grew out of the collaboration between the piano technician Conny Carlsson (1921-2002) and the musicologist Eva Helenius that started early in 1977 with the aim of investigating the history of the piano in Sweden, at that time entirely unexplored. Much is written about piano music, pianists and the piano in concert life but still there are very few texts on making Swedish pianos and the development of these instruments – workshops, factories, sub-contractors, workers, tools, materials, methods of working, constructions, finish, the tuner’s profession or the organization of piano dealers and the social distribution of the instruments.

Conny and Eva made rapid plans for the work. They went to see workers from the few still existing factories, searched for all those that were gone and visited representatives of music dealers who had sold pianos and grand pianos. Arvika, Karlstad, Kristinehamn, Malmö, Linköping, Örebro, Herrljunga, Uppsala, Mjölby, Kalmar, Gothenburg, Vetlanda, Härnösand and of course Stockholm have been visited through the years. Many of those who told the stories of their lives have passed away now but their voices live on the tapes then recorded. Interviews were made, archival documents were saved, photos, brochures and advertising matters collected and tools kept. The vision of a piano museum was born.

The Conny Carsson Collection comprises almost 2 000 items of everything needed to build pianos, for example tools, machines, carpenter’s benches, polishing stand, veneer press, gluing pots, patterns (i.a. for grand piano frames), wooden models for cast iron frames, piano cradle, varnish and polish, semi-manufactured articles, factory names, actions, models of actions, drawings, photos and around 25 interviews made with workers and representatives of the branch. In contrast to the other industrial heritage collections housed in the Klaverens Hus the Conny Carlsson Collection is brought together from many different factories and individual professionals, for example Nylund & Son in Uppsala, J.P. Löfberg, J.R. Tingström, J. Ljungqvist. G. Bolin, A. Hoffman and V.A. Holmberg in Stockholm, Baumgardt in Linköping, Ekström in Malmö, Hjort in Gothenburg and Edmond in Mjölby.