Erard Stock Books

Acquisition at auction of ledgers from the Harpmakers, Erard, established by Sebastien Erard (1752-1831) having fled revolutionary Paris. In 1794 he patented the single action harp and in 1810, a double-action instrument. Erard's harps achieved great distinction and by the end of his life he had made some 4,000 instruments which were exported around the world. The stock books of the firm run from c 1798 - c 1917 and contain an enormous amount of information about the business and its clients.