Glass harmonica Franklin and a fellow of the Royal Society, extended the experiments of Pockrich, contriving a set of glasses better tuned and easier to play. During the same decade, Christoph Willibald Gluck also attracted attention playing a similar instrument in England. Benjamin Franklin invented a radically new arrangement of the glasses in 1761 after seeing water-filled wine glasses played by Edmund Delaval at Cambridge in England in May 1761. Franklin worked with London glassblower Charles James to build one, and it had its world premiere in early 1762, played by Marianne Davies. Writing to his friend Giambatista Beccaria in Turin, Italy,
European hand fans in the 18th century fan, “Moses Striking the Rock” shows the Israelite encampment in the wilderness and Moses standing by the rock from which water flows. Later in the 18th century, rococo pastoral scenes became popular. Landscapes were common as well as images with love and courtship themes. Cupid was often a principal figure on such fans. The fan, “Pastoral Landscape” shows a river landscape with men and women walking by and sheep grazing. When originated, the fan’s purpose was to cool the face and keep away insects. Before the 18th century their most common use was to keep flies away from church altars.