I have been surprised at the interest in square pianos in a forum
otherwise devoted exclusively to mechanical musical instruments.
I've never seen a player square piano.

Philip Jamison was correct in pointing out that square pianos (with 4
legs) and grand pianos (3 legs) were produced concurrently.  I have
tuned many square pianos over the past 45 years and have never noticed
any tendency to go out of tune from twisting, as they -- with their
great mass -- are seldom moved.

The tuning troubles relate to poor design, especially in the earlier
ones with 2-ply pinblocks and wood frames.  Hard as it is to believe,
the design was the result of an attempt to make a compact piano for the
home.  Instead of a long instrument stretching out 7 feet behind the
keyboard, a square piano 3 feet deep could be parked up against a wall.

As upright pianos evolved late in the 1800's, they took up less floor
space.  With their far better sound marketers employed blurbs on their
fallboards like "Orchestral Grand."  I once canceled some appointments
to run and accept the gift of a "Concert Grand", only to find a
painted, worn-out Cunningham upright when I got there.

Year by year Volkswagen made improvements on their rear-engine air-
cooled Beetle, concurrently with other auto makers' production of
front-engine, water-cooled models.  The VW design had inherent flaws
that could only be solved by radical change, and so we got the front-
engine, water-cooled Rabbit.  Likewise the piano manufacturers about
1880 saw the light and switched production to the upright piano for
the home.

Bill Maxim

 [ Don't be misled by our name -- MMDigest serves the interests of
 [ the subscribers, and most of us are also interested in old pianos,
 [ old cars, old locomotives, and old songs, etc.  The common ingredi-
 [ ent is the ingenious designs, whether mechanical or musical or both.
 [ (We mustn't forget our admiration for vintage Hammond organs and
 [ vintage wines, too!)  -- Robbie