Case made of Rosewood with inlaid Ivory. 122 cm tall, Two Pedals.
Camille Pleyel exhibited this Pianino at the Exhibition of Arts and Industry in 1839.



Provenance:
In 1839, King Louis Philippe of France and his family made their special Royal Tour the day before the opening of the Exhibitions of Art and Industry in Paris. Camille Pleyel, Son of Ignace Pleyel, presented at that time to the King and his family this Special Upright. The family was impressed with the sound of as well the beauty of this pianino, which they purchased it to be sent to the Royal Palace that same day. This Pianino is a unique model that was mentioned at the 1839 Exhibition as being the best upright that was ever made.





Duchess Helen Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (24 January 1814, Ludwigslust - 17 May 1858, Richmond-upon-Thames), Duchess of Orléans and Chartres, was a German duchess who married into the House of Orleans.



On 30 May 1837 Helene Luise married Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans at the Château de Fontainebleau. He was the eldest son of king Louis-Philippe of France and Maria Amalia.





On 13 July 1842 her husband died in the fall of the July Monarchy, thus sparking a debate within the house of Orleans over the setting-up of a regency council that would be necessary due to Louis-Philippe's heir still being an infant. The main contenders were Louis-Philippe's widow and his brother Louis, Duke of Nemours, but further developments meant that the regency did not in the end materialise. Helen died of flu in Richmond and was initially buried at Weybridge before being transported to the Royal Chapel of Saint Louis in Dreux in 1876.




New Research completed:

searching through the many pages of the Revue et Gazette Musical de Paris 1839

In French:

"Lors de la dernière visite que Madame La Duchesse D'Orléans a faite à l'exposition, S.A.R. s'est arrêtée longtemps devant les pianos de MM. Pleyel et a fait l'acquisition d'un Piano vertical en Pallissandre. Ce piano avait été touché par M. Kalkbrenner."

In English:

"At her last visit at the Exhibition, H.R.H The Duchess of Orleans stopped long time in front of the pianos made by Mr. Pleyel and purchased a vertical pianino in rosewood. This piano was played by Mr. Kalkbrenner"

Revue et Gazette Musicale de Paris 1846 "M. Pleyel et ses Pianos."

French:

"Depuis 1830, il avait importé d"Angleterre des pianinos auxquels il avait donné un rare degré de perfection. A cette exposition, il en construisit un aux sons si purs, si larges et en même temps si harmonieux, que la Duchesse d'Orléans, après l'avoir entendu sous les doigts habiles de M. Kalkbrenner, en fit aussitôt l'acquisition. Le roi et la famille royale, dans leurs visites à l'exposition, aimaient à s'arrêtter devant les pianos de Pleyel, et entendaient avec plaisir l'habile facteur, non moins habile instrumentiste, faire valoir avec un rare talent les brillantes qualités de ses pianos."

English:

"Since 1830 he imported from England some Pianinos which he gave a high level of perfection. For this Exhibition, he built one with so pure sounds, so large and at the same time harmonious that the Duchess of Orleans after listening to it, under the skillful fingers of Mr. Kalkbrenner, purchased it right away. The King and the Royal familly, during their visit at the Exhibition, was all fond of stopping in front of the Pleyel pianos and listening with pleasure, the non-less skillful pianist (Camille Pleyel), highlighted with rare talent, the brilliant qualities of his pianos"