VOLUME 14

NEWS BULLETIN of theAUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS' ASSOCIATION

DECEMBER 1977 NUMBER 10

OFFICERS

INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS CHAPTER OFFICERS

AMICA MEMBERSHIP RATES:

Continuing Members: $15 DuesNew Members, add $5 processing feeLapsed Members, add$3 processing fee

THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

Published by the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors'Association. a non-profit club devoted to the restoration. distribu·tion and enjoyment of musical instruments using perforated papermusic rolls.

Contributions; All subjects of interest to readers of the bulletinare encouraged and invited by the publisher. All articles must bereceived by the 10th of the preceding month. Every attempt will bemade to publish all articles of general interest to AMICA membersat the earliest possible time and at the discretion of the pUblisher.

ADVERTISINGLine ad rate: 8C1 per word. $1.20 minimum.Page rate: $12.50 per quarter page or multiple thereof.Ad copy will be typeset (at additional cost) only if requested.Each photograph or half-tone. $5.00Camera-ready copy that is oversized or undersized will bechanged to correct size at your cost.Camera-ready copy must reach the publisher by the 10th ofthe preceeding month.Cash must accompany order. Typesetting or si ze alterationcharges will be billed separately. Make checks payable toAMICA INTERNATIONAL.

All ads will appear on the last pages of the BULLETIN. at thediscretion of the publisher.

Publication of business advertising in no way implies AMICA'sendorsement of any commercial operation. However. AMICA re­serves the right to refuse any ad that is not in keeping with AMICA'sgeneral standards or if complaints are received indicating that saidbusiness does not serve the best interests of the members ofAMICA. according to its goals.and by·laws.

PRESIDENTBob Rosencrans36 Hampden Rd.Upper Darby, PA 19082

VICE PRESIDENTRichard Drewniak191 Capen Blvd.Amherst, NY 14226

SECRETARYIsadora Koff2141 Deodara Dr.Los Altos, CA 94022

BULLETINTom Beckett6817 CliffbrookDallas, TX 75240

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY(New memberships andmailing problems)

Anita Nickels JohnsonP. O. Box 666Grand June tion, CO 81501

TREASURERJack & Mary Riffle5050 Eastside Calpella Rd.Ukiah, CA 95482

BOARD REPRESENTATIVESN. Cal: Frank LoobS. Cal: Dick RiggTexas: Steve ChapmanPhil.: Larry CornellMidwest: Bill EicherSOWNY: Dave GaudieriRky. Mt.: Toni HartNew Jer.: Dan Schacher

COMMITTEESTechnical

Mel Luchetti3449 Mauricia Ave.Santa Clara, CA 95051

Honorary MembersAlf. E. Werolin2230 Oa~dale Rd.Hillsborough, CA 94010

NO. CALIFORNIAPres.: Howard KoffVice Pres.: Phil McCoySec.: Dick ReutlingerTreas.: Bill WherryReporter: Stuart Hunter

SO. CALIFORNIAPres.: Prentiss KnowltonVice Pres.: Elliott N. LacySec.: Evelyn MeederTreas.: Lewis TrofferReporter: Bill Toeppe

TEXASPres.: Tony PalmerVice Pres.: James GuinnSec/Treas.: Haden VandiverReporter: Dick Barnes

MIDWESTPres.: Milton CoopermanVice Pres.: Jim PrendergastSec.: Jim WeisenborneTreas.: ,Alvin WulfekuhlReporter: Molly Yeckley

PHILADELPHIA AREAPres: Donald WoodVice Pres.: Larry CornellSec.: Barbara MacartneyTreas.: Doris BerryReporter: Dick Merrill

SOWNY (So. Ontario. West NY)Pres.: Stan AldridgeVice Pres.: Chuck Hannen 41Sec.: Janet Drewniak ,.Treas.: Tom ZornReporter: Jim Brewer

ROCKY MOUNTAINPres.: Robert MooreSec.: Sharon PaetzoldTreas.: Carl PaetzoldReporter: James Bratton

NEW JERSEYPres.: Peter W. BrownVice Pres.: Francis J. MayerSec.: Jeffrey MorganTreas.: Glenn W. GrabinskyReporter: Betty Schacher

IOWAPres.: Richard W. ParkerVice Pres.: Dale SnyderSec./Treas.: AI Johnson

AMICA ITEMSFOR SALE·

AMICA BULLETINS. BOUND ISSUES: 1969.$9; 1971. $15; 1972. $15; 1973. $15; 1974unbound sets. $15; 1974 bound sets. $18;1975 bound. $18; 1976 bound. $18. PRICESINCLUDE POSTAGE AND HANDLING. Spiralbound to lie flat. Send to Mary Lilien. 4260Olympiad Drive. Los Angeles. CA 90043.

ROLL LEADERS: DUO·ART. Authentic. Fororder sheet. see the April. 1973 Bulletin. NickJarrett. 3622 . 21 st Street. San Francisco, CA94114.

AMICA TECHNICALITIES BOOKS: Volume I(1969·1971). $5.50 postpaid; Volume II (1972·1974). $7,50 postpaid; or order both sets for$12.50 postpaid. Reprints of interesting techni·calities articles which have appeared in theAM ICA Bulletin. arranged and indexed intoappropriate categories. spiral bound to lie flat.Send orders to Howard Koff. 2141 DeodaraDrive. Los Altos. CA 94022.

AMICA Stationery. $3.20 (letter size). $1.75(note size). including mailing charges. Finequality stationery with ornate AMICA borders.Each packet contains 25 letters and matchingenvelopes. Send orders to Robert Lemon. 4560Green Tree Drive. Sacramento. CA 94823.

"They All Laughed When I Sat Down At ThePiano, But When IT Began To Play ..."

This sound and color super-8 movie. producedby AM ICA members, is again available for loanto AMICA members and chapters. For moreinformation write fa Howard Koff. 2141Deodara Drive. Los Altos. CA 94022.

~ A CHRISTMAS FANTASIE

Once more the AMPICO wishes its friends and patrons a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This re­cording is a direct expression of the spirit of the holiday season, and it can be used most effec­tively by following the directions and text throughout.

The words may all be spoken, but where indicated they can also be sung to the music of the recording.Toward the close an actual march or dance may be performed.

Strains from Victor Herbert's "Toyland" usher us into that magic country, and the lullaby from God­ard's "Jocelyn" puts the children to sleep in anticipation of Christmas Horning. "Holy Night" addsits familiar strains to the mood of peaceful calm.

Santa Claus approaches to the jingling bells, and in dreams we hear the dancing doll and see the toysas though they were alive. The distant chiming of "Adeste Fideles" proclaims that it is ChristmasDay, and as we all gather round the tree in the morning, the children join with the toys in a marchof celebration. "London Bridge" and "Farmer in the Dell" supply the music for merry games, and fi­nally as night approaches again, we say good-bye to Toyland to the soft strains of "Now the Day IsOver."

Toyland - Ampico #5976Arranged and played by Adam Carroll

Contributed by Conant,Kavouras, and Willyard •

, I cl I ",' I I 'I I ........... I II J" 1.1" IIlw

i',>,.': .'

COVER STORY

In 1913 a special gift was prepared by a neighbor of a two year-old girl ofa pioneer Dallas family. It was a large scrapbook of cut-outs from periodmagazines pasted up on hand lettered pages, bound with a cloth cover handmonogrammed and trimmed by Anne Harley for Hazael Williams. Of significantbearing on our cover story are the following items - Hazael carefully savedthe book (our Christmas scene cover is one of the cut-outs), and after MissWilliams graduated from college, she married a young man by the name ofThomas G. ~eckett, Jr.

Merry Ohristmas and Happy New Year to all!Tom and Carole Beckett (III)

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FROM THE PUBLISHERThis issue of THE AMICA closes out our publicationschedule for 1977. The first issue (out of a totalset of ten issues) for 1978 will be the combinedJanuary/February issue to be scheduled for deliveryto you in early FebruayY. Advertisers please notethere will be no iss~ in January and next deadlineis January 10. T~second issue to be skipped in1978 will probably be the August issue. A conventionspecial August/September issue will result.

1977 INDEX: At the back of this issue we have pre­pared a special treat. Instead of having to waitevery three years for a comprehensive Bulletin index,we have compiled one for the 1977 year only andincluded it with the last issue of the year. Thistook a bit more time which was added to the Decemberproduction schedule but we trust it will be worth theextra delay.

Happy Holidays to all. TB

1978 RENEWAL DUESBy the time you receive this Bulletin you shouldhave received in the mail, by first class postage,your renewal dues notice for 1978. Please renewpromptlyl We are doing things a little differentlythis year. Our new Directory will become availablein June of 1978 and in order to prepare for this weare asking you to fill in the special informationrenewal card. We want to list your collection ascompletely as possible but at the same time aim foruniformity and brevity. Please read the instructionletter carefully. YOU MUST RETURN the 1978 renewalinformation card in order to have your collectionlisted in the Directory.

Many, many thanks for your cooperation. AnitaNickels Johnson - Membership Secretary.

Cover Story 234INTERNATIONAL AMICA 235

Annual Membership Minutes 235International Board Minutes 236Financial Statement 236Committee Reports 237

Wilhelmina Welte 240INSTRUMENTS 243AMICA FORUM 246ROLLS & MUSIC 247SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 249TEXAS 250MIDWEST 252ROCKY MOUNTAIN 254BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

Elmer H. Hunholz 255TECHNICALITIES 2561977 Bulletin Index 257

HONORARY ~IEMBER INDALLASRuth Bingaman Smith, an Honorary Member of AMICAInternational, spent the week of October 8th inDallas, Texas. The Treemont presented her in apiano recital as a feature of their entertainmentprogram in the assembly hall on Tuesday, October11th where she played for some 300 residents of thatestablishment. This is the second concert she hasgiven there and the Treemont has engaged her foranother appearance in the Spring of 1978.

While in Dallas, she attended a meeting of the TexasChapter of AMICA at the home of Janet and RichardTonnesen in Richardson, Texas.

On Wednesday she was the guests of the Musical Artsat their musicale and luncheon while Charlie Johnsonand Doyle Cassel honored her with a dinner party intheir home that night. On Ruth~s return to SanAntonio she was accompanied by Mrs. Dunbar LaTasteof Dallas who will spend several weeks with her.

AUNIQUE LISTINGHonorary Membership Chairman, Alf Werolin, has sent ina clipping from the October 9, 1977 "Californialiving Magazine" (Sunday supplement to the San Fran­cisco Chronicle) in which AMICA was listed amon-g--­several other "pretty strange" and "weird" groups.In particular, we are catagorized as an "Off-the-wall Organization."

It took them 14 years to learn our secret!

1978 CHAPTER OFFICERSA special note to all AMICA chapters: please assignsomeone to send a list of your newly elected 1978chapter officers to both the International Secretary(Isadora Koff) and the Publisher (Tom Beckett) beforeJanuary 10th, 1978. In the case of the Bulletin,late information means extra trips to the typesetterto correct the masthead. Your early cooperationwill be appreciated.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGSAN FRANCISCO~ SEPTEMBER 4~ 1977

The Annual Membership Meeting of AMICA was called toorder at 12:05 pm by President Bob Rosencrans.

The minutes of the Buffalo meeting were accepted.

The following reports were presented:

The Treasurers' ReportThe Nominating commi~te.~ ReportThe Membership Repor~ !

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The Honoraries ReportThe Bulletin Report

The new brochure (AMICA publicity) was presented.Copies are ava il ab1e and may be gotten from Di ckReutlinger, Anita Johnson or Tom Beckett.

The Audio-Visual Committee reported that "They AllLaughed .•. ," "The Music Box" (Laurel &Hardy) and theslides of the organ move by the AMICA Foundation areavailable for viewing.

The Technical Committee reported that Volume III ofTechnicalities will be available shortly after thefirst of the year.

The Convention Committee discussed the "mini-conven­tion" versus the Convention.

A report was given on pins and stationery.

The AMICA reorganization was discussed./

The status of the Cooper tapes was discussed.,. /

The deadline for inclusion in the new AMICA Directorywill be March 1, 1978.

A report on the AMICA museum was given. There willbe a report presented, in a future Bulletin, on theAMICA Foundation.

the discretion of the host chapter.

To tape all Board Meetings and Membership Meetingsexcept when the President deems that the subject mat­ter might inhibit free discussion with the presenceof a tape recorder.

To have one tape recorder only, and one tape only,which will be given to the President at the close ofthe meeting and which will become part of the Archives.

The Secretary will be required to record all mattersof discussion whether or not specific action istaken.

The following items will be acted on:

A tape recorder, not to cost more than $50.00 will bepurchased by AMICA.

The President will investigate the questioned legali~

tyof taping Board Meetings, this investigation toconcern the possible states where a Board Meetingmight be held.

The Treasurer will receive written confirmation ofany expenditure authorized by the President.

The Board Meeting was adjourned at 11:35 pm.

