The AMICA BULLETINAUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS’ ASSOCIATION

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2002 VOLUME 39, NUMBER 1

MoOLURIil'S MAGAZINE

The Self-Playing Piano is It

People who have watched these thingsclosely have noticed that popular favor istoward the self-playing piano.

A complete piano which will ornamentyour drawing-room, which can be played inthe ordinary way by human fingers, or which.can be played by a piano player concealedinside the case, is the most popular musicalinstrument in the world to-day.

The Harmonist Self-Playing Piano is theinstrument which best meets these condi­tions. The piano itself is perfect in toneand workmanship. The piano player at­tachment is inside, is operated by perforatedmusic, adds nothing to the size of the piano.takes up no room whatever, is always ready,is never in the way.

We want everyone who is thinking ofbuying a piano to consider the great advan­tage of getting a Harmonist, which combinesthe piano and the piano player both. Itcosts but little more than a good piano. butit is ten times as useful and a hundred timesas entertaining. Write for particulars.

ROTH ~ENGELHARDTProprietors Peerless Piano Player Co.Windsor Aroade. Fifth Ave .. New York

Please mention McClure·s when you write to ad"crtiscrt.

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Entire contents © 2002 AMICA International 1

VOLUME 39, Number 1 January/February 2002

FEATURESThe Sounds are Magical — 8Where Old Pianos go to Live — 10How To Use Your Amica By-Laws — 12101 Keys — 14Franklyn Baur — 15Alexander Ziloti — 16National Belgian Museum — 18

DEPARTMENTSAMICA International — 2

President’s Message — 3From the Publisher’s Desk — 3Calendar of Events — 4Letters — 5People — 13Chapter News — 23Classified Ads — 37

Front Cover: The Atlantic Monthly

Inside Front: McCLURE’S Magazine

Back Cover: The Atlantic Monthly

Inside Back Cover: Munsey’s Magazine - Advertising Section

THE AMICA BULLETINAUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS' ASSOCIATION

Published by the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors’ Association, a non-profit, tax exempt group devoted to the restoration, distributionand enjoyment of musical instruments using perforated paper music rolls and perforated music books. AMICA was founded in San Francisco, California in 1963.

ROBIN PRATT, PUBLISHER, 630 EAST MONROE ST., SANDUSKY, OH 44870-3708 -- Phone 419-626-1903, e-mail: pianola@cros.netVisit the AMICA Web page at: http://www.amica.org

Associate Editor: Mr. Larry Givens

AMICA BULLETINDisplay and Classified AdsArticles for PublicationLetters to the PublisherChapter News

UPCOMING PUBLICATIONDEADLINESThe ads and articles must be receivedby the Publisher on the 1st of theOdd number months:

January JulyMarch SeptemberMay November

Bulletins will be mailed on the 1st weekof the even months.

Robin Pratt, Publisher630 East Monroe StreetSandusky, Ohio 44870-3708Phone: 419-626-1903e-mail: pianola@cros.net

MEMBERSHIP SERVICES

New Memberships . . . . . . . . . . $42.00

Renewals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $42.00

Address changes and corrections

Directory information updates

Additional copies ofMember Directory . . . . $25.00

Single copies of back issues($6.00 per issue - basedupon availability)

William Chapman (Bill)53685 Avenida BermudasLa Quinta, CA 92253-3586(760) 564-2951e-mail: shazam@sonic.net

To ensure timely delivery of yourBULLETIN, please allow 6-weeksadvance notice of address changes.

AMICA Publications reserves the right to accept, reject, or edit any and all submitted articles and advertising.

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AMICA INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL OFFICERSPRESIDENT Dan C. Brown

N. 4828 Monroe StreetSpokane, WA 99205-5354

509-325-2626e-mail: pianola@cet.com

PAST PRESIDENT Linda Bird3300 Robinson Pike

Grandview, MO 64030-2275Phone/Fax 816-767-8246

e-mail: OGM Bird@kc.rr.comVICE PRESIDENT Mike Walter

65 Running Brook Dr.,Lancaster, NY 14086-3314

716-656-9583e-mail: mikew@freewwweb.com

SECRETARY Christy Counterman544 Sunset View Drive, Akron, Ohio 44320

330-864-4864e-mail: stumpfad@earthlink.net

TREASURER Wesley Neff128 Church Hill Drive, Findlay, Ohio 45840

Registered agent for legal matters 419-423-4827e-mail: rwesleyneff@aol.com

PUBLISHER Robin Pratt630 E. Monroe Street, Sandusky, Ohio 44870-3708

419-626-1903e-mail: pianola@cros.net

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY William Chapman (Bill)53685 Avenida Bermudas, La Quinta, CA 92253-3586

