Lyrichord

Lyrichord *bowed keyboard instr. patented by Roger Plenius, a London harpsichord maker, on Dec. 30, 1741, with rotating wheels worked by clockwork, and both gut and metal strings. An illustration of it appeared in the Aug. 1755 issue of the General Magazine of Arts and Sciences. The lid was divided into 2 sections, one of which could be opened or closed by a pedal, thus providing a swell. In 1745 Plenius added his *Welsh harp stop, controlled by a pedal. No specimen has survived. Cf. Geigenwerk…