Style 21 or 17?

[eliza-morrison]

I purchased a harp which was represented to me as a rebuilt style 21. When I mentioned it to Lyon and Healy, they checked the serial number and told me that it is in fact a style 17, indeed the second style 17 L&H ever made. I assume they would have the correct info, but when I compare it to a modern style 17, there are quite a few differences in the carving and in the size of the instrument. Should I assume the style evolved over 90 years and I do not in fact have a style 21? Not having any success posting a picture!

[Sid Humphreys]

Dear Eliza,
Try going to the Lyon & Healy web site; on the right hand side of the page are some links. One of these is “Downloads.” Click on that. There are several PDF versions of their old catalogs that you may look at to compare to your harp.Happy hunting!
Sid

[eliza-morrison]

Thanks, Sid! I will do that right away.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Yes, the styling and numbering has changed over the years. Don’t fret about it.

[Sid Humphreys]

Eliza,
Were you able to learn anything from looking at the pictures in the old catalogs?

[balfour-knight]

Thanks, Sid, for letting us all know about the old catalogs on the L&H website. They are most informative, and I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at them. Notice how much smaller the concert grand harps, like the style 23, were back then!

Gratefully,
Balfour

[eliza-morrison]

Hi Sid,
Yes, the catalogs were fascinating! Thank you for that wonderful advice. I couldn’t find a catalog for the exact year in question, but near enough. The details on my harp are not exactly like either the style 21 or the style 17 shown, but they are much nearer to the 17. So I am going to assume that’s what I’ve got — a very old (1918) style 17, which is considerably smaller than a modern semi-grand. L&H tells me this was only the second style 17 they made. So that’s pretty special.

[Author]

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