707-570-2258 – Fax 775-923-7117e-mail: shazam@sonic.net

— COMMITTEES —

AMICA ARCHIVES Stuart Grigg20982 Bridge St., Southfield, MI 48034 - Fax: (248) 356-5636

AMICA MEMORIAL FUND Judy Chisnell3945 Mission, Box 145, Rosebush, MI 48878-9718 517-433-2992

AUDIO-VISUAL & TECHNICAL Harold Malakinian2345 Forest Trail Dr., Troy, MI 48098

CONVENTION COORDINATOR Frank Nix6030 Oakdale Ave., Woodland Hills, CA 91367 818-884-6849

HONORARY MEMBERS Jay Albert904-A West Victoria Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101-4745

(805) 966-9602 - e-mail: bkmeeder@aol.com

PUBLICATIONS Robin Pratt630 E. Monroe St., Sandusky, OH 44870-3708

WEB MASTER Meta Brown400 East Randolph Street, Apt. 3117, Chicago, IL 60601

312-946-8417 — Fax 312-946-8419

BOSTON AREAPres. Bill Koenigsburg -(978) 369-8523Vice Pres: Bob TempestSec: Ginger ChristiansenTreas: Karl EllisonReporter: Don BrownBoard Rep: Sandy Libman

CHICAGO AREAPres: George Wilder - (630) 279-0872Vice Pres: Curt CliffordSec: Jo CrawfordTreas: Joe PekarekReporter: Kathy Stone SeptonBoard Rep: Marty Persky

FOUNDING CHAPTERPres: Bing Gibbs - (408) 253-1866Vice Pres: Mark PopeSec: Lyle Merithew & Sandy SwirskyTreas: Richard ReutlingerReporter: Tom McWayBoard Rep: Richard Reutlinger

GATEWAY CHAPTERPres: Yousuf Wilson (636) 665-5187Vice Pres: Tom NovakSec,/Treas: Jane NovakReporter: Mary WilsonBoard Rep: Gary Craig

HEART OF AMERICAPres: Ron Bopp - (918) 786-4988Vice Pres: Tom McAuleySec/Treas: Robbie TubbsReporter: Joyce BriteBoard Rep: Ron Connor

LADY LIBERTYPres./Reporter: Bill Maguire

(516) 261-6799Vice Pres: Keith BiggerSec: Richard KarlssonTreas: Walter KehoeBoard Reps: Marvin & Dianne Polan

MIDWEST (OH, MI, IN, KY)Pres: Judy Chisnell - (517) 433-2992Vice Pres: Stuart GriggSec: Judy WulfekuhlTreas: Alvin WulfekuhlReporter: Christy CountermanBoard Rep: Liz Barnhart

NORTHERN LIGHTSPres: Dave KemmerVice Pres: Phil BairdSec: Jason E. Beyer - (507) 454-3124Treas: Howie O’NeilReporter: Dorothy OldsBoard Rep: Dorothy Olds

PACIFIC CAN-AMPres: Kurt Morrison - (253) 952-4725Vice Pres: Don McLaughlinSec: Halie DodrillTreas: Bev SporeReporter: Carl Kehret Board Rep: Carl Dodrill

SIERRA NEVADAPres: John Motto-Ros - (209) 267-9252Vice Pres: Sonja LemonSec/Treas: Doug & Vicki MahrReporter: Nadine Motto-RosBoard Rep: John Motto-Ros

SOWNY (Southern Ontario,Western New York)

Pres: Mike Walter - (716) 656-9583Vice Pres: Mike HamannSec/Mem. Sec: John & Diane ThompsonTreas: Holly WalterPhotographer: Garry LemonReporter: Frank WarbisBoard Rep: Mike Walter

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIAPres: Frank Nix - (818) 884-6849Vice Pres: Richard IngramSec./Reporter. Shirley NixTreas: Ken HodgeBoard Rep: Frank Nix

TEXASPres: Jerry Bacon - (214) 328-9639Vice Pres: Tony Palmer (817) 261-1334Sec./Treas: Janet TonnesenBoard Rep: Dick MerchantBulletin Reporter: Bryan CatherNewsletter Editor: Bryan Cather

SOUTHERN SKIESPres: Debra Legg - (727) 734-3353Vice Pres: Bill ShriveSec: Howard Wyman (813) 689-6876Treas: Dee Kavouras (352) 527-9390Reporter: Dick & Dixie LeisBoard Rep: Debra Legg