Isadora Koff, Secretary

FINANCIAL STATEMENTOF

AMICA INTERNATIONALJanuary 1, 1977 through July 31, 1977

CHECKBOOK BALANCE 1-1-77 Wells FargoSavings Bank

Frank Adams spoke of his visit to England and theBritish Player Organizations.

The following motions were passed:

To appoint a Bylaw Revision Committee for thereorganization, to include the ReorganizationCommittee, Tom Beckett, chairman, Steve Chapman,Howie Koff plus new members Jim Weisenborne andRichard Rigg.

To re-elect Tom Beckett as Publisher

To send the President to Iowa and other chapters.

To authorize the publisher, working with WadeNewton, to place AM~CA ads in special publica-tions. '

To authorize the rreasurer to deposit $5000.00into a Savings &Loan, unnamed, in order to earn$1000.00 interest. .

The Meeting was adjourned at 2:00 pm.

A Board Meeting was called at 11:05 pm.

The following motions were passed:

~ To accept the Iowa Chapter and its Bylaws.

To hold the next Convention in Dayton, Ohio in 1978and the Annual Membership Meeting of 1979 in Phila­delphia, with the scope of these meetings to be at

CASH RECEIPTS:

Membership DuesFilmRegular BulletinBound BulletinTechnicalitiesLeadersPinsStationeryAdvertisingOther

TOTAL

CASH DISBURSEMENTS:

BulletinBound BulletinTechnicalitiesPrinting &PaperTelephoneAccounting &TaxesSuppliesFilm

$11,023.1400.0027.00

573.00237.00

7.8200.0000.00

2,013.14(13.91)

$13,867.19

6,000.0000.0000.00

1,049.25365.64154.32

30.8440.75

$1,000.006,833.847,833.84

$21,701.03

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Mary C. Riffle, Treasurer

NOMINATION COMMITTEE REPORT

Anita Nickels JohnsonNomination Chairman

Plus Savings Account (Financial Savings &Loan)$5,253.37

Anita Nickels JohnsonMembership Secretary

HONORARY MEMBERSHIP REPORT

Let me explain a little about my schedule and justwhat the Membership Secretary is doing. I handlealmost all of the inquiries and all the incoming newmemberships. I have tabulated the following statis­tics: During the 6 month period of February throughJuly, a period of 183 days, 169 inquiries were re­ceived and answered. Some months are heavier thenothers and the convention deadline spurred activity.Of this 169, 26 returned as members which is about a15% return .. This is not high but has been graduallygetting higher. It used to be about a 5-8% return.Most of these inquiries, by the way, are through thelittle blurb on the back of the QRS catalog. Thiswould indicate that most of these collectors areowners of one player and perhaps AMICA is a littletoo high powered for them.

On the other hand, how many new membership applica­tions do we receive per month? During the fivemonth period April through August (25th) we had 122(plus the three honoraries - making 125). This ina 153 day period. If I can be so bold as to general­ize, we might say that we receive about 1 inquiryper day and one membership per day. The new member­ship rate has been steadily increasing.

A little bit about change of address and mailingschedule. As you know, I also prepare the addresslabels for the Bulletin. We use the Xerox process. ~

In some respects it is similar to the addressograph, ,but is much easier to handle. Besides the alphabet­ical membership file I also have an address file andthis is filed by zip code primarily, except for thefirst class. The addresses are typed on these cardsand run through a xerox copy machine. The addressesare then printed on self-adhesive labels and a setis sent to Tom every month. I have a closing dateon address changes and, of course, new members list-ing as does Tom have a closing date. This is the10th of the month. At this time I send the labelsto Tom. About the 20-23rd of the month, I believe,Tom readies the Bulletins for mailing. As you cansee, there can very well be a time lapse from, say,the notification of change of address and the timeyou recieve your Bulletin. Remember third class cantake 3 weeks or longer. So if you send me a change ofaddress and I receive it the 15th of the month andyou receive your Bulletin the 15th of the followingmonth, there is really no way that I or Tom can makethe correction on time. And please remember both Tomand I do not conduct AMICA business every day! Bothof us have to have a cut off time. The reason Ibring all this up is that some of you get very an-noyed when your Bulletin does not have your correctaddress or doesn't come. Please allow 4-6 weeksfor address changes and please tell us as soon aspossible. As Tom can verify, whenever a Bulletin isreturned it is very expensive. (Generally the returnand remai1 postage costs nearly $1.00 - TB)

$12,307.24

Wells Fargo $12,107.52Savings Bank __~~1~9~9~.~7~2

12,307.24

00.00395.59

1,357.40$9,393.79TOTAL

AdvertisingStamps &PostageOther

I am very happy to report: The nomination committeehas nominated Tom Beckett Bulletin Publisher for 1977­78. I wish all my jobs were this easy!

Also, if you will recall, Tom Beckett was very demo­cratic about all this and made known to the member­ship at large, through the Bulletin, that any mem­ber had the right to make suggestions, comments, sub­mit names, etc., for this office. It was very inter­esting to note that I had two cards, asking - please,"will Tom continue etc." I assure you Tom, therewas no opposition.

MEMBERSHIP REpORT

As of Thursday evening, August 25, 1977, we have 968members. This includes the three newly elected hon­oraries. I did so hope we could stretch this to 1,000,but let me give you some other interesting figures:

In my files I have cards for 580 former members. Wehave 20 deceased (that I know of) - now just think:978 + 580 - 20 = 1538. Somewhere out ther.e are somelost souls!

When I first took office, the loss at renewal timewas over 200. This past year oQly 90 failed to re­new. I think. that tells us a gre~t deal.

According to our revised 1976 Bylaws, all the electedoffices except for Publisher are for two-year terms.The present officers began their last terms at theAnnual Meeting in Joplin. These offices do not ex­pire until 1978. The only office that is yearly isthat of Publisher. In accord with the timetable anddates as is specified in our Bylaws, a temporarychairman and committee (nominating) were formed. Ina letter dated March 1, 1977, our president BobRosencrans asked the following persons to serve:Frank Loob, Howard Koff, Tom Beckett, Molly Yeckley,Don Wood and Joan Chase. I have served as chairman.Since our very gifted and astute publisher, Tom Beck­ett was willing to serve another term as publisher,we unanimously nominated him as publisher. All thoseon the committee dutifully mailed in their votes.

CHECKBOOK BALANCE 7-31-77

At the 1975 Annual Meeting in Buffalo we had 34

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Honorary Members. As of September 1, 1977 we have38 Honorary Members.

3. ADVERTISING REVENUE: For the six issue periodincreased from approximately $1600 in 1976 to$2000 in 1977 - up 25%.

Durihg this two-year period we have lost five H.M.Emsee Dawson - Ampico EditorCarl Schneider - Ampico TechnicianMieczylaw Munz - Ampico ArtistLeslie Loth - Ampico ArtistJ. Lawrence Cook - 88 note player artist

During this two-year period we have added nine H.M.

4. BUDGET: Out of a $6000 budget for the first 6issues of 1976 we spent a little less than $5600to produce and mail the Bulletin.

Out of $6800 (we had a budget increase in April)for the first six issues of 1977 we spent approx­imately $6400 to produce and mail the Bulletin.

roll

We are corresponding with 17 candidates:

PUBLISHER'S REPORT

The publisher's report is perhaps most easily givenas a comparison of the first 6 issues of the Bulletinof 1976 to the first 6 issues of 1977.

Bob and Sonja Lemon

(3rd class) 40¢ note; 66¢ letter;25¢ pins.

Sil ver Pins 8 Money received $40.50Silver tie tacks 3 Postage 6.40Letter stationery 15 U.S. ExchangeNote stationery 3 difference .26

Net received $33.84Inventory:

Silver Pins 6 Letter stationery 35Silver Tacks 81 Note stationery 28

Postage approx.

Reporting period 10-75 through 8-77

We were about $400 under budget for both periods.

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY J 1978

PINS &STATIONERY SALES REPORT

Tom BeckettPublisher, THE AMICA

As you might be aware, we publish a directory everytwo years, plus the supplements in the interim. Thisyear we want to at least try to be more consistant inour listings - the use of abbreviatiQns for pertinentinformation of collections will hopefully make iteasier for members to list their collections as wellas be an aid to the typsetter. I asked four membersbesides myself to be a technical committe for thispurpose. Everyone was very cooperative and Ire·ceived a great deal of help and information. Allthis feedback will be put into good use and thisyear the membership will receive their dues notice(first notice) by first class mail. The card willbe used for the directory information and unless thiscard is sent in, their listing will not be in thedirectory. The deadline for renewal is March 1 asusual. Information cut-off will be about April 1and the membership should be receiving their 1978directory probably with the June Bulletin.

Vladimir HorowitzEllen BallouJose IturbiRobert GoldsandStewart WilleOtto Cesana

QRS recordingseditor

*Shura Cherkassky ~ Duo-Art Artist*Frank LaFitte - Duo-Art ArtistFlora Mora - Duo-Art ArtistPauline Alpert - Duo-Art ArtistDr. Mana-Zucca - Ampico ArtistLeo Ornstein - Ampico ArtistJohn Duke - Ampico ArtistElmer Hunholz - Artistouch inventor and player

piano builder*John Honnert - 88 note artist

In the Spring of 1977 we sent each Honorary Membera framed Honorary Member certificate. We receivedmany nice acknowledgements.

Liberace - pianist,A. Valerio - AmpicoGertrude HuntleyJoe Gold - 88 noteClaudio ArrauWilfred PelletierNadia ReisenbergGeorge McManusRichard RogersGitta GradovaArthur Rubinstein

The April 1977 AMICA Bulletin had an article aboutHonorary Members as of March 1977. There havebeen three added since (note * above).

Thanks to Emmett Ford. Need the whereabouts ofMaurice Roy Wetzel. I ~eed help from all of you tolocate possible candida~es - please!

Al~. E. WerolinHonorary Membership Chairman

1. MEMBERSHIP: At the 6th issue in 1976 the mem­bership was 860. At the 6th issue in 1977, itwas 952, a gain of approximately 11%

If anyone has any question as to this procedure, thewhyfores, or why we do not use a computer type method,etc., I will be happy to explain or discuss furtheron an individual basis.

2. SIZE OF BULLETIN; The average size for the 1976period was 30.7 pages. This year it was 35.3 pagesfor the same period - up 14%.

Anita Nickels JohnsonMembership Secretary.

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1977 AMICA Convention - San Francisco scenes.Photos contributed by Evelyn !~eder.

Center photo contributed by Ursula D. Hollinshead.

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absolutely EVERYTHING, and he also sang or hummedEVERY roll anyone mentioned. Back to the books, boys!And everyone loved him for it! His knowledge isonly exceeded by his charm! He even managed to talkthat left-footed-only M.Y. out onto the dance floor,something she never does. And it's amazing how ap­propriate she looked with Denis, doing the Charleston.You'll notice I won't go so far as to say she'seven a decent dancer, but at the least Denis didn'tupset her balance as did that Rootlinger fellow ••• hehad the NERVE to accuse her of pushing him into atable but dear darl ings, I was there, notebook inhand 'and I recall jotting-"Rootlinger, while trip­ping'the light fantastic, tripped over his fantastic,pull ing M.Y. with him into a table with a metal edge."Accuracy, Uber Alles!

And I am also the only person who knows how "Bubbles"Beckett got her nametag printed that way! An Ex­clusive!! Of course it isn't important who told me(all GOOD reporters protect their sources) but CaroleBeckett is an ardent admirer of Beverly Sills - aswho isn't - and she was so astounded (Carole, notBeverly) that the divine Miss Sills' real name isBubbles Silverman that Carole hoped that if she wentby such a frothy name, perhaps SHE would some daysing like Bubbles Perhaps she will, in the shower,but the stage still belongs to B.S. (Notice the ini­tials are the same in both cases - Sills anp Silver­man,~6u sill ies!) Actually, Carole's sparkling eyesbel ie her quiet manner ••• she is a MOST bubbly per­son. No, I must consult my notes more carefully: shemost enjoys the bubbley, is what is says here ....

Another thing you must have noticed: isn't it re­markable that a Denis C., a Bill Pix., and a ProperPhiladelphian 1 ike Dr. Bob can converse with eachother in such different accents, and yet all knewwhat the others were saying. Only in AMICA is thesubject so easily understood. Did I really hearsomebody say Am~co? Really! After al I this time?

What can be said about the marvelous instruments?Each collector can be so proud of them and happy theyall performed so well. This reporter finally hearda Photo-Player. I was beginning to suspect they ex­isted only in the wild imaginations of a Lucketty orRotlinger. But why didn't Ratl inger learn the wordsto "Little Mary Sunshine?" Such charming, innocentmusic and HE didn't know it. Well, of course thatexplains itself!

