Cawton Aston (active 1693 – 1733) was an English builder of spinets.
He was the seventh and last apprentice of instrument builder John Player (1636 - 1707), and the only one to set up his own business.[1] In 1730 he was living at the Prince’s Arms in New Queen Street in London.[2]
Two spinets signed by Aston are currently known; the first is dated 1726 and has the range GG-g΄΄΄ (five octaves). The case is decorated with inlay. The natural keys are covered in bone, and the sharps are made of a “sandwich” of ivory and ebony,[3] sometimes referred to as “skunk-tail sharps” because of their appearance. The instrument was restored by Arnold Dolmetsch in 1898; Colonial Williamsburg purchased it in 1960.[4]
The second instrument was built in 1733 and also has the range GG-g΄΄΄. The keyboard has ivory-covered naturals[5] and skunk-tail sharps, just as on the 1726 spinet. Many parts, such as the bridge, nut, and stand are replacements; the soundboard rose is probably not original.[6] The instrument has been in a private collection in England for approximately thirty years.
A spinet built c.1700 whose lowest key is marked “C.A.” has been attributed to Aston; this instrument is currently part of the Richard Burnett Heritage Collection. It has the range GG/BB-d΄΄΄ (4½ octaves), with a broken octave. This compass is very common in spinets made between 1690 and 1710.[7] The natural keys are covered with ebony, while the sharps are solid ivory.[8] Overall the instrument is similar to those made by John Player.[9]
Peter Mole states that
Judging by the stylishness of the spinet by Cawton Aston dated 1726 at Colonial Williamsburg, Cawton Aston seems to have been a craftsman of great skill, and a firm constituted by him and by [Thomas] Barton would have been a significant competitor to the [Stephen] Keene firm in the period 1709 to 1712.[10]
Boalch mentions a spinet signed by Cawton Aston and Thomas Barton, dated 1709, that once belonged to Edwin M. Ripin.[11] Boalch believed it to be in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston;[12] however, this instrument is not currently in that collection.[13]
