the keys, and tuning pins below them. "Giraffe pianos", "pyramid pianos" and "lyre pianos" were
arranged in a somewhat similar fashion, using evocatively shaped cases. The very tall cabinet piano
was introduced about 1805 and was built through the 1840s. It had strings arranged vertically on a
continuous frame with bridges extended nearly to the floor, behind the keyboard and very
large sticker action. The short cottage upright or pianino with vertical stringing, made popular
by Robert Wornum around 1815, was built into the 20th century. They are informally called birdcage
pianos because of their prominent damper mechanism. The oblique upright, popularized in France
by Roller & Blanchet during the late 1820s, was diagonally strung throughout its compass. The
tiny spinet upright was manufactured from the mid-1930s until recent times. The low position of the
hammers required the use of a "drop action" to preserve a reasonable keyboard height. Modern
upright and grand pianos attained their present, 2000-era forms by the end of the 19th century. While
improvements have been made in manufacturing processes, and many individual details of the
instrument continue to receive attention, and a small number of acoustic pianos in the 2010s are
produced with MIDI recording and digital sound module-triggering capabilities, the 19th century was
the era of the most dramatic innovations and modifications of the instrument.