There was a sleeper at the convention. Oh, certainlynot an AMICA member - they never sleep - but of courseI'm referring to a roll that took everyone by sur­prise. I was told that it was coded from a straight88 note roll for the Ampico, but the only absolutefact that I gleaned is that the tempo as stated onit is far too fast. The roll is Art Tatum's "SweetLorraine" and if you didn't buy one, shame on you.We don't usually get to hear such a late style ofpiano playing, but thi~ty. It showswhat would have happened had the depression endedand World War II not have started. This is assumingthat those del ightful people out in Wichita wouldstill have invented the tubings and thingies neces-

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WILHELMINA WELTE AT THE WALDORF

Also, it was the Owner Himself of 824 Grove streetwho took the key and locked poor Molly Y. in. Andthose funny houses in San Francisco don't have backentrances I ike the sol id home in ~lidwherever - therear door was in the basement and M.Y. was completelybaffled as to how ti find it. She baffles easily,however, and waffles to. It was downright rude ofher to go dashing off so soon after the convention,leaving not one of her written words behind. Itturned out to be a boon to Tom Beckett, our belovedAMICA Publ isher, though.

Allow me to introduce myself. I'm that shy, retiringcreature who sat so quietly 1n the corner at the con­vention, taking accurate notes (as all GOOD reportersdo) observing the festivities, gasping at the ir­regularities, etc. Of course I know that the SanFranciscan isn't the Waldorf, silly, but the firstthing a GOOD reporter does is get the audience's at­tention. Which is almost impossible at an AMICA con­vention. Ask those dear writers who received awards.No one asked them to say a word. I suspect that nas­ty Al ice Ampico and that sneaky Doris DuoArtof lead­ing the thundering applause - just so those nice AWARDWINNING writers wouldn't have a chance to say at least"thank you." Those two are the most jealous writersI've ever read. And talk about innacurate! Why, M.Y.told me herself that she was accompanied by six niceyoung men (not eigh() and that Tommie's Joynt isspelled with a "Y" get the facts, dears,) and theinnuendo is that Tommie runs a BAR, of all things,when in real ity it's an inexpensive deli - I supposeAlice and Doris would use the vulgar word "cheap,"

Tom's own darl ing wife, Carole, contributed some ofthe best-written material the bulletin has yet seen.I hereby nominate her for a "best new writer of 1977"award. (Loves, you simply must keep those articlescoming.) Even though I think their methods are abso­lutely TACKY, I begrudingly admit that even Al ice andDoris have a way with words. Not always the truth,you understand, but always charmingly and convincingly.

And Ed Hayden! "Artrio ube/Alles." Indeed! Oh,well, what can you expect ~rom one of the few Angelus­Art'r i0

Artrio owners in existanceJ Not that the instrumentisn't mahvelous, darl ings, it's just that they areso RARE that those of us who hadn't heard one untilnow are simply WHELMED by that dashing, tempestouspiano of his.

And what can one say about Denis Condon, who motoredall the way from Austral ia just for us! Dear me, Ibelieve "motored" isn't the correct word. Whatever ...I can remember taking my usual accurate notes duringone of the many del icious meals we ate at the Wal­dorf - er, San Franciscan - and watching the facesof Doug McG., Bill Burkh. amd young Bil I Pixie (threeof our Resident Factual Experts Re: All Things Per­taining To Rwproducing Pianos and Their Rolls) asDenis not only awed them with HIS expertise, but hecould even tell them the correct tempo settings for

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sary to rebuild the instruments as they faded. Any­way, to get back to Art and Lorraine, the tempo sayssomething 1ike 70 and ~he roll is De-voon if playedat about 55. (And by the way, since I mentioned it,where WERE any of those people from Wichitaw? There'sone I remember from Buffalo whose name is Chopin, orLiszt or Gottshaulk or some other famous composer,but he DIDN'T come to San Francisco! How absent­minded of him!)

Frankly, folks, I think I've unearthed everythingworth printing - or dug up more dirt, if you prefer.But after all, a GOOD reporter always knows where todig for all those bodies that are buried.

All that remains is to circle the calendar for thenext convention, which as my accurate notes tell me,will be held in Dayton, Ohio, in June 1978, fromThursday the 22nd through Sunday, the 25th. Some­body bumped my arm while I was taking my always-ac­curate notes and the word "mini" is smudged so thatit looks like "maxi" but whatever sort of conventionit turns out to be in size, it will be duly reported(accurately!) by me next year. IF those upstarts,Al ice A. and Doris D.A. don't upstage me again!.

As sincerely as ever,

W,WWilhelmina Welte

SUFFICIENT "ANTIFREEZE" SUPPLY

ENABLES LATE CONVENTION REPORTMr. Tom Beckerrt ,AMICA Pub1eshertTaxws

Deer Mr. Beckets

I was asked by anise ladee who put up yhe bash downfrisco way to tel all my owen t~~pe55 Impressens QDarn, I caint spel wotrh a hoote) of the goins annes.So hear goos to the bist uf my abeelite. I ain'tmuch for fency leter writen I ain,t nivir gottenbeyond 2nd grede in skoole but i knows whats I lakesand thets whet I am gonna tel yu al aboot you see ilive up in ALASKA wear we gits wintre 9 moths a yeer,so i aint got nothin else to do bute set heer andwreete letures i got some gude berry juise rite neerme in case thinges get kinde of slow well all gudeameekins sterted thengs out by havin some gude wineand cheez at some le11ers house name of reetlengleor rut1eenger or retliner i fwegoet his neme tahtnaow mebbe more berry juise hellp me he shur do heva right mighty fancy hause looks loke the meetinhall in Fairbanks only they ainet got all .thet fenxywoodwark hes got they burned it in the firplace oneyeer when it got to 70 below you be shur to tel himyhe; now, will you mr breckete he didnt heve anymails in the doore eithere to keep the wolves andbars awey we do thet up heer mrbbe some tme i willcum down and putt some naels in his doores for him

1kie a gud naybor shoo1d I shur 1ikked them fanncyca~e1e'~ars we was ridin aroun in it shur beetshavin to yel MUSH when yu wants to git somewreesback at the hotle theys got sume rite smart pleyarpainners here and thar even sum withe drums and fid­dles and mandlins and geetars one AMEEKIN name ofberkland or bucklin or somethin had a reel prittypianner fur sale I offered him 40 foxe skins andthree squaws but he warnt inteerestee atall so. igives 60 fox 10 squaws and 5 bearskins and he stillain't intrested you shur hav sum hard to deal withfolks in frisco jest thinkin about i t manke mehanker for more bery juice you see I got me apianner thet uses rollers but i has to use my feetto make it work we ain't got eleektricitie up.hereyet my pianner is made by Mossbach and it ain't noaccount at all when it gits 70 below it just frizesright up I went to the teknial goins on 2 fellerstheir talkinright smart about fixin these thengsone was names weary or worry or very or somethinlik that the othur was johns son or john i cant re­membur tmme to get nother bolte of bery juise I

, shur did like thet big box of whistles we heered atthem peoples house up to woodsid the feller whoknows how to play it were reel good at it betterthen the rollers culd do mebbe thet AMMMican nameof Lucketty shuld werk harder on it I can writ reelgoode now thet I have anuther bottle of berry juicehere i cant tel yu abowt them houses some folks wentto see becuz i didn8t go atall thet place where allthe gerls go to schoole was shur pritty reminds meof the danceha1 in Anchorage speekin of gerls thatladee name of Molly Yechley or Yuch1ey or whateversure is some reel funee character i invited her tocome up and see me sometime and stay if she wantedi wuld give her man 80 foxskins 20 squaws and 10polar bearskins Molly sez no thenns she alreddy gota feather boa Dick redtlingter was dancin with itand fell right over a tabel when it sneezed or some­thin well mr Breckett i thinks i wil stop writinfor now until my next batch of berry juice is readynext week then i write some more you like?

Written by A. Nony Mous(be sure to give me credit Mr.Brack€&. )

Editor's reply: THE AMICA is happy to have yourarticles, Mr, Mous, but respectfully suggests thatlesser quatitites of berry juice consumed whilewriting would prevent a few grammatical errors.You will note that you misspelled "Texas." TB

- 241 -

ContributeJ by James Guinn

The SYMPHONYREED & PIPE ORGANS

As Supplied toHis Majesty the KING OF GREECE.His Majesty the KING OF PORTUGAL,

AN UNRIVALLED ACQUISITION TO ANY COUNTRY OR TOWN HOUSE.

These Instruments can beobtained either with OneManual or Two Manuals

. and Pedals, and can beplayed on the keyboardin the ordinary way, andare also fitted with

The

SYMPHONYSELF-PLAYING I

DEVICEfor those who do notpossess the technical know­ledge req1,lired to manipli­late the keyboard.

The Upper and LowerManuals and Pedals canbe either played by theMusic Roll together,.separately, or in any com­bination required.

The SYMPHONY is a Musical creation which has brnught the technique of the Organ to tl'e command of anyindividual whether or not he know a note of music. It has developed the features of Organ playing to the highest degree,and at the same time preserves the individuality of the performer :\s to sentiment, inspiration, or temperament.

The SYMPHONY Organ brings untold pleasure, for it gives not only the opportunity to hear good Music in endlessvariety and scope, but also the ability to play it. The laller feature is in itself the farthest reaching element of humanhappiness-the ability to perform. To accomplish this without preparation seems phenomenal. But the SYMPHONY·is a phenomenal Instrument.

Illustrated Catalogue Free on Application to-

J. HERBERT MARSHALL,Regent House, 233, Regent Street, London, W.

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Jnsfrumenfs

The following article is from the M.T.N.A. Proceed­ings, 1930 resulting from the 54th Annual Heeting ofthe Music Teachers National Association in St. LouisMissouri, December 29-31, 1930.

The article is reprinted only in part because of itslength, with attention given to the statistical ref­erences given of production figures in the early 20's.

Contributed by Roger Anderson.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE PIANO?W. OTTo MIESSNER

Min.oet In.titut. of Mu.ic. Chit.,o

I. THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE PIANO

THE somewhat provocative insinuations accompanying the an-nouncement in the program of this topic, "What is Hap­

pening to the Piano," reminds me of the famous rePly of MarkTwain to rumors of his untimely passing when he said, "Thesereports are grossly exaggerated." It would be useless to deny,however, what is a generally known fact, that the piano industryas a body is afflicted, that it is in a state of coma, that many ofits members have been stricken with paralysis. Nevi:.rtheless, thepiano itself possesses tremendous vitality and its vital organs areunimpaired. "Where there is life there is hope," and it wouldbe as foolish to predict the passing of the piano as to doubt thefuture existence of music itself. Because the piano so vitallytouches almost every phase of music making, and particularly thatof "homemade" music, it is important that we investigate and tryto understand "what has happened to it."

Some of us may indulge in temperamental aversions to facts;we may dislike facing them, but face them, willy-nilly, we must.First, let us remember that it is impossible for anyone activelyengaged in the music world to escape the consequences of aneconomic and cultural revolution. Let no one think himself im­mune. There can be no "idealistic isolation" of the artist fromthe artisan, no divorce between professional and commercial inter-

ests. All are part of the economic circle which encompasses thecreation, production, distribution, and consumption of music. Com­poser, printer, and publisher; designer, manufacturer, and! retailer;performer, teacher and pupil- all have inter-related interests.Whatever forces, therefore, may affect one of these, will affect all.

Situations must determine strategies. Diagnosis must precedetreatment. Beyond doubt the piano industry is ill; you know thatit is in a state of crisis. More than half t~ American pianofactories are closed. Houses with old and respected names aredeceased. Those remaining are becoming sterile. I have found thelargest factories turning part of their facilities to making motorboats, furniture, laboratory equipment, and coffins - the latterexpedient seeming singularly appropriate.

Such startling failures as that of the great American PianoCompany (recently reorganized), controlling famous trade-markslike "Mason & Hamlin," "Chickering," and "Knabe," find echoesin the German piano industry. A report just received from theUnited States Department of Foreign Commerce announces thefailure of the "Deutsche Piano Werke A.G." with liabilities ofover 6,500,000 marks, which will completely wipe out its capital.Quoting from the rePort, "The reason given for the collapse,

• • • it is stated, is mainly to be found in the recent stagna-tion of the sale of pianos." Conditions among English andCanadian manufacturers are reported to be equally dePressing.

Since the piano has long been recognized as the basic musicalinstrument for education and for homemade entertainment it isinevitable that its present condition should be reflected throughoutthe entire musical circle. It behooves us all, then, to inquire intothese economic and social forces, to endeavor to interpret them,to seek suitable remedial measures and to determine to apply them.

If anyone still doubts that the piano has declined let himconsult the Ctnsus of Manufacturtrs of the United States Depart­ment of Commerce, pertaining to the sale of musical instrumentsfor the years 1921 to 1929.

