Folding harpsichord

The folding scheme relies on the fact that the two smaller sections each terminate with a sharply angled segment at the end away from the player.

When the smallest section is fully rotated counterclockwise on this hinge, its angled segment abuts that of its neighbor (the join can be seen on in the detail figure below).

In 1700, the French harpsichord maker Jean Marius presented his instrument to the Académie des Sciences, and was granted a 20-year patent for it.

[2] However, Laurence Libin found tentative evidence that the original inventor was a builder named Giuseppe Mondini, a cleric from Imola, Italy who worked in the 17th century.

Marius succeeded in fending off the guild's legal challenge and "registered his letters patent from the king in the parliament of Paris (on 30 Sept 1702)."

"[2] A folding harpsichord may have been owned by Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen during the time he employed Johann Sebastian Bach as his Kapellmeister.

[7] A record from the Cöthen court shows a payment to Bach (March 1723) for requilling the plectra of "das Reise Clavesin" ("the traveling harpsichord").

[4] In modern times, portability continues to be an issue for harpsichordists, and the Italian builder Augusto Bonza has produced new instruments modeled after an original built ca.

Two folding harpsichords by Jean Marius, Musée de la Musique, Paris. The instrument on the left is displayed in its folded state.
Detail of the image above showing how the instrument is folded. The diagonal join between the two shorter sections is visible.
The Grimaldi folding harpsichord in the Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti Musicale in Rome. It is shown folded "halfway", with the rightmost section pivoted to align it with the middle section.