CHAPTER OFFICERS

AFFILIATED SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONSATOSPresident - Nelson PageThe Galaxy Theatre7000 Blvd East, Guttenberg, NJ 07093Phone: (201) 854-7847 Fax: (201) 854-1477E-Mail: page@atos.orgEditor - Vernon P. Bickel786 Palomino CourtSan Marcos, CA 92069-2102Phone: (760) 471-6194 Fax: (760) 471-9194E-Mail: bickel@atos.org

AUSTRALIAN COLLECTORS OFMECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS19 Waipori StreetSt. Ives NSW 2075, Australia

DUTCH PIANOLA ASSOC.Nederlandse Pianola VerenigingEikendreef 245342 HR Oss,Netherlands

INTERNATIONAL PIANOARCHIVES AT MARYLANDPerforming Arts Library,University of Maryland2511 Clarice Smith Performing Arts CenterCollege Park, MD 20742Phone: (301) 405-9224Fax: (301) 314-7170E-Mail: dm137@umail.umd.edu

INT. VINTAGE PHONO & MECH.MUSIC SOCIETYC.G. Nijsen, Secretaire General19 Mackaylaan5631 NM EindhovenNetherlands

MUSICAL BOX SOCIETYINTERNATIONALP. O. Box 297Marietta, OH 45750

NETHERLANDS MECHANICALORGAN SOCIETY - KDVA. T. MeijerWilgenstraat 24NL-4462 VS Goes, Netherlands

NORTHWEST PLAYER PIANOASSOCIATIONEverson Whittle, Secretary11 Smiths Road, Darcy Lever,Bolton BL3 2PP, Gt. Manchester, EnglandHome Phone: 01204 529939Business Phone: 01772 208003

PIANOLA INSTITUTEClair Cavanagh, Secretary43 Great Percy St., London WC1X 9RAEngland

PLAYER PIANO GROUPJulian Dyer, Bulletin Editor5 Richmond Rise, Workingham,Berkshire RG41 3XH, United KingdomPhone: 0118 977 1057Email: jrd@ngcscd.demon.co.uk

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONDivision of Musical HistoryWashington, D.C. 20560

SOCIETY FOR SELF-PLAYINGMUSICAL INSTRUMENTSGesellschaft für Selbstspielende Musikinstrumente (GSM) E.V.Ralf SmolneEmmastr. 56D-45130 Essen, GermanyPhone: **49-201-784927Fax:. **49-201-7266240Email: president@musica-mechanica.de

Hi There,Well, another year passes and once again it is

renewal time for the old AMICA membership. Didyou know that AMICA is the ONLY collectors association in the world that had its start focused onthe reproducing piano? Sometimes we lose sight of that in our panic over numbers (i.e., numbers =members = warm bodies = numbers).

Through the years AMICA has expanded to welcome all paper roll and paper book operated musical instruments, but as any of you know, we welcome any and all instruments and their caretakers.No one cares if you have a Stroud or a Steinway, aSeeburg or a Seybold, an Amphion or an Aeolian, aWelte or a Werner or even a Beckwith or a Bechstein.ALL are welcome here and no one is judged on theircollection. A collection is not used as the criteria forthe worth of a person/member.

I love reading (elsewhere usually) that AMICA is doing something so bad that it deserves print (elsewhere). Usually this is a condemnation constructed of falsehoods or misinterpreted recollections. One current whine is about how the AMICA dues money iswasted by us (AMICA) and the Publisher (Me) on the historic reprints. Now, yes honey they cost money, but guess what? You getthem for free! In the past, as you may or may not recall, you got NO reprints with your six Bulletin issues. NONE! One person evencalled them “illegitimate” because we had the audacity to put an AMICA copyright on them. Those bastard reprints. “Illegitimate?” Amost interesting choice of words I thought. But then we figured that just maybe some people didn’t like a copyright stamp on thembecause they couldn’t foist the reprints off on a unsuspecting public as originals. I guess the quality of the printing is too good. I haveheard that this has indeed happened, not with AMICA reprints, but others. Not nice!

Oh well, I discovered that some AMICA reprints are already in the Library of Congress and other are being used as referencematerials in articles written for other societies with credit given to AMICA in the bibliography. So any way, to the grousers I say,“Bite me.”.

Hope your shop is as fun and busy as is this one in this old Indianapolis music store postcard. Have a great year and renew youmembership now!

Robin

PS. The copyright is for the reprint, NOT the original! DUH!!!

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New Year Greetings to all. I hope you’ve all sent in your renewal payments so that you can continue to receive theBulletin and continue to be part of this great organization.Renewal time is also a convenient occasion to make a contribution to the Memorial Fund, which we have used primarily for new member recruiting. Inside the last Bulletin,you found the registration form for the Convention in June inArkansas. I encourage you to send it in as soon as possible and look forward to seeing many of you there.

