Christopher Ganer

A German-born maker of harpsichords and pianos, Ganer worked in London from around 1774 until his death in 1814. His early life is uncertain, though letters of denization from 1792 describe him as originally from Leipzig. Records from his burial at St George Hanover Square list his age as 74, placing his birth around 1740. He set up his London workshop about 1774 at 22 Broad Street, Carnaby Market, then a hub for keyboard instrument makers. That same year, on 26 December, he married Lydia Willey at St George Hanover Square. The couple had four daughters, all baptized at St James Piccadilly: Elizabeth (1775), Lydia Margaret (1778), Caroline Elizabeth (1781), and Maria Rosina (1785).