User:Fehufanga/Marius
Jean Marius (died 6 April 1720) was a French inventor and keyboard instrument builder.
Biography[edit]
Not much is known about Marius' life. He had a degree in law, was skilled in mathematics, and was an adjunct mechanic in the French Academy of Sciences.[1] His name first appeared in 1699, on a certificate of approbation for his folding harpsichord.[2] His store was located on the rue des Fossés Saint-Germain.[3]
Inventions[edit]
Marius invented the folding umbrella's mechanism, which is similar to the one used in the modern era. It can be carried in a pocket and weights five to six ounces. Impressed by his invention, King Louis XIV granted Marius a royal privilege for his folding umbrellas in 1710; nobody was allowed to manufacture a similar product for five years. Two of his folding umbrellas survive.[3]
Marius is credited folding harpsichords, though Giovanni Pietro Pinaroli cites Giuseppe Mondini as having invented a folding harpsichord before him.[4] The composers Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers, François Couperin, Nicolas Lebègue and Jean-Baptiste Buterne signed a letter of approbation for Marius' folding harpsichord in 1699.[2] The academy gave its approbation on 24 January 1700.[2] He obtained a 20-year patent for the instrument on 18 September 1700.[5] Marius had to contend with the Parisian guild of instrument builders' accusation that his invention was not original.[6]
In 1716, Marius submitted a design for a clavecin à maillet.
References[edit]
- ^ Cohen, Albert (2001). "Marius, Jean". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
- ^ a b c Pollens, Stewart (1995). The early pianoforte. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521111553.
- ^ a b DeJean, Joan (2005). The essence of style. Free Press. ISBN 9781416588535.
- ^ Libin, Laurence (1987). "Folding Harpsichords". Early Music. 15 (3): 378–383. ISSN 0306-1078.
- ^ Lange, Helmut K. H. (1978). "Das Clavecin brisé von Jean Marius in der Berliner Sammlung und die Schlick-Stimmung". Die Musikforschung. 31 (1): 57–79. ISSN 0027-4801.
- ^ Cohen, Albert (1981). Music in the French Royal Academy of Sciences: A Study in the Evolution of Musical Thought. Princeton University Press.