The use of simple geometry and the local unit of measurement in the design of Italian stringed keyboard instruments:
an aid to attribution and to organological analysis
Grant O'Brien
This is an online copy of an article written by me and published in The Galpin Society Journal, 52 (1999) 108-171. ISSN 0072.0127.
Click here to read this article sub-divided into chapters. These chapters do no require un-zipping, but the formatting of tables may not be correct depending on the browser you are using. Reading the article from this link means that hyperlinks to museums and other sections of this site are accessible (if they are the same as when this page of my website was created) whereas they are not in the Word version below.
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Click here to download a .pdf version of this file (no password required) or from the JSTOR site) JSTOR password required. Please note that the date of the virginal by Marcus Siculus given in this paper should be MDXXXX and not MDXXX, and should read 1540 and not 1550! - I'm blushing with embarrassment!