Boston,  Massachusetts
Cannon Guild on Boston Harpsichord – Custom

Wood, ivory, ebony, metal
Late 20th century
Length: 84 in; Width: 34.5 in
Strings – Zithers – Keyboards

An ebonized Cannon Guild on Boston harpsichord with brass mounts and strings, custom made for Phyllis Diller, together with a matching upholstered piano seat.  This single manual 5 octave harpsichord is supported on a three-legged stand.  It is beautifully painted and gilded on the exterior and interior lid and body, with a display of brown wooden molding/trim on the frame of the body.

The harpsichord was an important instrument in Europe from the 15^th through the 18^th century (Renaissance & Baroque).  It is a plucked keyboard (manual) instrument that served both as an accompaniment instrument and as a solo instrument.  In the 20^th century, it made a resurgence, notably used in historical informed performances of older music.  The term harpsichord denotes a family of similar plucked-keyboard instruments, including small virginals, muselar, and the spinet.

Phyllis Ada Diller (born Phyllis Ada Driver – July 17, 1917-August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist.  She had studied piano, including three years at the Sherwood Music Conservatory of Columbia College Chicago. Between 1971 and 1981, she appeared as a piano soloist with symphony orchestras across the country under the stage name Dame Illya Dillya.  Nevertheless, she turned her focus to acting and with the encouragement of her husband, she made her debut as a stand-up comedian at age 37.  She continued to play in her private life and owned in her home, this custom-made harpsichord.

Her connection to St. Louis: After moving to Webster Groves, in St. Louis, in 1961, Diller honed her act in St. Louis clubs such as Gaslight Square’s Crystal Palace. By the mid-1960s, St. Louis was home to her, where her five children attended school.  Her husband, Sherwood, had relatives living in the St. Louis area and it served as a home base refuge from her hectic road schedule.  In her memoirs she wrote: “In the spring of 1962 I paid $20,000 cash for an 11-room Colonial house on Mason Avenue in Webster Groves…”In 1993, she was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame, received a “Key to the City” along with other awards, pictures, and mementos, which are included in the Hartenberger World Music Collection.

Resource: The Webster Groves housewife who made us all laugh | Obituaries | stltoday.com