I have received a number of inquiries about the publicationof a new directory this year. This is the scheduled year for itand one of the reasons for the dues increase was to fund thisproject. Rest assured that it will get underway as soon as possible and I’m working to facilitate the quick completion of it.

Keith Bigger has been in touch with me regarding the possibility of creating an e-mail newsgroup for AMICA. Thiswould be an opt-in, no-cost project for discussion of topics relevant to our collecting interests. Yes, some aspects of the MechanicalMusic Digest is to address this need, but rather than having a daily discussion of the full realm of automatic music, this would be onan as-needed, topic oriented basis. If anyone has input, please contact Keith or me.

Dan Brown

President’s Message

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AMICA

Memorial Fund DonationsPlease think of AMICA as a place to

remember your friends and family with a dona-tion to the AMICA Memorial Fund.

Send to:

Judith Chisnell3945 Mission, Box 145Rosebush, Michigan 48878-9718517-433-2992jargc@juno.com

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

CHAPTER MEETINGS

~

June 26-30, 2002 AMICA Convention, Springdale, Arkansas

Heart of America ChapterApril 27-28, 2002 - We will have our final convention planning meeting.

It will be hosted by the Washburns and the Birds.

June 1-2, 2002 - Organ rally at Lafayette Square in St. Louis, MO.It will be hosted by Cynthia and Gary Craig.

June, 2002 - AMICA International Convention

Fall, 2002 - Organ rally in Eureka Springs, AR.Linda and Galen Bird will organize.

December, 2002 - Barbara and Doug Cusick will host the annual Christmas meeting in Leawood, KS.

May, 2003 - The Tulip Festival will be held in Pella, IA. Ideal for monkey organs, but not big organs.

Organized by the Railsbacks and Craigs.

September, 2003 - Meeting in Branson, MO hosted by Billie & Bill Pohl.

Texas ChapterSunday, January 27, 2002 at 2:00 pm at Bill Flynt’s home

at 11815 Woodbridge Drive, Dallas, TX

Sunday, April 14, 2002 at 2:00 pm at the home of Larry and Jean Williams at 6502 Connie Lane, Colleyville, TX

Saturday, May 18, 2002 at 4:00 pm at Glynn Childer’s home at 6905 Meadow Road, Dallas, TX.

(Dinner afterwards in a nearby resturant.)

Contact Jerry F. Bacon at 214-328-9369 and my e-mail is artempo42@aol.com.

AMICAMembership Dues:

AMICA Members should send theirmembership renewal payments to Bill Chapman, payable to AMICA, Int. Bill nowlives in the desert in the Palm Springs area at53685 Avenida Burmudas, La Quinta, CA92253-3586, USA.

If you have questions regarding youraccount, contact Bill at (760) 564-2951 ore-mail: shazam@sonic.net

A number of members have paid aheadone year and are credited for 2002.

Thanks to the many members who paybefore Feb. 28. The reminder letters sent tofaithful but tardy members is an expensiveextra that can be avoided!

THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE

IS PLEASED TO REPORT THE

FOLLOWING SLATE OF

OFFICERS:President: Dan Brown

Vice-President: Mike Walter

Secretary: Christy Counterman

Treasurer: Wes Neff

Immediate Past President: Linda Bird

Dan, Mike and Linda will be serving a secondterm. Christy and Wes will be serving their firstfull term as they were appointed by Dan Brownduring the past year. We are grateful for their willingness to continue to serve the organization.

The members of the committee are: Linda Bird, Chairman, John Motto-Ros, ChristyCounterman, Dee Kavouras, Jere DeBacker, andPaul Dietz.

We will vote on these officers at the annualmeeting in June. The floor will be open at that timefor other nominations.

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Dear AMICA,

The enclosed color copy may be of some interest to readers of the

Bulletin, if it can be reproduced for publication.

I recently found the original in the roll box for Duo-Art 713174 “Sweet

Man” played by Edythe Baker. The roll was in a collection originally with a

local Weber Duo-Art grand and the name on the approval form was that of the

Grand Rapids family who purchased the Weber in the 1920’s.

As you know, Grinnell’s had stores throughout Michigan, plus Ohio and

Windsor, Ontario locations. For your information, the other roll listed on the

form, 713175 is “Want A Little Lovin’” played by Freddie Rich, also still

remaining in the collection. Not many of these forms have survived, I’m sure.

Bill Burkhardt, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Letters…

Dear AMICA,

This is the piano roll cabinet I mentioned to you. I found out that a man inherited abeautiful Marshall & Wendell Ampico in a Spanish style case, which he had restored.Unfortunately, the roll cabinet was in a garage and suffered “water damage.” He wants torestore it.

