When first offered to the public in the 1880s, the dulcitone was advertised as "The Harp-toned Light-weight piano that never needs tuning" [The Strand Magazine, G. Newnes, vol. 65 (1923): p. 50, col. 2] – a slogan referring to the fact that the instrument is transportable and has a piano-like action that strikes a row of tuning forks instead of a set of metal strings. Case of oak, stained dark. Compass of keyboard: 5 octaves (a to a ' ' ' ').