A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Stodart
STODART. A family of eminent pianoforte-makers, whose business was founded in Wardour Street, Soho, about the year 1776, by Robert Stodart. It is said he had been in the Royal Horse Guards, to be a private in which corps involved at that time the payment of £100, an amount that must now be estimated by the then higher value of money. Having, little duty and much leisure, Stodart became a pupil of John Broadwood to learn pianoforte-making, and in the books of Broadwood's firm appears, during the year 1775, to have taken his share in tuning for customers. It was while he was under Broadwood that he had the privilege, enjoyed by them as friends, of assisting Americus Backers in the invention of the new movement for the grand pianoforte since generally known as the 'English' action. After Backers' death, Stodart, now upon his own account, entered upon grand pianoforte making with energy and ability, and soon made a considerable reputation. The pianoforte was at that time hardly emancipated from the harpsichord, and there were frequent endeavours to combine both principles in one instrument. An endeavour of this nature was patented by Stodart in 1777, which is otherwise remarkable by the first mention of the word 'grand' in connection with a pianoforte. In it he worked his crowquill registers, and also a swell, by means of pedals.
We find the business in 1795 removed to Golden Square, William Stodart in that year taking out, from that address, a patent for an 'Upright Grand.' This was the horizontal grand turned up vertically in the same way the upright harpsichord had been. The giraffe-like upright grand was then coming into fashion, and the speciality of Stodart's patent was to introduce one in the form of a book-case. Of the highest importance was the patent of James Thorn and William Allen, who were in Stodart's employ, a compensating framing of metal tubes and plates at once secured by Stodart's-firm. This meritorious invention, which was really Allen's, was brought out in 1820, and paved the way to the general introduction of iron in pianofortes as a resisting power. [See Pianoforte.] When Malcolm Stodart, who had shown great promise, died, the interest of the survivors ceased, and the business, which had been declining, came, in 1861, to an end.[ A. J. H. ]