Tobias Schmidt (piano maker)

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Tobias Schmidt (also Johann Tobias Schmidt , Jean-Tobie Schmidt , Tobie Schmidt and Schmid ; baptized January 30, 1755 in Wiesbaden-Kloppenheim ; † June 14, 1831 in Paris ) was a German piano maker and designer of the first guillotine living in France .

Life

Schmidt, who came from the Principality of Nassau-Usingen , settled in the French capital in 1785, although numerous sources incorrectly state the year of his settlement in Paris as 1795 due to a later error. At the beginning of April 1792, Joseph-Ignace Guillotin approached the piano maker and commissioned him to build a prototype of the guillotine he had proposed as an execution device . Choosing an instrument maker as a designer and craftsman is less curious than it seems, since a smoothly functioning guillotine required precise work on wooden and metal elements and reliable mechanics. As a piano maker, who enjoyed a good reputation especially for his skills in processing wood, Schmidt had all the necessary knowledge and skills.

Schmidt completed the prototype within a few days. The guillotine, which was tested on three corpses on April 15, 1792 and first found practical use in a public execution on April 25, was the result of his work, which Guillotin rewarded him with the considerable sum of 960 livres . In addition, he received a five-year patent on the guillotine he had designed. As the French Revolution entered the phase of Great Terror soon afterwards and numerous guillotines were required for the rapidly increasing number of executions, Schmidt achieved considerable prosperity.

In a letter that Schmidt wrote to the National Convention on September 29, 1794 , he stated that he had given up the profession of piano maker in order to dedicate himself only to constructions that were of benefit to the general public. Although he made a number of practically applicable inventions in various fields in the following years, he remained a respected instrument maker, whose products were in great demand.

Works

Today only 4 table pianos by Tobias Schmidt are known. The oldest from 1792 and another from 1800 are both in the Pooya Radbon Collection for historic pianos. A third from 1817 is in the Cité de la musique in Paris. And a fourth square piano, probably from around 1800, is in the Musée de la Révolution française in Vizille Castle .

literature

  • Donald Howard Boalch: Makers of the Harpsichord and Clavichord, 1440-1840. Clarendon Press, 1974.
  • Daniel Arasse : The Guillotine and the Terror. Lane, 1989, ISBN 978-071399008-9 .
  • A. Ray: Réimpression de l'Ancien Moniteur , Volume 22. Henri Plon, 1862.
  • François-Joseph Fétis : Biographie universelle des musiciens , Volume 7. Firmin Didot frères, fils et cie, 1870.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The piano manufacturer from Kloppenheim is the inventor of the guillotine in Wiesbadener Kurier on February 17, 2019
  2. ↑ [1]
  3. ↑ [2]
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Tobias
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schmidt, Johann Tobias; Schmidt, Tobie; Schmidt, Jean Tobie; Schmid, Tobie; Schmid, Tobias
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-French piano maker
DATE OF BIRTH baptized January 30, 1755
PLACE OF BIRTH Wiesbaden-Kloppenheim
DATE OF DEATH June 14, 1831
Place of death Paris