The dominant role assumed by the mechanical player from1914 to 1925 deserves particular study, for it is now evident thatthe piano industry "took thl= road to ruin" when it gleefullyadopted this new expedient and departed from its time-honoredpractice of selling to parents on the basis of the advantages of

U. S. CENSUS REPORTS PRODUCTION OF PIANOS-NUMBERS1939 1937 1935 1933 1931 1919 1914 1909

Total Pianot........................... 130,012- 218,140 306,584 347.589 UI,310 341,653 336,374 364.545Straighb

Upripb ........................... 48,686 69,864- 87,385 105,748 88,655 138,171 337,686 331.309

Granda: Baby ........................ 35.538 43,773 40,357 38,M4 15,613 17,973Parlor ....................... 7,7°3 8,757 6"70 5.199 3,56'1 2,172Concert ...................... 347 z93 579 666 101 87

Total Granda ......................... 430481 53,Sa3 47,106 44.589 11,376 30,333 9,679 8.730

Total Straighb ........................ 93,174 133,686 134.391 150,337 106,931 151,4"3 Z37,365 330,039

PlayersUpright Playera .................... 191022- 76,447 143,831 170,549 101,534 166,091Upright Reproducers ................ 1.4"7 4.096 50476 13,658 5.309 11.488

Total Upright Players............... 3D,449 80,543 r49,307 183,307 106,843 177,579 84.456 34.495

Baby Grand Playen.................... 4"3 49° 5,387 1,397 348 1,195Baby Grand Reproducers ..••••••••••••• 5,565 7.U 3 7,597 5.373 2,2-61 839Parlor Grand Players.................. 4" 4" 156 106 31 13Parlor Grand Reproducers •••••••••••••• a,12! 1,182 3,S43 3,631 1.433 113

Total Grand Players................... 1,151 8,937 15,S83 9,506 4.063 3.159 831 :n

Automatic Pianot ...................... 9,358 5.974 4.303 4.539 30374 3,5" 3,633

Total Players ......................... 37,838 95.454 169.193 197,z53 114,389 183,349 88,809 34.5·6

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Jnsfrumenfs

culture for their children. 'Ibe public soon tired of the toy.Then "Along Came Ruth" disguised as radio. Human curiosityresponded to this mysterious mistress of the air as it had neverbefore accepted a new invention. Very soon radio furnished enter­tainment not only more varied, but it provided music of all kindsat less expense and no effort. When radio was crowned Queenof the BaIl the piano became a wall-flower.

If you think this picture overdrawn, remember that in 1909,when 330,000 pianos were placed in American homes, the playerwas not yet a factor. Compare this figure with the 60,000 pianosestimated to have been sold in 1930.' Of course, no one reallyknows the number of pianos now in American homes; much lessis known concerning the number of these that have changed hands,nor how many youngsters are now taking piano lessons.

Substantiatint Comparisons

The United States Occupational Census for 1910 showed160,000 persons gainfully employed in music which then rankedthird among the professions. In 1920 this number had decreasedto 130,000, and music ranked fifth. For 1930, the number ofmusicians and music teachers is not yet known. However, theAmerican Federation of Musicians has given out the statementthat sixty per cent of our professional musicians are unemployed.Thi~ of course, is due to the substitution of machi~-made forhand-made music in theaters, movies, hotels, and dance halls.Some musicians, thus displaced have sought refuge in other occu­pations; some, undoubtedly, have taken to ~aching, which hascomplicated competition in this field. Moreover, since some fifteenthousand movie organists have lost their jobs, many of these arenow taching piano, which complicates matters still further. It isdifficult to determine, therefore, whether to attribute the economicdifficulties of piano teachers to this increased competition or todwindling numbers of pupils.

Uninformed optimists insist that more people are studyingmusic today than ever before and they point to the growing num­ber of school bands and orchestras as proof of this contentton.They may be right, but this does not ameliorate the plight ofthe piano builder, dealer, and teacher, for it may be evidencepointing to competition between the piano and the saxophone asmedia of musical expression. Let us look at the figures.

TABLE B

BAND AND ORCHEITJ,A INITJ,UMBNTI

However, lest we become too nonchalant, it would be justas well to inquire a bit further into the symptoms affiicting ourpatient, the piano. Musically speaking, its three chief com­petitors are the movies and talkies, the phonograph, and the radio.Comparative figures on movie expenditures are not available, butthe admissions for 1929 were estimated to exceed two billiondollars - double the amount of 1925. The most startling reve­lations are found in the reports for phonographs and radios.

3' ,3+>$ 6,416,46&

1520,106

$aa,193,70&

CombinalionRadio

1,978,051$ 9s,r6o,393

4,938,099$&5 1,074,965

TABLE D

REPORTS FOR PHONOGRAPHS AND RADIOS

Phonograph.19&1...... .. .. .. .. .. ... 596,033

$38,604,73919&3.. .. .. • .. • .. .. .. .. • 997,459

$57,037,06019&5................... 64&,015

$&&,6 13,90919&1··................. 1,015,045

$4&,8&5,70819&9.. .. .. .. .. • • • • • • • • . 600,87&

$&0,559,5 ,6

The above figures do not include the value of tubes nor ofradio and phonograph cabinets made in furniture and piano fac­tories. Furthermore, the figures for 1921-1925 show combinedsales of phonographs and radios. In 1927 the phonograph figuresreflect the stimulus of electrical recording and in 1929 we notethat these years showed an increase of radios sold from two tofive milIion sets, in round numbers, while phonographs declinedfrom a million to six hundred thousand. One is forced to theconclusion that we buy things in direct inverse ratio to the effortrequired to make use of them. It certainly has applied successivelyto pianos, players, phonographs, and radios, for with each, intum, there has been less for us to do ourselves.

Thus far, the condition of the piano appears to be critical,especially in the light of 1930 sales estimated at only 60,000 instru­ments. A quick survey of the Weekly Business Conditions Bulletinfor December 20, 1930, however, informs us that residential build­ing is nearly forty-three per cent below 1929 and over sixty percent below 1928. Automobile output is forty-five per cent below thatof 1929 and even the movie and the radio people are in the dol­drums. Therefore, while the piano's decline is substantiated by asimilar drop among its relatives, the other musical instruments,and aggravated by gi~tic gains on the part of its rivals, themovie and the radio, yet its present low state is somewhat ameli­orated by COfIsiderations of the present world-wide business depres­sion affecting even such staple commodities as shelter, food, andclothing.

Percussion$ &,886.458

Zt715,3 Ia&,&34.83&

String$ 5,858,714

4,2001.°133,019,504

Wind

19&5.. •••• ..... ••• .....$ 9,411,97819&1.. • • .. .. .. • • .. • • • .. 8,394.78519&9................... 5,5&7,180

TABLE C

COMPARISON OF NUMBER OF INITJ,UMENTS S01.l>-19&9

The above figures show that, after all, the piano, despite itslarger cost, is still a healthy rival since " is exceeded in numbersonly by guitara and ukuleles.

Pianos ,Bra .Saxophon .Woodwind .Banjoe .Guitan .Mandolin .Uk.I.I .Violine .

130 ,012­74,7&633.°201'9,65 680,154

16&,6&1&7,760

139,9963,677

- ?44 -

Jlmica

,liTHE ULTIMATE DUO-ART?"

A REPLY

BY CRAIG BROUGHER

In reply to Gordon Ralph's "Ultimate" Duo-Art article,(September '77, page 169) it's easy enough to see heis really in love with that piano. Duo-Art reallyput the machinery and hardwood into their playersand the craftsmanship is very good.

However, in answer to Gordon's excitement about pneu­matic sizes - I think a number of enthusiasists getcarried away about that, bel ieving that heavier ham­mers need larger pneumatics to lift them. I believethis can be disproved fairly easily.

It is immaterial to the artist or to the Duo-Artwhat the hammer weight is. The only thing of con­cern is the striking force and corresponding loudnesscaused by the strike. So although bass hammers aresomewhat heavier than tenor or treble, the increasedsensitivity of longer strings makes up the differencecaused by hammer weight, However, all this is ac­counted for during the design and testing of a pianoscale and a relatively even loudness gradient is de­digned into a fine piano and is tested by a standardkey striking device for a smooth loudness gradientwith equal weight key strikes.

The real reason for using larger pneumatics in thebass and tenor sections of early players was to com­pensate for the longer strings greater sensitivityto soft playing and the piano's inherent extra loud­ness in the bass when playing softly. A long stringseems to have a greater "degree of expression" be­cause it resonates longer and more easily. So byputting larger volume pneumatics in these sections,designers tried to do the artist's job for him byusing a slower closing pneumatic which would make anappreciable percentage difference on soft playingbut not noticable on harder playing. (The extraforce due to size cannot be real ized as long as thepneumatics are all at least above a certain minimumsize to make a full power strike).

Some have speculated that early Duo-Arts had largervalve settings for larger pneumatics, but if theydid, it can easily be seen that valve travel lossesand repetition rates would suffer on an exponentialscale with each extra "thousandth of an inch" addedto the travel. Since it is important that repetitionrate be reasonably even throughout and especiallyvalve travel losses on a Duo-Art be set at optimumfor each valve, the only proper method to give a pneu­matic quicker draft would be by increasing valvediameter, not changing a small valve setting. Thetest roll bears this fact out by quietly playing achord, then not playing the same chord when onlyseveral more notes are added on the same intensity.The Duo-Art people were familiar with the optimumratios of valve diameter and valve travel, and ifthey had desired the bass section to play harder,you would have seen 3 or 4 different sizes of valves

Jorum

corresponding to your larger pneumatics. Since thisis not the case, rbelieve'we can be fairly certainthat they desired a slower velocity pneumatic in thebass.

Later on. the company produced even better playersand you will notice those pneumatics are all 7/8"wide, which is sti 11 larger than really needed andtherefore will still express the full content of themusic. Concerning the string resonance, they de­cided to let the artist compensate for the extra bassresonance himself.

In regard to the fancy pump and with all due respectto its high qual ity, I think I'll have to give theedge to the less expensive Ampico design. It is moreeasily restorable in my opinion, and there will neverbe a question of noise in the connecting rods ifthey are self-adjusting maple and felt, well-greasedand firm. There is just no bearing noise in thatsystem when properly restored.

All pumps are subject to thumping and shimmy but it'susually caused by a bel lows leak or valve leak thatcauses a varying load and pulley speed on one side.

Inail, Gordon, I'd say you have a truly great piano ­but ultimate? There ain't no such bird!

ADDRESS WANTEDA few of us are trying to track down a roll record­ing star, Mr. Rudy Erlebach, who has recorded quitea few rolls, the latest company being QRS as late asthe late 1950's.

I wrote to QRS to ask if they had any address on himbut was guided to place my request in THE AMICA NewsBulletin. If anyone can supply the informationplease write: Al Greco, P.O. Box 2329, Boston, MA02107.

A~IPI CO B QUERYI am wondering if anyone has ever made a measureddrawing of the Ampico model "B" stack strikers or ifsomeone can provide measurements of the parts in theillustration found in the 1929 Service Book. Thankyou. Brian Jonathan Gerl, Wisconsin Conservatory ofMusic Library, 1584 North Prospect Ave., Milwaukee,WI 53202.

-------------FROM EMMETT FORD

Many people at the San Francisco convention asked meto send them information and to write articles onvarious pianists who made rolls, but I've lost mynotes and addresses. I apologize for the inconveniencebut if those parties are still interested and willsend a self-addressed stamped envelope to me at 649N. Pinecrest, Wichita, KS 67208 I will make good onmy promises.

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Jlmica

HELP WANTED ON AN "APOLLO" RESTORATIONAs the owner of a restored 1909 He1ville Clark Apollo(serial number 15288), I have heard all about the"bad i • qualities of the piano (i.e., pumps hard,doesn't track,spring motor is noisy, player actionisn't rebuildable, poor quality piano, etc.).

My personal observations after 7 years of trouble-freeoperation and very heavy usage are that it doesn'tpump all that hard, tracking is no problem if youalign the music roll prior to playing, the springmotor is one of the most quiet means of motive powerever devised, and they are obviously rebuildable assomeone did a beautiful restoration job on mine.

In fact, with the piano's very commendable track re­cord, I eve~ went so far as to locate and purchaseanother one and thus, my problem. I ran across a1904 Apollo (serial number 8064). I personally be­lieve a more accurate date would be 1907 as the platebears a patent date of March 5, 1907 and I don't seehow in 1904 thay could have projected a future patentdate. The piano is solid walnut and very large, afull 59" in height. The case is not ornate, but verymassive in construction. An illustration appears onpage 24 of the current edition of Player PianoTreasury.

The problem is this. Some misguided soul at somepoint in time removed the stack from the piano.Everything else is intact. The entire piano is in ex­ceptionally choice unrestored condition. The lowerplayer unit is complete and all mounting bracketsand linkage for the stack are intact. I bought the

Jorum

piano full-well knowing that the stack was gone, butthe quality and construction of the instrument aresuch that I feel it should definitely be preserved.I have looked at literally hundreds of upright play­ers in the past few years and pianos of this qualityand construction seem to be few and far between.

