Chicago, Illinois
Lyon and Healy

Wood, metal, pigment
ca. 1915
Without Stand: Height 39 in:  Stand an additional 13 in.
Strings – Harps

Embossed on Harp – Clark Irish Harp / CLARK HARP MFG. CO. / SYRACUSE, N. Y. / PATENTED / U.S.A. / AUG.4, 1914 / MAR.30, 1915 / Lyon and Healy / MAKER      CHICAGO

An early Clark Irish harp with 31 strings, patented by Clark Harp MFG.  CO. of Syracuse, N. Y. and made in Chicago, Ill by Lyon and Healy.  This Irish harp was designed and constructed by Melville Clark (1883-1953), an accomplished harpist from Syracuse, N.Y.  Melville came from a very musically talented parents and he was named after his uncle Melville Clark, inventor of the Apollo player piano.  His father, George owned a small music repair shop that grew into a business conglomerate: Clark Music Company.  Melville became an accomplished musician and performed on the harp, making more than four thousand appearances in America, Canada, and Europe.

Features of this Clark Irish harp include the original decorative Celtic design decals on the soundboard, golden shamrocks on the neck and pillar, and a solid spruce soundboard.  The harp is placed on an accompanying stand.  This stand can easily be removed from the base for transport and is also hinged, to release the harp into playing position.  Another feature is the ‘note sharping’ blade style levers that can be used to easily change the string’s pitch. These Clark harps were designed for use by either children or adults.

Clark harps were initially manufactured in Chicago by Lyon and Healy @ 1908.   Then the Clark Harp Manufacturing Company was established @ 1912 in Syracuse, NY.  However, due to the high demand for this Clark Irish Harp, both locations were used for production until @ 1935.

Resource:  ‘Pulling Strings’ by Linda P. Kaiser, author