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Anton Haeckl
 
 
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Anton Haeckl was a musical instrument builder in Vienna
Vienna

Vienna is the Capital of Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million...
, who built the first physharmonica
Physharmonica

The physharmonica is a keyboard instrument fitted with free reeds, a kind of harmonium much used in Germany. It resembles a small harmonium, but is differentiated from it by having no stops; being without percussion action, it does not speak readily or clearly....
 in 1818. Two of his instruments from 1825 (refs. Inv. Nr. 19.480 (20 white keys) and Inv. Nr. 38.956) can be seen in the Vienna Technical Museum.

The physharmonica looked similar to the hand harmonium
Harmonium

A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ or pipe organ. Sound is produced by air, supplied by foot-operated or hand-operated bellows, being blown through sets of Free reed aerophone, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion....
 still in use in India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 today, with a piano-style keyboard. Smaller examples of this type of instrument rested on the left arm, and were played with the right hand.






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Anton Haeckl was a musical instrument builder in Vienna
Vienna

Vienna is the Capital of Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million...
, who built the first physharmonica
Physharmonica

The physharmonica is a keyboard instrument fitted with free reeds, a kind of harmonium much used in Germany. It resembles a small harmonium, but is differentiated from it by having no stops; being without percussion action, it does not speak readily or clearly....
 in 1818. Two of his instruments from 1825 (refs. Inv. Nr. 19.480 (20 white keys) and Inv. Nr. 38.956) can be seen in the Vienna Technical Museum.

The physharmonica looked similar to the hand harmonium
Harmonium

A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ or pipe organ. Sound is produced by air, supplied by foot-operated or hand-operated bellows, being blown through sets of Free reed aerophone, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion....
 still in use in India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 today, with a piano-style keyboard. Smaller examples of this type of instrument rested on the left arm, and were played with the right hand. The range of notes was from B to g".

A newspaper advert of 14 April 1821 in the "Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung" says: "The master also makes very small versions which rest comfortably on the left arm, and which the right hand plays."

A patent
Patent

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a term of patent in exchange for a disclosure of an invention....
 ("privilegium") was granted to Anton Haeckl for such instruments on 8 April 1821.

Similar instruments


Similar early instruments, built in France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, looked somewhat like an oversized modern piano-accordion
Accordion

The accordion is a portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox....
, but were placed, like pianos, on a stand so one could use both hands on the keyboard. The bellows were operated by foot pedals and a string mechanism. The instrument had no bass section, so though it looked like an accordion it is treated as forerunner of the harmonium.

One such instrument, made by "Busson Brevete" (Paris) in 1880, can be seen in the Vienna Technical Museum (ref. Inv. Nr. 15.289).

See also

  • Anton Reinlein
    Anton Reinlein

    Georg Anton Reinlein was a musical clock maker in Vienna.A patent was granted to him in the year of 1824 for improving of the Handharmonika .The Instrument had free reeds of Chinese manner and a bellows that war hand operated....
  • Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann
    Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann

    Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann was a Germany musical instrument maker, often credited with inventing the harmonica and sometimes the accordion....