shops in England and Scotland and would have brought those fashions and building techniques with them to Virginia. Imported pieces and published pattern books, like Thomas Chippendale's The Gentleman and Cabinetmaker's Director (1754, 1762), would have kept local makers abreast of current London fashions.

Despite several similarities, Harpsichord-making and Cabinetmaking were practiced as two distinct trades in England and Colonial America. Cabinetmaker Benjamin Bucktrout, the second master of the Hay Shop, was an exception to this general idea. Upon taking over the shop in 1766, Bucktrout advertised the ability and willingness to make and repair harpsichords and spinets. We carry on both trades today thanks to Bucktrout's ad.

Both instruments have keys and strings, but what happens between the key and the string is quite different. In a piano, a pressed key activates a small hammer that strikes the string. Players can control the strength of this percussive action to create a wide dynamic range - from quiet to loud (piano to forte). The harpsichord works through a mechanism that plucks the string. When pressed, the key levers up a jack that has a small plectra (or pick) that plucks the string like a finger playing a guitar string. This accounts for the harpsichord's different timbre (sound color) and for the fact that a player cannot really play different dynamics - the string is either plucked or not plucked at all, there is little ability for the player to play louder or quieter.

Harpsichord keys, like piano keys, are made primarily of soft, light-weight wood (white pine and basswood/linden are common). This basic wooden lever is then covered with more durable and decorative materials. Ebony (an African wood) and ivory are the classic covers associated with keyboard instruments. Sometimes, other hardwoods are used instead. Our modern shop follows the historic example of using bone in lieu of ivory. Bone (typically beef bone) would have been a cheaper option in the past and is a more ethical option for today's makers. Fortunately, the two materials are difficult to distinguish in the context of the finished keyboard. Dense hardwoods, bone, and ivory, while ideal key coverings, are too heavy to use for the entire key which requires lightness for mechanical reasons.