Can any member or non-member who happens to read thisgive me a lead on the location of a stack or a com­plete piano which could be stripped for parts? AllI need is the stack but I will consider purchasingthe entire piano if the owner does not wish to breakit up. I can't give accurate serial numbers butwould guess somewhere between 6000 and 10,000 mightdo it. Visual identification aids would be as fol­lows: keyboard measures 47 11/16" from one end tothe other - important as the player acts on the keysdirectly behind the fallboard (stack must fit thekeys). Also the vacuum feed to the stack is routedthrough the keybed adjacent to the keyboard and notbehind the keybed as in later Apollos. Another pos­sible means of identification might be the pedals.In the early Apollos the pedals slide under the pianowhen not in use and do not fold into the case. Thebellows are activated by metal "arms" which extendoutward from the case just below the keybed and areattached by linkage to the pedals. See referencedillustration for accurate identification.

If anyone can help me out on this I would appreciate 4hearing from them. I truly feel this project isworth while as the restored piano would be represen­tative of one of the earlier examples of 88-noteplayers. Thanks. Jerry Pell, 32352 Crete, SouthLaguna, CA 92677.

aoffs and J!(usic

BOB BARNS AND AN EVOLUTION

OF REPRODUCING PIANO JAZZ ROLLS

BY ROBERT L. BAKER

I always enjoy seeing how automatic music enthusiastsdeal with the limitations in either repertoire orcapabilities of their instruments. Recently, Ifound out how Bob Barns, a frequent contributer tothe AMICA Bulletin's pages, was using some novelmethods to suit his musical tastes.

As a member of the Technical Staff in the ResearchDepartment at Bell Laboratories, Bob was acquaintedwith sophisticated problem-solving. He spoke aboutdeveloping a method for adding expression to al­ready-perforated piano rolls: "The general processof reducing a problem to its simplest and most con-

crete form led to trying to think of all possibleways of making holes of a controlled size and at agiven location in paper. For example: punches,razor blade, focused sunlight, lasers, bullets,acid, high velocity liquid or gas jets, hot objectssuch as rods, wires, or blades, motor-driven sawsor cutter wheels. Most of these have obvious draw­backs, so I tried an electrically-heated wire whichwas mounted on a handle and shaped to burn a holeof the proper width. The first one built workedperfectly. "

The system was not flawless. "If the temperatureof the wire is set too high, the rolls sometimesbursts into flame! Embarrassing, but not disas­trous since the hole (sometimes ~" in diameter) canbe patched. This still happens to me once in agreat while." Refinements followed in a much-sim­plified and neater power supply to replace the bat­tery charger initially used to heat the formed wire.

- 247 -

cJ!olls and J!{usic

Another manifestation of Bob's concern for qualitycontrol is reflected in the double water manometerthat continuously monitors the bass and' treble va­cuum levels of the Knabe grand. The combinationof the varying volumes of music with th~ simultaneousrisings and faIlings of the green and purple columnsis an intriguing aural and visual demonstration ofthe expression. The manometric device was describedin the August, 1977 Bulletin on page 154.

At the Ampico drawer of his Knabe grand, Bob isshown using the heated-wire device to encode ex­pression holes.

Another facet of his interest is quality control."One thing I pay a lot of attention to is keepingthe (Knabe Ampico grand) piano in perfect condition.That's because I don't want to spend a lot of timepunching holes the piano won~ play. If my piano'sdoing something funny, then the roll won't soundgood on someone else's piano. In this regard, I'mbuilding a (large-scale, integrated circuit) monitorfor continuous roll speed."

Barns operating the Star Perforator. Bob's rightindex finger is on the actuator bar. At the rearof the actuator, one black and four white "keys"visually indicate which of the perforator's 88 pun­ches have been selected.

An admitted jazz fan since college days, Bob thendecided to develop some jazz rolls for his KnabeAmpico grand. He was fortunate in being able toread sheet music, and the Star perforator was anideal production tool. He notes, "The Star willteach you to read music far better than previouscasual acquaintance had." Among his first attemptsto cut modern jazz rolls were the Art Tatum compo­sitions "At Sundolm" and "Runnin' Wild." The re­sults I"ere, in Bob's words, "very satisfying. Asurpri~ing thing is how alittle (expression) codingcan materially improve the sound of a standard 88­note roll."

Simultaneously with these developments, Bob beganto experiment with the Ampico expression codingsystem. "I could watch Ampico rolls I~hile theyplayed and compare the sound with the coding. Ac­tually, I didn't do much of this and the learningprocess consisted mostly of cut and try. I wouldcode a section (of roll) and if I didn't like thesound of it, expression holes were patched overwith tape and new coding tried. When I now listento some rolls coded several years ago, I'm surprisedhow much better the present work is. The old onessounded good at the time."

Bob determined that while it was possible to perfo­rate a music roll with the formed, heated wire, thiswas a tedious process. It took about 30 hours forhim to create a roll of "The Entertainer," by ScottJoplin. His productivity was greatly increased withthe purchase of a rare Star Perforator from-Ed Fryer,of Flemington, New Jersey (Ed had purchased the per­forator from the son of the device's inventor, Al­bert Suchy, of Philadelphia.)

Another view of Barns at the Star Perforator.

- 248 -

~offs and JKusic

Reflecting on the mysterious forces that led hin tocreate reproducing jazz rolls, Bob said, "Punchingrolls sounded like something fun to do. I supposeone thing that's fun about it is you can make musicwithout having to practice! Another thing is bothexpressionizing and punching rolls is like computerprogramming which I enjoy." It is not withouthardships, however. "One of the biggest difficul­ties in punching new rolls is finding good arrange­ments or good transcriptions. Most published music,popular type, is highly simplified so the averagepianist has a good chance of playing the stuff."

Bob's efforts over the past year to get a commercialJ:'elease of his works have finally met with success,A well-known Seattle, Washington, music roll firmwill release a few of Bob's rolls in the next fewmonths. Another enthusiast in England is pursuinga similar goal.

written by M. Torme and R. Wells and published byEdwin H. Morris and Co. The roll is QRS CEL-lS8played by Peter Duchin. For a nice, smooth, flow­ing arrangement in modern style of a holiday favor­ite, ~1r. Duchin fairly \"ell fills the bill in thatarea with gentle, rolling chords and accents. Anice new production.

REIDYS HOST OCTOBER MEET

find it reassuring that Bob's research and de­velopment "on the preparation and characterizationof single-crystal materials such as quartz, lithiumtantalate and niobate, ruby, silicon" involving "x­ray diffraction measurements, optical and electronmicroscopy" besides benefitting the telephone in­dustry also has beneficial effects for the jazz­oriented automatic nusic enthusiast. There is, thus,a similarity of approach in scientific problem-solv­ing where some new and some old tools yeild a sig­nificant bonus to the hobby.

d.

PIANO ROLL REVIEWBY DAN TUTTLE

SS-Note Rolls

"Hesitation Blues" - A foxtrot with words and musicby Scott Middleton and Billy Smythe. Published byBilly Smythe Music Co. in 1915, the roll is QRS #533played by Pete Wendling. The song and arrangementof this roll is very close to the style of the H.C.Handy song "The Memphis Blues" that is also playedby Pete Wendling. A very good blues.

"Charleston Ball" - From the show "The Brown SkinRevue" a foxtrot written by Donald Heywood and pub­lished by Marks Music Co. The rolls is a US Roll#43431 played by Cal Welch. As a description of theroll, it is to be said that it is all hand-playedand very well at that. Its sound is sort of likea light blues number.

"Don't Bring Me Posies" (It's Shoesies That I Need) ­A foxtrot with words by McCabe and Jennings andmusic by Fred Rose. Music and words copyrighted in1921 by Irving Berlin, Inc. This roll is QRS wordroll #2000 played by Max Kortlander. A humorous typesong well played by Mr. Kortlander with words like"Roses are nice, I believe, but I can't dress likemother Eve."

"The Christmas Song" - A favorite Christmas song

BY BILL TOEPPE

The AMICA Southern Cal ifornia Chapter held its Oc­tober meeting at the Santa Ana home of Dave and DianneReidy in the afternoon of Saturday, 22 October 1977.

The Reidy's collection is concentrated on phonographsand the collection spans from early cyl inder phono­graphs to more modern juke boxes. However, the col­lection also includes memorabi I ia from the QueenMary, one arm bandits, old radios, some early elec­tric lamps, ice cream fountain items, I iquor bottles,etc.

Dave Reidy (on right) demonstrating the Knabe Ampico.

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d. J'e:cas

Music was provided by a Knabe Ampico grand piano anda Reginaphone as wei I as the phonographs.

Our hosts Dianne and Dave Reidy.

Progress continues on our project, the restorationof the McGroarty Center Ampico reproducing piano.Much of the piano case has been stripped. The repro­ducing mechanism is nearing completion.

Our annual Christmas party wi II be held in the even­ing, Saturday, 3 December 1977, at the home of Dickand Millie Rigg in La Habra.

TONNESENS HOST OCTOBER MEETINGBY DICK BARNES

On October 9, Texas AMICA met in Richardson at thehome of Richard and Janet Tonnesen. Many memberswere present including Honorary AMI CAn Ruth BingamanSmith accompanied by her long-time friends AdelineLaTaste and Bob Craig.

Richard and Janet's 1917 Weber Duo-Art grand is inthe process of complete restoration and was playingvia remote spoolbox. It shared the spotlight with a

Members and guests enjoy the Duo-Art.

1927 Marshall &Wendell upright Ampico that has arather interesting story behind it. About two yearsago when the Tonnesens were on vacation they stoppedin St. Louis, Missouri at a pizza parlor for a bitof lunch. Steven Tonnesen, about ten at the time,after taking a turn about the place returned and an­nounced that there was "an Ampico back there." Rich-ard, dubious, dutifully followed him to the backand sure enough, there it stood. Minus its frontwhich had been replaced with plexiglass and with all

Richard Tonnesen at the computer for the perforator.

its moving parts covered with different hues of fluor­escent paint (as any self-respecting pizza pianoshould be) it literally cried out to be taken awayfrom all this. It hadn't been able to play even 88note rolls for two years. Fortunately there hadbeen no major surgery. Quick investigation showedit to still b~ a complete Ampico so a quick deal was

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/

crezas to.. .• r-----

Doyle Cassel and Janet Tonnesen at the refreshmenttable.

L. to r.: Noble (Buc) Stidham, Wade Newton, and BertPlonien admire the beautifully designed and· craftedTonnesen perforator.

Our thanks to all the Tonnesens for an extremelyenjoyable afternoon.

At the opposite end of the house in a front bedroomSteven was exhibiting, to the delight of some andfrozen horror of others, his pet boa constrictor."Killer," as he is called, is a bit over three feetlong and about one and a half inches in largestdiameter except when he is full of mice at whichtime he is a bit more rotund. He appeared very doc­ile and tame but Steven, IYho is quite a herpetologist,was quick to point out that boas will not be domes­ticated. He simply lYas not hungry!

While the cold meats, cheeses, and delightful freshvegetables with appropriate dips were being sampledby the assemblage, two very intriguing demonstrationswhich I will try to describe were going on at oppo­site ends of the house. In a small, immaculate,climate-controlled room at the rear of the houseRichard, whose business is computers, was demonstrat­ing a roll perforator he built. Cosmetically it isbeautiful to see. Constructed within a heavy frameof solid oak its various metal parts of aluminum,brass and steel are all smoothly finished and pol­ished and obvious ly the '''ork of a superb craftsman.This was proven when it was set into operation. Forthe demonstration it lYas programmed to punch out atest pattern of more holes than would be used in cut­ting an ordinary music roll, yet it did so with verylittle noise and hardly any vibration. Richard ex­plained that the punch ram is delicately counter~

balanced to eliminate noise and vibration as much aspossible. Designed and built by Richard, the per­forator will read from a source (music roll), im­mediately transcribe this onto computer tape whichwill in turn operate the perforator. It is designedto punch 4 copies of a roll at a time.

Texas Amicans enjoying an opportunity to visit withHonorary Amican Ruth Bingaman Smith.

ing and challenging as it uses a number of musicalexamples that did not pass the test of time and area bit shrouded in obscurity. Out of a possible 100,James Kelsey attained a score of 94 which I feel isquite remarkable, and was awarded a copy of the spe­cial AMICA Convention roll of "San Francisco."

(',

•. "f\ J'

Y i.,.

_ ..s.rth_r_ ..

made and now it resides with the Tonnesens and playsas it was intended to do. ~10ral? Check your localpizzeria - you never know what you'll turn up.

A short and rather lively business meeting conductedby president Tony Palmer brought forth a number ofnominations for next year's officers as well as somewho volunteered! AHICA is alive and well and livingin Texas. Elections will be conducted December 11at the annual Christmas party hosted this year bythe Becketts.

Immediately after the meeting the assembled group,led by host Richard Tonnesen and Wade Newton, par­ticipated in the Aeolian game "Play Me Another." Thefirst time one is exposed to this is quite interest-

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,'- .I~

MIDWEST CHAPTER MEETINGBY MOLLY YECKLEY

If you thought, as I din, that a Coloma was what isused part-way through a sentence, you're also wrong.It's a city (village?) in Mic~igan quite nearby toBenton Harbor. Where's that? Well, not too far fromChicago. Or from South Bend, Indiana, either. Any­way, we all found it sooner or later - I was only ahalf-hour "later" than most ...