Now that I’ve seen the pictures I realize it probably IS an Ampico cabinet, from theseries, but in the console style, which wasn’t advertised as much as the uprights. My Ampi-co cabinet catalogue lists console types 24 and 25, and this one is 28. I imagine this wasissued as a companion cabinet to his Spanish style piano.

If you’ve seen this cabinet style, please let me know. I know he wants to have themissing parts made for it including the connecting piece between the four leg arrangement.

In the 1960s a woman in S. F., as I mentioned, sold me some of her rolls and had apiano like this one. She sold me “Shanghai Dream Man” and “Dancin’Dan,” both fine foxtrots. This is where I remember the Spanish style Marshall & Wendell.

Regards, Bill Knorp, Oakland, California

Letters • • •

Mystery. Memb:ership Renewals!!!PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELVES!

Signatures on a few of the membership renewal forms listed below were not legible and therefore the account could not becredited. These credit card payments were received with postmarked enve~opes as.indicated but NO NAME OR ADDRESS!Plus, the signatures are too ilJ.divid,ualistic/artistic to be decipherable. Also, there are no other indj~ations on the renewal formsto reveal the renewing members' names. Without a credit, ,these members will miss Bulletins for 2002. In other words, if wedon't know who you are., then we can'trenew your membership!

Here is a list of the few "lost members":

Santa An~, CA $42 (exp. date 7/03) last four numbers 6952

Palatine, IL $42 (exp. date 7/03) last four numbers 2279

Miami FL $42 (exp. dat.e 2/02) lasr four nUIl,lbers 3485

Royal Oak, MI (exp. date 8/03) last four numbers 2773

Palatine, IL $42 (exp. date 3/02) last four numbers gO18

Houston, TX $42 (exp. date 12/03) last four numbers 8018

> Post Mark blurred $42 (exp. date 5/05) last four numbers 3002

:Baltimore MD last four numbers 7713, amount omItted, pestmark blurred, last four numbers 0526, $42

It is important that these members receive credit for their AMICA membership. If you believe one of these is your paymentof AMICA dues, contact Bill Chapman, Membership Secretary (60) 564-2951, fax 775-923-7117, email shaza'm@sonic.net, orwrite 53685 Avenida Bermudas, La Quinta, CA 92253.

. Thanks!

"Hustle your chores, Han~. Gotterdammerung is fust starting:'

"

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For the NEW 2002 AMICA Membership Directory

The 2002 AMICA Membership Directory is being organized as you read this. Now isthe time to send in an advertisement for your business, your collecting wants, services orrelated items for sale or simply a “Best Wishes AMICA!”, we want your ad.

Including your ad in the new 2002 Directory will give you years of visibility as well asreference for yourself and other members. Plus, your paid ad will help AMICA directly byoffsetting some of the production costs.

Many AMICA Members refer to their Directory regularly for ads, products, services,telephone numbers and addresses. Finding others who might own a similar instrument andgetting help becomes a simple task with the instrument listing! Travel, locating and visitingother members becomes a breeze! The AMICA Directory is an excellent resource!

THE AD RATES FOR THE 2002 AMICA DIRECTORY ARE:

FULL PAGE – 7 1/2’ x 10”................................................................$200

HALF PAGE – 7 1/2” x 4 3/4” ..........................................................$110

QUARTER PAGE – 3 5/8” x 4 3/4” ....................................................$65

Photo/s included in ad @ $20 each (unless ad is complete and camera ready.)

Make your check out to AMICA and mail it with your camera ready copy to:AMICA Publications – DirectoryRobin Pratt, Publisher630 East Monroe StreetSandusky, Ohio 44870-3708

You may submit your ad in a simple written form and we will do the composition foryou and dress it up. What could be easier?

If you have any questions about your ad, its composition or cost, contact the Publisherdirectly at: (419) 626-1903 or email: pianola@cros.net

Thanks, AMICA really appreciates your help!

YOUR AD IS WANTED!

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‘The Sounds are Magical’‘THE SOUNDS ARE MAGICAL’By Robert Baxter, Courier-Post Staff

Sent in by Charles Cloak

From the delicate tinkle of a Swiss musical box to themighty roar of an American calliope, the sounds of mechanicalautomated musical instruments are echoing through Camden’sStedman Gallery.

More than 100 musicalboxes and other instrumentsare featured in TimelessMelodies: Musical Boxesand Automatic MusicalInstruments of the 19th and20th Centuries, on display atthe Rutgers-Camden gallerythrough February 16.

“The sounds are magical,”says curator Nancy Maguire.“They lure people from thelobby. Everyone loves thesound of a music box.”

