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From your description it sounds like probably a Cecilia model, from when they were made in Russia. Pilgrim harps would service it and sell it on commission for you (they quoted me 10% commission recently), Geraldine at Affairs of the Harp would probably organise the same.
I have a few times found a very useful get out: ‘I am sorry, I prefer a reputation for playing well to one for being obliging’.
I have played this a few times – it is hard on a modern concert grand because the knee block gets in the way, but on a smaller harp (as they were at the time) works quite well. What works on a modern harp is to have three players – one seated playing the inner lines and doing the pedals, then one player for the top line and another for the bottom. Makes a mildly entertaining novelty show piece.
How better to show off two marriagable daughters at the same time?
Hand problems often have their source outside the hand. Golfer’s elbow is cited as an injury known in harpists (http://www.hocinc.us/musicians_injuries.htm) and the ulnar nerve runs to the little finger. My elbows sometimes ask me to be more careful of them, but usually for computer reasons.
I have played Teifis, but never owned a harp with them. Very good levers (very similar to Delacours, which I believe are no longer available). They can be adjusted in all sorts of ways, move easily and have a good tone and come with large coloured handles. Similar idea to Camacs, but I think even more adjustable.
Other less common good levers I have met are Mark Norris’s and Frank Sievert’s.
It is possible to change levers but some exchanges work better than others. Sometimes the old screw holes will not be covered by the new levers and some harps don’t have room for all varieties of levers.
I don’t think I have as strong opintions about levers as many players – most of the offerings now on the market do the job. Though some are better in one situation than others.
It is perhaps worthwhile thinking of which levers I don’t like – my experiences with Robinsons have not been good, I find them fussy in alignment, hard to adjust and degrade the tone. Similarly, hooks are too flexible and degrade the tone on all but the very lightly strung harps.
I am rather fond of Pilgrim’s plastic levers as budget levers – at maybe 1/4 the price of many other options they do the job in a straightforward manner. Speaking as another physicist, have you seen Peter Brough’s levers? Both elegant and functional, though the strings do need to be set near to the neck.
Biagio has a nice list with pictures:
http://dorveille.com/harps/materiality/sharping-levers/An alternative is to place 1 and 4 first, then the middle fingers – works nearly as well as Kim’s suggestion of 2,3 followed by 1,4 to keep the hand in a balanced position, with the advantage that either the bottom or top note is likely to be the ‘anchor’ for the chord. By anchor I do not mean the key note, but rather the read one note to position the chord and use the intervals/ spacing pattern to get the rest of the notes, rather than reading all 4 notes.
2,3 first is more natural if reading the notes is instant for you, but 1,4 first is often an octave and I think has its place. It also simplifies 3 note chords with an outer octave and the choice of 2 or 3 for the inner note.
You need to contact the RCM museum (or I believe their library) not their general number. They are a large enough organisation that not everyone will know everything.
I am sure you can find the right contact through a web search.
It is in Manchester, the BL and Cambridge http://copac.ac.uk/search?&title=Harmonische+Seelenlust&sort-order=rank
Can you arrange an international interlibrary loan?
