The three-manual instrument is an elaborate forgery by the prolific Franciolini, whom I believe sold Stearns a number of instruments.  Here is a page with a description:

http://www.dance.umich.edu/research/stearns_collection/keyboards/page3.htm

"Originally, this instrument  was a single manual harpsichord; the other manuals were added in Franciolini’s  studio. Franciolini created the middle and upper keyboards from salvaged  parts of two earlier instruments; considerably lengthened and reshaped  the lower, original keyboard; increased the rows of jacks to three to  match the three keyboards; restrung the instrument, adding a 4 foot  choir to the two existing 8 foot choirs; and modified the outer case  to accommodate this new configuration. The extent to which Franciolini  modified this instrument may seem extreme, but it was in fact quite  lucrative. His fifth catalogue of instruments, from which Stearns bought  the three harpsichords, lists an asking price of 7000 liras for the  triple manual harpsichord, compared to 200-500 liras asked for ordinary,  single manual harpsichords."


When I was at Michigan in the 90's there were a few glass cases and a small room that had some instruments from the Stearns collection out, and I had no idea it was so large.

When I think with sadness of lost musical instruments I automatically think of the wars and turmoil in the 18th and 19th centuries, but I'm sure that a gigantic amount of historical material was just looted and abused in the early 20th C for money.  Wealthy Americans buying paintings from Italy was a huge opportunity for the unscrupulous (I've read some excellent books about the art trade then, does anyone know of good information on the musical instrument world?), with plenty of nefarious collaboration between dealers and scholars.  


Mark

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