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Piano Making (c.1924)

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The sounding board

This clip chosen to be G

Clip description

The piano sounding board is constructed. The cast-iron frame is laid down while men fix it into place. On another machine, a man spins base wires for the piano strings. This is shown in detail with three different shots. The eyelet machine is also featured. Men manually string the sounding board attached to the iron frame.

Curator’s notes

One can only imagine the calluses on the men’s hands from stringing the piano with wires and no gloves!

Again, 'blisters’ from the nitrate damage are evident in the intertitles. Film stock from this era used a nitrate base, making it incredibly delicate and prone to damage over time.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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