Timeless Melodies marksthe first exhibit sponsored by The Musical Box Society International, anorganization of 5,000 musicbox aficionados in 18 countries. The exhibit givesa preview of the society’spermanent display to be partof SoundWave, an international museum of sound setto open on Camden’s Waterfront in 2005.

“These were the home entertainment centers ofthe 19th century,” explains Al Meekins, a member ofthe society’s museum committee. “Before CDs andTV, people brought music into their homes withmusic boxes.”

Meekins, who lives in Collingswood, discoveredmusic boxes more than three decades ago. Enthralledby the sound and the intricate mechanism that produces the music, he has devoted his life to restoring and selling music boxes.

The exhibit if filled with fascinating items. Many arepriceless. Every music box or instrument produces a uniquesound.

A tinkling tune comesfrom a Chevron FuseeMusical Box made inSwitzerland in the early19th century. The handsomewalnut case is inlaid withbrass and mother of pearl.

The sound is producedby a cylinder covered withtiny pins. As the cylinderturns, the pins strike tunedteeth that create a musicaltinkle amplified by a soundboard.

“These Swiss musicalboxes are seriously high-tech for their times,”Meekins says. “Everythinghas to be so precise, sometimes within only afew thousandths of an inch,or the wrong note will beplayed.”

Musical boxes emerged in the 18th century as theplaythings of kings and queens and wealthy aristocrats. Swiss artisans turned the music box intoa work of art with elaborate decorations and superblycrafted mechanisms that reproduced popular songsand operatic selections.

As the Industrial Revolution progressed, musicboxes were mass produced and became prized possessions in middle-class homes in Europe andAmerica.

Music boxes became even more popular and accessible in the early part of the 20th century. Swisscylinder musical boxes were quickly replaced byboxes that played discs.

Musical boxes and other mechanical music makers are featured in a new exhibit at Stedman Gallery.

THE COURIER-POSTNOVEMBER 18, 2001

The band organ and encore automatic banjo are two of the items in the exhibit.

9

The advent of the phonograph, radio and the motion pictureended the popularity of music boxes. In recent decades, theyhave become popular collectibles.

“Many music boxes are works of art,” notes Paul Ottenheimer, a Mantua resident and member of The MusicalBox Society International. “The precise craftsmanship of the musicalmechanism is matched by the beautyof the cabinetry.”

To illustrate his point, Ottenheimer opens a lady’snecessaire, a beautifully crafted boxin which a 19th-century woman kepther perfume bottles, manicure andsewing instruments. When thewoman opened the lid, she was serenaded by a soothing melody forharp and violin.

“Here is 19th-century version of ajuke box,” says Meekins as he pointsto a coin-operated music box from arailway station. Once the traveler inserted a coin, the box sentout its musical tinkle accompanied by dancing dolls and threeclowns who strike bells with tiny mallets.

That music box has scarcely stopped before Ottenheimeractivates another placed under the seat of a walnut chair madein Germany. The music box begins to play as soon as someonesits on the ornately carved chair.

New Jersey became a center of the music box industry inthe late 19th century. Jersey City was the home of F.G. Ottoand Sons and U.S. Guitar Zither Co. Other companies includedthe Symphonion Music Box Co. of Asbury Park and PerfectionMusic Box Co. of Hoboken.

The Regina Company in Rahway capitalized on the growing popularity of the early phonograph by creating theReginaphone, a combination music box and phonograph.

The exhibit also showcases New Jersey’s role in the historyof recorded sound. One of the first Victor Phonographs, madein 1896 in Camden, and cylinder recordings made by ThomasEdison are featured in the display.

One of the highlights of the exhibit is an automaton of aclown mask seller. When activated,the seller ’s body moves and themasks he holds come to vivid life astheir eyes open and close and theirtongues dart out of their mouths.

A display case holds several novelty music boxes that gained popularity in the 19th century. Theitems range from a musical alarmclock and clothes brush to a beerstein.

The Mills Violano, made in 1920,features an electrically poweredpiano that accompanies a violinplayed by mechanical action.

A hand-cranked monkey organ madein 1895 recalls the street entertainers popular more than a century ago.

Automatic musical instruments are still popular. The Stinson Organ Co. recently manufactured a large band organfeaturing a bandmaster conducting rousing circus music accented with drum, bells and cymbals.

Its raucous cousin, a 1925 Tangley Calliope, produces amighty roar familiar from steamboats on the Mississippi River.

“This exhibit will give people a taste of what the permanent museum will be like,” says Meekins. “It gives people a fine idea of the history and variety of music boxes and automatic musical instruments.”