Everyone listens as the Marshall & Wendell "A"plays away.

We partied until midnight, feasting eyes, ears, andstomachs on antiques, music, and good food. It's alittle difficult to explain, exactly, but BennettLeedy's instrument collection is housed at his par-

Three Leedys and a Lyric. Bennet, Bob, and Barryplus the Recorda on the right.

ent's home, but he doesn't live there anymore. Heteaches school in another city in Michigan but some­how has talked his folks into keeping his instrumentsfor him. Wish I had parents like that! We heard aMarshall & Wendell Ampico "A", 1926 and 5'2" in size;a \~eber Duo-Art, 1925, Model WR 5'3", and a 1927Hampton 88-note pumper and an upright Kimball Welte,1921. Bennett has the same problem we hAve here ­there are things to admire about each of the instru­ments but to make the perfect instrument I think I'dtake the delicate pianissimo of the Weber, the actionof the Hampton, the thunder of the Kimball, etc.Know what I mean? Yet each instrument had somethingexceptional to offer. The Marshall &Wendell accom­panied Brenda Leedy and her timing with the roll wasexquisite. I'm quite sure many hours of practicewent into making it sound so easy and effortless,Brenda, and we thank you for it~ Brenda is Bennet'ssister, I almost forgot to mention.

AMICA Midwest Chapter officers for 1978-9. L. tor.: President, Bennet Leedy; Board Rep., BillEicher; Treasurer, Alvin Wulkekuhl; Secretary, Jimweisenborne. Absent was Jim Prendergast - VP;

The Leedy home is a veritable storehouse of collec­tions. I especially remember a stunning gilded,painted cabinet just inside the front door and thinkit was French. Also, I saw my first room "~Jallpa­

pered" wi th pi ano ro 11 s. Over the doorways and fromfloor to ceiling were a feast for the eyes stackedin the "roll room." The Duo-Art Accompaniment rollsalone made my fingers itch and I even managed totalk Bennet into lending me a Welte accomp. roll forthe "Adagio" of Grieg's A Minor Piano Concerto.When I say "accompaniment" roll I mean the orchestralreduction that requires a pianist at another instru­ment, playing the first piano part. I think I bitoff more than I can chew, however. "Adagio" is sup­posed to mean "relatively slow" but someone forgotto tell Grieg that when he wrote it. I counted 24notes in one measure! (One at a time, in 64ths.)However, later on in the evening I took a bravery

- 252 -

,c.. .'.~

pill and played on the Weber while the Marshall &Wendell accompanied me on the second part of theMozart Sonata in D K. 448, for two pianos. The Weberwas very responsive and I enjoyed myself - probablymuch more than did my audience!

We all had a very good time; the Leedys had taken thetime to plan a program for us and the food was en­joyed by all. We thank them for all their efforts.

Brenda Leedy sings to an accompaniment roll.

L. to R.: Bill Burkhardt, Ron Olsen, and Jim Doheny.

Next morning at 10:30, we sampled the hospitality ofanother branch of the Leedy tree. Again, I understandthat we were viewing Barry Leedy's collection, housedat his brother Bob's house! We got the businessmeeting out of the way first and elected Bennet forchapter president for 1978-79. Bill Eicher willagain serve as Board Representative. (Our bylaws

provide that we elect only some officers each year,and the others have another year to go.) Most of thetalk was of the upcoming Dayton convention in June,1978 - are you all putting dimes away in your piggybanks for that Event?

The Leedys will probably kill me, or at the veryleast say that I wasn't listening, but I still don'tunderstand the explanation of how a Recordo works!We heard a 1921 Lyric Recorda, 4'8" grand, and ithas so~ething to do with five steps or ten steps - ormaybe it was "The 39 Steps" but I think that's anEnglish movie I saw on TV - but at any rate I didfinally get to hear a Recordo. I think it was avery neat piano and it certainly did express itself.

While we ate another Luscious Leedy Lunch (I know theevening meal the night before wasn't a "lunch" but Iwas determined to be alliterate somewhere in this re­port - note I didn't say "illiterate!"). Where wasI? Oh, yes - while we ate, a lovely Duo-Art uprightwas playing, not exactly in the background, but notintrusively, either. Gee, I hope I have the correct

"So this is a Lyric Recorda" (1. to r.): Bob Foster,Ron Olsen, and Carl Blair seem to be saying.

piano when I say it was the Wheelock. I do love up­right reproducers having heard four of them now.They have a different balance of sound than grands,but they are every bit as lovable. We in AMICA domanage to spoil each other, though. Sooner or laterI'll wind up with an upright piano, you wait and see.

Anyhow, I want to thank the whole Leedy family fortheir concentrated efforts to show us a lovely week­end. Bob and his wife Regina were our host and host­ess on Sunday; the parents of the Lovely Leedys wereextremely gracious to us all on Saturday night, andhow any or all of them managed to even get the wea­ther to cooperate, I'll never know. The trees wereat their awesome autumnal peak and I recall how BillEicher startled us all when he leaped to his feet,

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cfKounfain

dashed to a large picture window, and pointed outsloe,saying, "Look at those geese, flying in a V!" BobLeedy explained that Coloma is part of a flyway formigrating geese (oh-oh, do I mean ducks?) and itwould seem that we were fortunate enough to have afine time, gorgeous scenery, excellent hosts, andanother delightful AMICA get-together to add to ouralbums. Our guest-coming-the-farthest this time was

Listening to the Kimball Welte are (1. to r.) LawrenceFrazer, Bill Ackman, Ron Olsen, Ai Wulfekuhl and ownerBennet Leedy (seated).

Ron Olsen, all the way from Minneapolis, Minnesota.And our thanks to Stan Favret for his excellent pic­tures! If I only had a camera like his ... but itwould probably cost a piano to get it. Besides which,the talent that goes with his pictures can't be bought.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTERBY J. BRATTON

This report from our chapter wi I 1 cover two meetings.From now on, with a new reporter, Jere DeBaker, re­ports will be a bit more prompt.

In May we met at J. Bratton's home to hear., again,a program presented for the group before the chapterwas formed. A turnout of 16 members and 4 guestsproved an enjoyable occasion. We were treated to thefine playing of Professor Theodor Lichtmann, headof the Piano Department at University of Denver'sSchool of Music. He performed, among other works,

T. Lichtmann surrounded by Roy Gorish, Don Belshaw,Rich Marshner, Bruce Belshaw, Pete Levine, LarryKerecman, Dick Hull, Jeannie Reblitz, Art Reblitzand guest David Boyajian. Seated behind T. Licht­mann is Toni Hart.

the Beethoven piano duet, (DA 7213) "Sonata in DMajor, Opus 6" with H. Bauer on the Weber 1925 ~/R

Duo-Art grand; on the Mason & Haml in 1925 AAR he wasassisted by Mme. Sturkow-Ryder for Brahm's "HungarianDance No.5' in F Sharp Minor" (Ampico 65651-G). Theprogram was finished with Mozart's "Sonata in D MajorK. 448," (Ampico 68233-H) for two pianos. Teddy

Trying to get a business meeting going are: HostessMartin, Jere DeBaker, Anita Johnson, R. Kroeckel andB. Moore's leg.

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cfT(ounfain

played on the superb, but gutted (before Jim foundthe piano), Steinway Duo-Art AR with Maurice Dumesni Iplaying the M & H Ampico "A."

A punch "wi th punch" was consumed by a II and anotherfun get-to-gether meeting was completed on a beauti­ful May afternoon.

On Sunday October 2nd, the group motored to EstesPark to the home of Mrs. Lorraine Martin, better andaffectionately known to us as "B.J." (You'll have toask her to translate it!)

"B.J." singing "Homing."

David Boyajian, guest of Larry Kerecman lookingover some of the rolls.

After the usual business meeting, which includeddiscussion of the Christmas party and a meeting inGrand Junction at Steve and Anita's new well-travelledhome, we adjourned for a del ightful program.

Not only is "B.J." a super-great hostess, she isalso a fine and well-trained mezzo-soprano. She sang,accompanied by each of her instruments: Cadman's"At Dawning" (DA 1054-S) played by the composer onthe Steinway Duo-Art. Calvin Abbott accompaniment ~on the Chickering for "Homing" by del Riego (Ampico •3046l-G) was too heavy handed for her. But the high-I ight was the lovely "0 Mio Babbino Caro" ("0 My Be­loved Daddy") from "Gianni Schicchi" by G. Puccini(Ampico 3003l-G) with a sensitive and warm accompani­ment by Milton Suskind. It was so well sung anddeeply appreciated by all of us. Our most gratefulthanks to "B.J." for a wonderful afternoon of music.

AI I await our Christmas bash!

JJioorapRicaf 8,llefcRes ·t:=----:

HONORARY MEMBER ELMER H. HUNHOLZEditor's note: A short time ago we asked AMICA'shonorary member Elmer Hunholz to supply some materialwhich could be used to prepare a biographical sketchof him. Mr, Hunholz had had a long experience inseveral areas in the manufacture of automatic musicalinstruments which we felt would be of inte~~t toAMICAns. He supplied a well-written story of his in­teresting career which we print herewith withoutchange.

On January 10, 1911, I graduated from grade schooland the next day started in the Gram Richsteig PianoFactory in the action finishing department putting

capstan screws into keyboards and getting them readyto install into pianos. I stayed in that departmentsome six or eight years until I became a full-fledgedaction finisher, which was a trade within the pianomaking trade.

At that time I felt that one could go nowhere in thetrade unless one could tune so I took up tuning onthe side. I spent my Saturday afternoons and holi­days tuning pianos at the factory for free until Icould do an acceptable job, and then got a job inthe factory as a first tuner or chipper, earning less 41than as an action finisher but rounding out my expe­rience. I stayed in the-tuning department for yearsdoing seconds and thirds and finally fine tuning andvoicing four or five years later.

- 255 -

JJioarapRical aKefcRes

About that time players started to become popular andthe superintendent was looking for someone who wouldwant to try his luck in that department. At firstonly one or two pianos a month were turned out withplayers, and with my tuning that worked out allright, so I volunteered and finally became the play­er installer and player man. I held that job a num­ber of years.

A few years previous to this, the company had reachedits maximum production of about four or five pianos'a day and then tapered off to less and less until weproduced that many in a week. During this taperingoff period I became a sort of utility man workinganywhere in the plant where they needed help. Iliked that, and it gave me wide experience in thepiano maker's art. My good friend and distant rel­ative was factory superintendent and I later becamehis assistant. Mr. Gram finally decided to stop theoperation and the superintendent and myself formeda company doing major repairs and the rebuilding andservicing of pianos. That was in 1923 and sincethat time it was our operating company. As a ser­vice company our player experience came in handy.We serviced players of any make and also coin oper­ated instruments. (Mills novelty violins, Wurlitzercoin operated, also merry-go-round organs and cal­liopes, anything that was played with a roll or per­forated sheeL)

After a number of years in this operation, we met aman whose father had left him a family name of arather large operation in the church organ field,and we, with our financial set-up and experience,decided we could take him into our company and ex­pand it to a piano and organ operation. We tried,but it did not work and we released him from anyconnection with us and paid him out. Shortly afterthis, and with experience in the organ company, wefelt there was a need for a mechanism to play thepipe organ from a music roll for use in funeral par­lors and even in large homes. The average organbuilder knew nothing about players, therefore we feltthat if our company built the player and kept a I i­brary of music, we could sustain ourselves and supplya need in the trade.

In our research of what the trade could supply, wefound that the Clark.Orchestra Roll Co. of DeKalb,Illinois, had a small library of organ rolls whichhad been used for funeral homes and also some forthe large orchestrions made by Seeburg and OperatorsPiano Co. of Chicago. These instruments were nolonger being built. They had been used in the movietheatres to add sound effects for the silent pic­tures. We contracted to buy the organ roll departmentof Clark Orchestra Roll Co. and took on their organroll editor, Roy Holland, to handle the roll opera­tion there. The rolls were cut in DeKalb and sent toMilwaukee where they were spooled up and boxed andput into stock..

During the time that Mr. Holland was at DeKalb wedeveloped a new roll which could play three manualson an organ. We had a connection with George Kilgen

and Sons of St. Louis, Missouri and put a recordingmechanism on their studio organ and they got somerecordings from some of the world's best known or­ganists such as Pedro Yahn (Italian) and CharlesCorboin (French). Our market for rolls and playerswas slowly developing for residence organs - we soldto Wicks, Hook and Hastings, Hall-Estey, and HenryPilcher and Sons, Louisville Kentucky, and a few inCanada such as Casavant Bros. It was then that thegovernment instituted the income tax and large res­idences were out and that stopped the pipe organsfor homes. About this time we had a disastrous firein our factory and our music roll department withits master records was badly hit. Our music rollstock and masters were almost completely wiped out.

