The Secondhand Instrument List

• All instruments listed are available for sale as at July 26 2010.
• All these instruments are located in Australia, and prices quoted are in Australian Dollars.
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#379 NSW William Dowd French Double Harpsichord 1963

63: FF-g'''

The late Don Angle reported that he was gluing the keyfronts onto the keyboards of this instrument when the news of John F. Kennedy’s assassination arrived. Serial #48 was commissioned by Mr AC Douglas with the assistance of Mark Cohn. It was repurchased by Dowd then sold to the Dutch organ firm of Flentrop. In August 1967 they sold it to a private musician in Australia where it has remained. In 2003, it was purchased from the estate of the late musician by the distinguished Sydney antique trader WF Bradshaw as his personal instrument. Bill passed away in mid-November 2009, and the instrument is on the market.

The elegant casework of this harpsichord has exquisite veneers and brasswork. The instrument retains its original disposition of four registers, with a peau de buffle on the lower keyboard. The pedals operate all registers, buff stop and coupler mechanism. The Dowd plastic jacks have wooden tongues and delrin plectra. It is unaltered, with original stringing and voicing. The instrument is in playable condition and was recently used for an engagement at a Sydney gallery preview.

The harpsichords from the Boston shop of the late William Dowd were regarded as the benchmark by which others were measured—particularly in the United States.

More photos are available here.