IF YOU GO:

• “Timeless Melodies: Musical Boxes & Automatic Musical Instruments of the 19th and 20 Centuries” can be viewed through February 16 at Stedman Gallery in the Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts, Third and Pearl Streets on the college’s Camden campus. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday evening until 8 p.m. Admission is free.

• The gallery will host exhibition tours at noon February 7.

• For reservations and information, call (856) 225-6271 or visit the Web site: http://rcca.camden.rutgers.edu

A Reginaphone console music box is featured in the Stedman exhibit, along with roughly 100 other

instruments. The exhibit is open until mid-February.

10

Old PianosWHERE OLD PIANOS GO TO LIVEBy Anthony Tommasini

Sent in by Linda Armstrong

The one thing you will never see at the Frederick Historic Piano Collection in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, isa sign that reads, “Do Not Touch.” Unlike most museums,this important collection of historic 19th-century pianos ismeant to be used.

Its owners and directors are a married couple with a mission: Edmund Michael Frederick, a former East Asianhistory major and harpsichord builder and an amateur performer, and Patricia Humphrey Frederick, a specialist inelementary music education, church organist and choir director. They purchased their first instrument in 1976: a Stodart built in London about 1830 that cost them just over$2,000, with an additional $1,000 for air freight, thatrequired extensive restoration upon arrival.

Drawing upon some inheritance, they kept searching forand buying historic instruments in whatever condition.Today the collection has 18 pianos, restored by Mr. Frederickand ready for play. These range from an unsigned instrumentfrom about 1795, almost certainly Viennese, to an 1907Bluthner built in Leipzig, a typically warm-toned Germanpiano, though Debussy acquired one in 1904 and loved it.Another 14 pianos are being restored. The current combinedvalue of the restored pianos is hard to estimate: it’s like setting a price on antiques. But Mr. Frederick puts it atroughly $400,000.

The couple fulfilled a long-held goal last spring and movedthe collection into a renovated 1890 one-story brick former library in the center of this town in north-central Massachusetts. For now, they are leasing the building from thetown at $1 a year in exchange for financing the renovationsthemselves, supported by some crucial grants, including onefrom the Massachusetts State Historical Commission.

For more than 20 years they kept all the instruments intheir five-room house down the road. At the collection’s newhome you can see a floor plan of the Frederick house as it usedto be, showing furniture more or less stuck between multiplepianos that dominated each room, including several that couldonly fit when kept on their sides.

This nonprofit institution is intended as a resource forpianists, scholars, students and the curious. Conservatoryteachers regularly bring groups of piano students to try out their

Beethoven, Schumann, Liszt and Ravel pieces on pianos like the ones those composers would have played, by manufacturers like Clementi, Bosendorfer, Graf, Erard andPleyel. Workshops, lecture-recitals and scholarly research alsotake place there. Though they have no standard fee system forusing the collection, Mr. Frederick said, “we beg energetically.”

The couple also present concert series, but for these performances the desired piano is moved to the nearby Community Church, a commodious space that can seat 200.The nominal admission fee is $5 (free to students and children).The fall season ended on October 21 with Susan Alexander-Max playing works by Mozart, Haydn, JohannChristian Bach, C.P.E. Bach and Clementi on a Clementi pianofrom 1806. The concerts resume in May.

Familiarity with 19th-century pianos is critical to interpreting piano music of that era. It is widely assumed that

A Massachusetts Petting Zoo for 19th-Century Instruments.

THE NEW YORK TIMESNOVEMBER 22, 2001

An 1871 Streicher from the Frederick collection, similar to the one Brahms owned.

11

once the precursors to modern concert grand pianos were built, during the 1820’s, pianos just got progressively bigger,louder and more efficient. This, Mr. Frederick asserts, is a misconception.

“People have this idea of a simple linear development fromCristofori to Steinway,” he said. “In fact it wasn’t that neat.What went on was all sorts of pianos of different kinds andqualities were being made and used at the same time.”

The strength of the Frederick collection is its comprehensiveness. A pianist hoping to make a recording on,say, a Broadwood, from a mid-19th-century London manufacturer, might find one somewhere preferable to the 1871Broadwood at the Frederick collection. But few other placesoffer such a range of 19th-century instruments in one invitingroom, which is why musicians and scholars from around theworld regularly trek to this bucolic town.

The best way to appreciate the collection is to sit down atthe pianos and play them. Last summer, armed with a stack ofscores from Haydn to Ravel, I did just that. And for anotherpoint of view I brought along my former piano teacher, DonaldCurrier, professor emeritus at the Yale School of Music.