Shortly afterward the Playrite Music Roll Co. was inreceivership in Milwaukee and the attorney was look­ing for a buyer where he could dispose of the machine­ry and special apparatus used in making music rolls.He gave us a good deal, and we with our organ rollexperience took it over and started making musicrolls for the home player piano. We made rolls forsome five years or more and then business taperedoff with the player piano. We junked all the rolland master making machinery as well as tools. Mr.Clark was closing out the factory in DeKalb to retire,and the Miesner Piano Co. closed up in Milwaukee.Mr. Hoskinsij who was superintendent of Miesner, cameover to work with us and took charge of the musicroll department unti I it closed shop. About thistime, Mr. Roesler made up his mind to retire andmoved to Cal ifornia for his health. Mr. Hoskinsand myself carried on the piano and organ rebuildingoperation through the years. Mr. Hoskins retiredand moved to Cal ifornia also leaving me alone withthe operation and the building which we had purchasedduring our most prosperous times. The building wasnow hard to sell. However, I stayed to manage thebuilding and did a I ittle piano work on the side, al Ithe time trying to sell the property. This went onfor then years or more until February 1977 when Isold out and am now completely retired at 81 years.

J'ecRnicalifies

\VIOLANO TUNING RESPONSE

\ BY CHARLES INNES

A few weeks~o Mel Locher sent me a copy of an M.B.S. talk where n he had cautioned against tuning theViolano piano 0 A440 (as was implied in paragraph9.5 of the "Violano Service Notes"), and I have justfinished reading Art Reblitz's AMICA discussion inthe same vein.

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~ecRnicalifie8

AM ICA BULLET! N INDEX

1977MONTHS BY PAGE NUMBER

®

10613230

241184100

157

23178129211183

180186

82105131

54, 8015615953

162

131-155156-179180-207208-233234-257

AugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember

o

1-2930-5253-79

80-104105-130

January/FebruaryMarchApri IMayJune/July

"A 1askan" Convent ion ReportAli ce B. Amp ico"American Pianists, Famous or Typical"AMICA INTERNATIONAL

AMICA 5th International ConventionCarillon to Ampichron"First Major Donation for AMICA Museum""Head'l iners at September Convent ion"Information Exchange with PPG & NWPPAInternational Board Meeting at Dallas"Iowa Chapter Forms""Jopl in Amicans Entertain Thousands""Mai 1 Board Results""Melbourne's Grainger Museum"Minutes of the General Membership &International Board Meetings - 1977 54, 80, 236"President's Message" 1"Public Enjoys Philadelphia Sponsored

Events""Southern California Begins Restoration of

McGroarty CuI tural Arts Center Frankl inAmp i co"

"Texas AMICA At Large""Writers Award Reciepients Announced"

AMPICO"Ampico Pneumatic Action - 1929""Ampico Pump Thrust Bearing"E1ec t ric Ro 11 Drive"Unusual Ampico Grand Layout"

Armbruster, Robert

Both Messers. Locher and Reblitz recommend that thepiano be ,tuned not higher than the old internationalstandard pitch A435, and in retrospect I agree thatthis lower pitch is safer. At the time I worked upthe service notes, as nearly as I could determine,Violano fanciers were about evenly split on thisquestion, with most piano technicians favoring themodern A440 standard, except as qualified.

Although I have personally tuned my own Violano toA440 without harm, I really don't have any good rea­son for doing so. As far as personal taste is con­cerned, frankly I can't tell the difference, and tomy knowledge the only practical reasons for tuningany piano to A440 are (1) if the piano is played inconjunction with a 440 fixed pitch instrument or, (2)if the piano was originally designed for 440; neithe~

ef these reasons are valid with respect to theViolano.

I wish to express my sincere thanks to these gentle­men for there response and contribution to the stateof the art of Violano care and service. The "ServiceNotes" do not begin to cover all that should be pre­sented concerning this remarkable instrument. Ihope'there will be additional response and furtherarticles in AMICA.

100148229

4728, 38

9825572

12672

14946

175148

96, 193, 208

229 ,180

156, 22817, 120, 144, 202, 252

44, 17410, 69, 97, 116, 141

171, 19918, 41, 97. 147, 173, 225

21, 125, 254PhiladelphiaRocky Mounta i n

Blake, EubieBIOGRAPHIES

"American Pianists, Famous or Typical"Burger, JuliusCadman, Charles WakefieldDowney, Dr. Lyle W.Ell iott. ZoGanz, Rudo I phHunholz, ElmerLhevinne, Josef & RosinaMora, FloraMunz, MieczslawNovaes, GuiomarOrnstein, LeoStewart, Reginald

Burger, Julius

Cadman, Charles W.Carnes, TodCHAPTERS

IowaMidwestNew JerseyNorthern California

Patrick Mullarky's article (Technicalities, October1977, page 206) on Alpha-Cyanoacrylate was very in­formative. To take the "scare" out of using thissubstance, we always keep a bottle of "BOND-SOLV"handy. It is formulated by Tri-R Chemicals, Inc.,120 Northwest Eleventh St., Boca Raton, FL 33432.It can be used to dissolve existing cyanoacrylatebonds or to clean up excess adhesive from bonded sur­faces (or on skin). We purchase ours from a watchand clock supply house. (The same company supplies

\'Bond-FiX" to clean and prepare surfaces to be bonded.)

I

"

BY CHARLES J, TUCKER

ALPHA-CYANOACRYLATE TIP

- 257 -/

18396, 193, 208

1481565347

20830, 183

3/1/77)" 61156

3, 255156

132, 1842, 126, 195

1492 .. 3, 46194, 235

132132

3, 255

75

247

23120625723

178

209

18053

1802

8289

1356

2, 3, 46

84, 159156231

132, 18472

2194, 23558, 210

132, 175

2, 126, 19572

90, 11096, 115, 140,198, 224, 249

37224198

48,40,67,234

39, 6939, 69

1

8, 39, 67,170,

Novaes, Guiomar

Roll Footage Counter"Ro I I Odd i ties""Roll Recut Projects""Roll Surver Resul ts""Story Roll SOl

Tracker ScalesRoll (tracker) scalesRosencrans, Bob

OBITUARIESCarnes, TodDawson, EmseeEbright, EugeneSchneider, Carl

ORGANS"First Donation for AMICA Museum""Gebr. Bruder Band Organ in Florida""The Jack1 i ng Res idence Organ""Theater Organs in San Diego"

Ornstein', Leo

Mora, FloraMunz, Mieczyslaw

TECHNICALITIES"A Rapid Roll Repa I r Klg""A Ipha-Cyanoac ry 1ate""Alpha Cyanoacrylate Tip""Ampico Pneumatic Action - 1929""Ampico Pump Thrust Bearing"

Schneider, CarlSmith, Ruth BingamanSmythe, TerryStewart,Reginald

Pade rews ki, Ignace 3Perforator Study 90, 110Phi ladelphia Chapter Concerts 3, 157, 226"Photo Quiz" 63, 87, 108Photo Report 38PIANOS~ GENERAL

Gulbransen ad - 1923 reprint 211a"Have You Seen One of These?" 233a"Interfacing Pneumatic Player Pianos" 216"Nickelodeon Cabinet Research" 4"The Pros & Cons of the Mechanical Player" 64"The Piano's Reproductive System" 212"Rebu i Iding The Schu 1tz Stack" 75Standard Piano Action Regulation 102"Violano Service Notes" 48, 74, 103, 128, 150

"Rebuildin The Schultz Stack"ROLLS & lJSIC

"Bob Bd,'ns and An Evolution of ReproducingPiano Jazz Rolls"

"Collection of International Piano Ar­chives To Go To ~laryland"

"Imperial, Duo-Art, Ampico PerforatorStudy"

"Piano Roll Review"

Jop lin AI~ ICAnsLafitte, FrankLawnhurst, VeeLester, EdwinLhevinne, Josef & Rosina

135

53196168193

20536

16612988

212178169246

47

18028

98222162

131 , 19232

208183

30, 183156

Ebright, EugeneElliott, Zo

Southern California 13, 117, 142, 172, 200, 249S.O.W.N.Y. 20, 43, 123, 203, 227Texas 15, 118, 143, 201, 250

Chenowith, Will iam 231Cherkassky, Shura 156COLLECTIONS

"A Passion for Pianos" 86'~he Development of an AMI CAN, Part II 168"Hearst Castle and its Instruments" 32"The Jackl ing Residence Organ" 135Kit Carson County Carousel Band Organ 5"Melbourne's Grainger Museum" 162

,Terry Smythe collection 58, 210Whiteley collection 35

Condon, Denis 196

®

"The Jackling Residence Organ"

Ganz, Rudo 1phGodowsky, LeopoldGrainger, Percy (Museum)

Dawson, EmseeDenke, Frank"The Development of an AMICAN, Part I I"DuoArt, DorisDUO-ART

"An Explanation of Duo-Art Soft PedalCompensation - Upright Only"Duo-Art Expression Box Tip"The Duo-Art Piano"Electric roll drive"The Model B Duo-Art""The Piano's Reproductive System""Re-doing The Duo-Art, Part IV""The UI t imate Duo-Art?"The Ultimate Duo-Art - A Reply"

Downey, Dr. Lyle W.

Hazleton, Thomas"Hearst Castle and Its Instruments"Hickman, ClarenceHollinshead, JeanetteHollinshead, Ursula D.Honnert, JohnHONORARY MEMBERS

Armbruster, RobertBlake, EubieBurger, Jul iusCherkassky, ShuraDawson, EmseeDowney, Dr. Lyle W.Hickman, ClarenceHoll inshead, Ursula Dietrich"Honorary Members of AMICA (LivingHonnert, JohnHunholz, ElmerLafitte, FrankLester, EdwinMora, FloraNovaes, GuiomarOrnstein, LeoSmith, Ruth BingamanStewart, ReginaldZucca, Dr. Mana

llunholz, Elmer

Ronnoc &Mary Ellen Connor147 S. DelphiaPark Ri dge, IL 60068312 692 2050

1915 Steinway upr Duo-ArtThemodist.

referred by Ai Greco

1920 Knabe 5'8" Ampico A;1924 Aeolian upr Duo-Art;1924 Mills Violano; Wur­1itzer Harp.

referred by Bill Kavouras

Robert F. Russell19 Ledgehill Rd.Weymouth, MA 02188617 331 0191

James Marke 1926 Willis upr plyr; 1927477 Trafanor Ave. Coinola CO; 1908 AngelusVictoria, British Columbia push-up plyr; CarpanterCanada Missionary reed organ; Rason604 478 0180 &Hanlin reed org; Thomas

reed org.

2051511

12950

5075

178104102205154

lf8, 150I.

25630

"An Explanation of Duo-Art Soft PedalCompensation - Upright Only"

"An Improved Improved Vacuum Gage""Electric Motor Roll Drive for theAmpico and Duo-Art"Electronic Tuning Devices"The Hale Sight-O-Tuner vs. The Conn

Strobotuner""Rebu i ld i ng The Schu I tz Stack""Re-doing The Duo-Art, Part IV".Rewind Speed Control On Ampico AStandard Piano Action Regulation - Grand"Tuning the Violano - 435 OJ:" 440""Vacuum Diagnostic Tool""Violano Service Notes" 48, 74, 103,"Violano Tuning Response"

Torkelson, Roger

Violano Virtuoso

WELTE1923 ad reprint

Wilhelmina. Welte"\4 inn; peg News"

Yeckley, Molly

(see Technical ities)

123240

58, 210

30

Shura CherkasskyC/O Ibbs &Tillett124 Wigmore St.London England WIH OAX

Robert &Monica McGeary3418 Shenandoah Dr. WestOravue Park, FL 32073

Recording artist for Duo­Art 1923-1924.

1928 Knabe Ampico

referred by Bob Rosencrans

Zucca, ~lana

NEW MEMBERS

132 Warren R. Deasy2510 Jalmia Dr.Los Angeles, CA 90046213 876 6770

1924 Stuyvesant upr plyrPianola; Luis Casali Barrelpiano.

Terry HughesR 3 Sunset ShoresKendallville, IN 46755

John & Nan Flint19844 Dod sLivonia, MI 48152313 476 0163

1916 Grinnell upr Aeolian;191? Wurlitzer 125 Bnd Org.

1927 Otto Thein 5'5" HUPfeld.t

1927 Weber 5'8" Duo-Art WR;1926 Schultz upr Recordo;1925 Shultz upr Recordo pum­per; 1893 Newman parlor orgpumper; misc music boxes &phonographs.

1913 Seeburg G; 1926 CoinolaX; Wurlitzer 150 Bnd Org;1904 Wurlitzer 125 Bnd. Org;BAB Bnd Org 66 key; TangleyCallipoe 43A; 1922 Chickering6'6" Ampico A; 1931 Weber 6'Duo-Art.

