When I received my Thormahelen it was in a heavily padded case with
about 4 layers of EXTREMELY heavy cardboard wrapped around it in various
ways - it was very sturdy and the harp came from Oregon to Ohio in
perfect condition even after being on the road for a week.
The most unusual packing I've seen was when I got my L&H 17 pedal harp.
It came in a large CARDBOARD BOX. I was rather shocked since I have
this humoungus wooden shipping crate that was for my Venus Traditional.
The box was about the size of a refrigerator box, and of heavy
cardboard. The harp was covered, and over that was a large plastic bag.
What I found fascinating is that the top and bottom had been FOAMED
into place with the canned insulation spray that you get at your local
home center store for about five bucks. Once the box was cut the
insulation just came right right off since it didn't stick to the
plastic bag. This method totally imobilized the harp in the container
and you would have to go through a good deal of forgiving foam to get to
the harp. Again, the harp was in perfect condition after being on the
road for five days.
In any case, when you ship your harp, don't forget to lower the tension
on your strings. You don't want to ship it under tension.
Hope this helps
Robin