Clavecin brisé

Clavecin brisé [Fr.: briser, to fold], portable folding harpsichord invented by Jean Marius of Paris, for which he received a 20-year privilege in 1700. Designed for travel purposes, it was made in 3 sections hinged together so as to fold over each other most compactly. Several specimens have survived. Marius seems to have been singularly attracted to things that fold: he also invented folding tents and folding umbrellas remarkably like the beach umbrellas of today.