E.R. &Cecilia Hady3818 Rio Vista Rd.Racine, WI 53404414 639 1646

H. Glen &Jean Guyer1111 S. Ditmar St.Oceanside, CA 92054714 722 4853

referred by Carl Kempf

John &Mildred Bagley540 Power Ave.Buford, GA 30518404 945 9201

WANTED: Aeolian Duo-Art~ organ rolls - 15~" wide,reproducing variety. Tom Beckett, 6817 Cliffbrook,Dallas, TX 75240. Phone (214) 239-5019.

FOR SALE: WEBER AEOLIAN DUO-ART reproducing grandpiano #76943, 1926. Possibly one of the finest in­struments available today both in mechanical authen- ~ticity and beauty of finish. Completely rebuilt by ,.professionals. Send $1.00 for color photos and in­formation. Sale includes 180 Duo~Art rolls, manyvery rare. George A11en~50 N. Main St., Medford,NJ 08055. Phone 609-654~0548.

REPRODUCING PIANO, AMPICO SYMPHONIQUE, 1929 Transi­tional Model A. Restored &refinished. With bench&30 rolls. $6,000•. James Holden, 373 Kings Rd.,Brisbane, CA 94005. Phone (415) 468-5192 evenings.1915 Empress drum piano; 1912

Armstrong upr plyr std action.

referred by Harvey Roehl

1921 Link 2E w/xylo.

Ted Perrin1161 Meadow Lands Dr. unit 15Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaK2E 6J5613 224 424~

Shimp 1913 Schaeffer upr plyr;1913 Strohber "built-up"orchestrion.

Bob ManiaciBoman Industries9300 Hall Rd.

-----------< Downey, CA 90241213 869 4041

Robert &Mary LouBox 285Dunderton, IA 50626319 822 7728

John G. Bauriedel2437 J. Street

-----------< Eureka, CA 95501707 442 4115

Phillip Baumgarten277 SW 33rd Ct.Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33315305 764 7722

Peter &Dorothy Brandon9582 Indian Hills Dr.Des Moins, IA 50322515 225 6893

Chicago Public LibraryPeriodicals Division425 N. Michigan Ave.Chicago, IL 60602

Joseph &BarbaraConnolly116 Bos ton St.Salem, MA 01970000 745 5470

Philip & Phyllis Kohop, Jr. 1927 Weber 5'8" Duo-Art.Tahanto TrailHarvard, MA 01451617 456 8467

Charles N. Cayo3378 Benton Center Rd.Benton Harbor, MI 49022616 925 5515referred by Barry Leedy

ORIGINAL LITERATURE WANTED: Will purchase or tradefor original Ampico, Duo-Art or Welte-Mignon Litera­ture. Also want catalogs, service manuals, etc., forall types of mechanical musical instruments. Dick

" Howe, 351 North Post Oak Lane 605, Houston, TX 77024.

~ MUSIC BOX CATALOGUE! Hundreds of music boxes, nickel­odeons, ban4 organs, phonographs, player pianos. 112pages. $3 ppd. Satisfaction Guaranteed. AmericanInternational Galleries; l802-A Kettering, Irvine Ca92714 ;

160 Ampico rolls in large refinished antique musicroll cabinet, Rolls are mixed classical and popular,95 percent original and all in good condition. $990for the lot. No'separate sales. Ronald White, 5770McKellar Drive, San Jose, CA 95129. Phone (408) 996­3731.

FREE LISTS: All Types Rolls, Cylinder Records & Machines,Discs, Cobs, Sheet Music, Catalogs & Literature. Mechanical Music& Much More. Our 20th Year .

Vi & Si's Antiques 8970 Milin St., Clarence, N.Y. 14031

FOR SALE: 5'4" CHICKERING M1PICO A. Piano rebuiltby Alex ~eylard. Player restored to perfection.Photos available or call for details. $5,800 BobTaylor, 412 N. Evergreen, Arlington Heights, IL60004. Phone (312) 255-9595.

Relive the era of the reproducing player pianothrough a collection of period advertising for thesemusical marvels which were capable of duplicatingthe human touch so exactly that the virtuosos of theday, Paderewski, Busoni, Rachmaninoff, etc., all re-

~ corded for and endorsed them. THROUGH YOU I LIVE..., FOREVER, 108 pages, soft cover. Beckett Productions,

6817 Cliffbrook, Dallas, TX 75240. $4.95 postpaid.Texas residents add 25¢ state tax.

FOR SALE: Knabe Ampico grand 5'8" in choice restor­able condition. $3500. or best offer. Send inquIrIesto: William Marceau, P.O. Box 242, Ludlow, MA 01056.

WANTED: Old style Duo-Art stack, 88-note with scal­ing of 20-31-17-20, in restorable condition. JamesBratton, 2907 South Sidney Ct. Denver, CO 80231.

Reproducing pianos, antique music boxes, nickelodeons,phonographs, slot machines. We ship anywhere.Large catalog $3 ppd. Showroom open Wed. thru Sat.American International; l802-AA Kettering St., Irvine,CA 92714.

FOR SALE; Vacuum gauges, Marshalltown brand, 2 1/2"face, 0 to 30 inch H20, with snubbing orifice and5/32" nipple. New, calibrated, guaranteed. $9.00postpaid in U.S.: W. E. Flynt, 1722 Iroquois Drive,Garland, TX 75043.

MILLS VIOLANO-VIRTUOSO single, fully restored with12 rolls. $8500 or offer. Larry Bo¥sen, 1469 - 16thAvenue, San Francisco, CA 94122. (415) 681-8352.

WANTED: Ampico reproducer in a spinet piano in theCalifornia area. A.N. Johnson, P.O. Box 666, GrandJunction, CO 81501.

BUYING: AMPICO, DUO-ART, WELTE & OTHER TYPE OfROLLS. DESCRIBE AND PRICE.ALTMAN, 8970 Main St., Clarence, N.Y. 14031.

About 60 Orchestrion rolls. Make offer. 78 RPMrecords of Hofmann, Hess, Godowsky, Paderewski. ArtFaner, 555 Winter N.E., Salem~ Oregon.

/

FOR SALE: P. A. Starck upright with standard action.Refinished and rebuilt. $900. (Mich) 517-845-6340.

FOR SALE OR TRADE: 1897 Po1yphon 19 5/8 upright coinoperated disc music box, style 104, top pediment miss­ing, dampers poor, teeth and motor OK, valued at$2100 (U.S.); 40-27" Regina discs valued at $25 each(U.S.). For trade purposes, am interested in an un­restored reproducing grand (or what offers). TerrySmythe, 71 Bourmont Bay, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.Phone (204) 256-2134.

FOR SALE: Marshall & Wendell Ampico Grand,S' 0",late model A (1926) with lost motion and loud pedalcompensators. Rebuilt and restrung in 1977. Originalivory keys and dark mahogany finish (slightly checked).Piano's tone and expression both excellent. $3800.Bill Flynt, 1722 Iroquois Dr., Garland, TX 75043.Phone (214) 278-8093.

FOR SALE: 1928 5'8" Weber Duo-Art. Restored $4000.1926 5' 8" Knabe Ampico. Excellent original $2950.P. Ciancia, M.D., 537 Grand Ave., Leonia, NJ 07605.Phone (201) 947-0825.

FOR SALE: 1921 Steinway Duo-Art XR series 6'1".Ebony over tiger stripe mahogany, sound board re­finished, new strings, and felt. Ivory is perfect,plays great. Collection of 160 rolls goes with it.No bench. $5,500.00, Streeter Flynn, Jr., 3237Harvey Pky., Okla. City, OK 73118. (405) 524-4195.

WANTED: Complete Ampico "A" or "B"grand Player Mechanism.

WANTED: NOS and OS rolls.

FOR SALE: Steck Duo-Art grand com­pletely restored $4500.

FOR SALE OR TRADE FOR OR TOWARDSBAND ORGAN: Wurlitzer M-O residencepiano/pipe organ combination. 3 rank,2 manual with rank of chimes and ex­tra rank of flute pipes. Restored toperfection with NOS, OS and BB-noterolls, popular and classical.

ROBERT A. JENSEN811 Warwick AvenueWarwick, RI 02888

(401) 781-2037

I

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTSANTIQUE - AUTOMATIC

flJll Et1Sfmfl1T

A LONG·PLAYING PHONOGRAPH RECORD

SIDE ONE: I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan. Waltz Of My Heart • Too ManyTears. Nanette • I've Got To Sing A Torch Song. I'm Building Up To An Awful LetDown SIDE TWO: If I Had A Million Dollars • Serenade To A Skyscraper • TheyDidn't Believe Me • Whirligig • When We're Alone (Penthouse Serenade)

".. .Precise, tasty. elegant and lots of subtle charm. You wani todine on lobster and champagne to it." -Fred A. Watkins. Jr

"An album for all occasions. . .but mainly as serious listeningfor anyone who loves American popular music." -Grover Sales

", . .Mintun roams the ivories, never missing, always in perfecttaste (and style) and seeming to love every minute of it. "

-Philip Elwood

".. .adroit . . .playing all the little known songs ofan era he neverknew, there in L'Etoile's lounge, the most handsome bararound." -Herb Caen

THIS IS THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT!

Available at many San Francisco record stores,also at L'Etoile Restaurant (1075 CaliforniaStreet, San Francisco) or mail $6.95 to PETERMINTIIN RECORD, 2647 Pine Street, San Francisco,California, 94115.

flJll Et1Sfmfl1TMUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

ANTIQUE - AUTOMATIC

NOW AVAILABLE!The KURT ELBERS COLLECTION OF AUTOMATICMUSICAL INSTRUMENTS - Recording - 77 - 1 LPPossibly the best recording of ANY collec­tion to date. Recorded July 4, 1976 atKurt's home in Mandeville, LA using finest24 channel equipment available. Includesmany photos from Kurt's personal collection.Hear: Weber Otero, Mortier &Bursens DanceOrgans, Seeburg "G &K", Artizian band or­gan. National Calliope & others. Ordernow for $6.00 each + 1.00 packing &Mail,

- ALSO -I have THREE NEW NICKELODEONS - Made byOperator's Piano Company - IN STOCK - coinoperated - Priced $5,500 to $8,500. Sendfor Brochure!

- WANTED -AMPICO reproducer mechanism and advice forinstalling such in a 1923 Steinway 91 con- 41cert grand which has never been a player.I am very new at this and AMICA and wonderif this is feasible. HELP?

- WANTED -WIRE, DISC, TAPE RECORDERS - home &profes­sional dating up to 1960 - also, old TVsets prior to 1957 especially earliest mod­els - all for personal collection of record­ers &microphones.

- WANTED -Book music for BURSENS Dance Organ with ac­cordion &Saxaphone - 78 Key.

Want to correspond by VIDEOTAPE? I have3/4" U-Matic system with Akai color cameraand would love to swap tapes by mail withinterested party.

- CONTACT-Lee Hazen, 204 Shoreside Drive, Rt. 2, Hend­ersonville, TN 37075. Phone (615) 824 2311.

t

send for free listtoday

•

Klavier Music Rolls10515 Burbank Blvd., No. Hollywood, Calif. 91601

Telephone: (213) 980-8254

.....

CRAIG'S PIANO SHOPPETOLEDO, OHIO 43612

PLAYER PIANO OWNERS -

RE-CUT YOUR STANDARD POPULAR ROLLS

$20.00 PER TITLEADDITiONAL COPIES $4.00 EACH

NO MINIMUM ORDER OR QUANTITY

That's right! Now you may order just Q!lA re-cut ofyour favorite popular standard roll (20-30 feet). Don'tpay for unwanted copies. Frayed edges are no problemfor us. We use a full quality, lint free, 3 pt. dry waxedpaper for our re-cuts. All old rolls are returned alongyour new re-cuts - packaged in new boxes for your pro­tection and storage'. Be certain to include any specialinstructions for multiple copies. Allow 6-8 weeks fordelivery. No reproducing rolls at this time, please.

YOU MUST BE SATISFIED!!Clip and return with order

925 SOUTHOVER(419) 478-4711

Name Phone <--)1 _

Complete Address _

Total # Rolls to be Re-Cut_x $20.00 = $ _

Total Additional Copies_x $ 4.00= $, _

Postage & Handl ing $ $3.00

TOTAL (Check or Money Order MUSTaccompany your order) $ _

SEND YOUR ROLLS INSURED AND SPECIAL4TH CLASS SOUND RECORDING RATE.

flor the "ro ....Tuned and untuned percussions

for use in all automatic instruments

Single and duplex spoolframes

for A,G,and 0 rolls and all

wurlitzer scales

Custom fabrication in wood and

metal of one or a thousand parts

Piano and orqan supplies and

hardware

----!Lox-1094 --"-=-'O. ---:--,

m I lubbocl<., texas~~~~~~-79408~-hi

Mechanica I Systems, Inc.

AMICA BULLETIN

Tom Beckett'Publisher

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS' ASSOCIATION

6817 Cliffbrook Dailas, Texas 75240

DATED MATERIAL

RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Nonprofit Q.,rg.u.S.POS~E .

rAdjitson, Tx.

hrmit No. 19