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Dowd Harpsichord Collection

National Museum of American History

Object Details

Creator
Dowd, William R.
Topic
Musical instrument makers
Musical instruments
Harpsichord
Harpsichord makers
Provenance
The collection was donated by William R. Dowd and Pegram Dowd on June 12, 1997.
Creator
Dowd, William R.
See more items in
Dowd Harpsichord Collection
Biographical / Historical
William Richmond Dowd (1922–2008) was an American harpsichord maker. Dowd graduated from Harvard University (1948) and apprenticed with John Challis, a harpsichord maker in Detroit. In 1949, Dowd partnered with Frank Hubbard (1920-1976), a fellow Harvard classmate and harpsichord maker to form Hubbard and Dowd in Boston, operating the Boston School of Harpsichord from 1949-1958. Dowd and Hubbard built harpsichords based on historical principles and dedicated themselves to research and restoration techniques of historical keyboard instruments. The first harpsichords built by Dowd were based on the 1637 Johannes Ruckers single harpsichord. In 1956, Charles Fisher joined the firm as a third partner. Dowd formed Dowd Harpsichord Shop in 1959, building the Pascal Taskin model of harpsichord. Taskin (1723-1793) was a French harpsichord and piano maker. In 1972, Dowd established an office in Paris in association with Reinhard von Nagel. The Paris office closed in 1985. Dowd closed his workshop in Boston on September 1, 1988 and died in November 1988.
Extent
33 Cubic feet (81 boxes, 7 map folders)
Date
1949-1997
Archival Repository
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier
NMAH.AC.0593
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business records
Design drawings
Citation
Dowd Harpsichord Collection, 1949-1997, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into ten series. Series 1: William Dowd (Boston Office), 1958-1993 Subseries 1.1: Background Matreials, 1965-1993 Subseries 1.2: Desk Calendars, 1982-1989 Subseries 1.3: Wall Calendars, 1964-1985 Subseries 1.4: Address Books, undated Subseries 1.5: Telephone Logs, 1985-1988 Subseries 1.6: Catalogs, 1962-1988 Subseries 1.7: Shop Books, 1949-1986 Subseries 1.8: Maintenance, 1981-1993 Series 2: General Files, 1949-1993 Series 3: Design Notes and Drawings, 1952-1990 Subseries 3.1: Drawings, 1952-1990 Subseries 3.2: Design Notes, 1959-1987 Series 4: Suppliers/Services, 1958-1988 Series 5: Owner's Files, 1960s-1980s Subseries 5.1: Owners Files (alphabetical) Subseries 5.2: Former Owners (alphabetical) Series 6: Antique Files, 1949-1979 Series 7: Financial Records, 1961-1987 Series 8: Photographs, 1949-1988 Series 9: Publications, 1969-1994 Series 10: William Dowd (Paris Office), 1971-1985 Series 11: Newspaper Clippings, 1949-1993
Processing Information
Portions of the collection processed by Grace Angle, volunteer and Sony Prosper, intern (2012) and Alison Oswald, archivist, 2016. Finding aid authored and encoded by Alison Oswald. One cubic foot of material containing personally identifiable information and personally identifiable health information was disposed of in December 2016.
Rights
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Genre/Form
Business records
Design drawings
Scope and Contents
The collection documents Dowd's career as a maker and scholar of harpsichords through correspondence, photographs, drawings, notes, and financial materials. The collection contains templates and drawings for harpsichords built or restored by Dowd. The collection also documents the activities of small business and its owner in Boston from 1959-1988.
Restrictions
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Separated Materials
The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) contains two harpsichords built by William Dowd. See accessions 1980.0274.1 (Compass: FF-f3. Copy of 1730 Blanchet instrument) and 2009.0229.01 (double manual, serial number 336-75).
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1562730431475-1562730431504-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep809e6f2e9-7a36-4321-9fca-4597194cf627

In the Collection

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  • Drown, Ernest

  • Blanchet, 1705

  • Hubbard, Frank

  • Calendar

  • Hubbard & Dowd

  • California University, Los Angeles

  • Silbiger, Alexander

  • Specification sheets for French Double

  • Webb, Charles (woodworker)

  • Specification sheets (#451-499)

  • Abreu, Abraham

  • Kenet, Robert

  • First Unitarian Church

  • Ayers, Alice

  • Pennsylvania State University

  • Quast, Richard N.

  • Design

  • 1769 Taskin, jacks and keys

  • San Francisco State

  • Andrews, Thomas

  • Pauley, Katherine Anne

  • Drawing 24A, template, Franco Flemish Double

  • American Safety Razor Company

  • Johnson Paint Company, Inc.

  • Ioannes Ruckers 1612, Fake Albert, Ville Amiens

  • West Texas State University

  • CUNY, Hunter College

  • Harpsichord concert programs

  • Benacerraf, Annette

  • Carson, K. Paul

  • Guglietti, Paul

  • Bellingham, Bruce

  • Hall, Richard Harrison

  • Early Music

  • Chen, John

  • Rogers, Allen

  • Weinstock, Simon

  • New York, State University of (Stony Brook)

  • Diapason

  • Lepler, William

  • Transposition and tuning

  • Calendar

  • Minnesota, University of (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

  • Peaslee, Sandi

  • Address book

  • Programs

  • Cohen, David

  • V (correspondence)

  • Berg, Doris

  • Erickson, Raymond

  • Lincoln, Stoddard

  • Gottlieb, Michael

  • Troeger, Richard

  • Early Keyboard Journal, Volumes 10-11

  • Cristiano, Ochille

  • Drawing 24, Flemish Double FF-f3 and Grand ravelment

  • Massachusetts, University of

  • Johnson, Martha

  • 1697 Dumont Paris construction

  • Williamsburg

  • 1770 Taskin, elevation

  • Spath & Schmahl tangentenflugel

  • Southeastern Historical Keyboard Society

  • Artisans D'Art Paris

  • Calendar

  • N. Blanchet, 1710 (spinet); Hugette Dreyfus, circa 1715

  • California State College

  • Drawing 10A, template for Flemish Double, from 1642 Hans Rucker

  • Flemish photographs

  • Former Owners (alphabetical)

  • Roth, Kenneth

  • Keefe, Elizabeth

  • Adams, Jeremy

  • Barnes, John

  • Goldberg, Laurette

  • Gitlin, David

  • Bighley, Mark S.

  • Salem College

  • Kremens, Fanabel

  • Hamilton College

  • Taskin

  • Vigneron, Alan

  • Flood Square Hardware

  • Drawing 6, Italian harpsichord

  • Hammond, Frederick

  • Anonymous Italians (Yale)

  • Corrie, John

  • Stablein, George

  • Westminster Choir College

  • Drawings 9 and 10, Flemish Doubles

  • Hemsch general

  • Morgan, Miles

  • O'Mara, Lucy

  • Lagerquist, Andrew

  • Drawing 30, single harpsichord GG-d3 based on DeZentis, Paris 1668 double (template)

  • Wilson, David

  • Drawing 6 and 7, Italian single

  • Chase, Richard

  • Drawing 26A template, Mietke Double

  • Winslow, Henry D. (attorney)

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