Mr. Frederick usually suggests that visitors start with thenewest and work back. So he first directed us to that elegant,restored 1907 mahogany Bluthner, which he acquired, in prettyunplayable condition, for just $2,500 from a Dutch dealer.

Mr. Currier began by playing Debussy’s “Soiree dansGrenade” from “Estampes” (1903). In this slinky, slow andexotic music, the sound of the Bluthner was aptly rich andwarm, perhaps a little woofy in comparison with bright modernSteinways, but quite alluring. The repeated midrange C-sharpsthat gently suggest a habanera rhythm came through withseductive presence. Most striking was the way the slightestpressure from Mr. Currier’s fingers caused the insinuatingmelody in the left hand to ring out with haunting effect.

He next played a late Brahms work, the wistful Intermezzoin A, Op. 118, on the same piano, and again, though the overallsound was somewhat buzzy, the piano had a remarkably lingering tone. Brahms’ harmonies blended in bracing ways,with dissonant notes bumping up against one another andtweaking the music.

The piano, it must be remembered, is a percussion instrument. So once a tone is struck, itstarts to die away.

“If you want lingering tone,” Mr. Frederick said, “try the 1877 Bosendorfer.” Mr. Currier did,playing the Brahms again, and indeed the thick,smoky tone just quivered in the air.

Mr. Currier was curious about an 1846 Streicher, a Viennese piano that Schumann and theyoung Brahms would have known. He played someof Schumann’s dreamy “Kinderscenen” and thenparts of that composer’s rhapsodic “Kreisleriana.”The sound was bright, piercing and clear. “Maybe

too clear,” Mr. Currier said, as he struggled to keep inner voicesfrom sticking out. Yet the metallic brightness of the sound wassomehow soft spoken, making Schumann’s remembrances ofchildhood at once impish and tender.

The Streicher’s special strength, Ms. Frederick suggested,is as an instrument for accompanying singers. To demonstrate,she both sang and played Schumann’s “Widmung.” Sureenough, no matter how much body she brought to the restlessaccompaniment patterns, the clear sound was so distinct that itnever covered her voice.

Matters of tempo in 19th-century piano music are heatedtopics among those who visit the collection. The metronomemarkings in Beethoven, Schumann and other 19th-century composers tend to be on the fast side. Could the metronomesback then have been faulty? Some scholars think so. Not Mr. Frederick.

When Clara Schumann went back to work as a concertpianist after her husband died in 1856, she got some “very badreviews for playing too fast,” Mr. Frederick said. “If these wereRobert’s tempos, the critics said, then there must have beensomething wrong with his metronome. Nothing was wrong.What had happened was that the sound of pianos in the 1850’shad gotten noticeably thicker. So tempos that sounded reasonable in 1835 sounded rushed and blurry 20 years later.”

To drive home this point Ms. Frederick played a piece fromCzerny’s “School of Velocity,” a volume of technical studiesstill used today on a Viennese piano, a Katholnig, most likelyfrom about 1810. She took it at Czerny’s seemingly recklessmetronome marking. The Katholnig has an extremely lightkeyboard action and a slightly clattery but shimmering sound.Played at that tempo on a modern Steinway the music wouldhave been a blurry mess. On the Viennese instrument it sounded fleet and clear, a whirlwind of runs and misty harmonies.

Mr. Currier was eager to try a Haydn sonata on an 1806Clementi piano from London. When Haydn visited London inthe mid-1790’s, he was struck by the big lush bass sound anddry middle register of local pianos. “That’s why the ‘London’sonatas have so many thick, forte chords in the lower range, andso many doubled lines in thirds and octaves in the upper range,”Mr. Frederick said.

Michael and Patricia Frederickadopt period pianos. Beforetheir museum opened, the collection was shoehorned intotheir home, diagram to left.

12

Mr. Currier played the two-movement Haydn Sonata No.48 in C, with its slow opening Andante (a long-spun melodykeeps returning with increasingly elaborate ornamentation) androllicking rondo finale. As he played, every little melodic and ornamental gesture came out vividly, with no sense of forcing. The left hand chords became a harmonic bedrock ofwonderfully buzzy sound reminiscent of an enormous harpsichord. Mr. Currier, who has spent many years trying tofigure out how to play such music on a modern piano, was elated. “That’s the sound you want,” he said. “It’s easy. Foronce you don’t have to tiptoe through the piece.”

Haydn wrote contentedly for the pianos of his day. Butwhat about Beethoven, a thumper of a virtuoso, famous forbusting strings when he performed his works on the pianos athis disposal? Beethoven complained constantly about the inadequacy of keyboard instruments. True, he complainedabout everything. But the hard-driving “Appassionata” wouldseem to have been conceived for a piano of the future.

And yet some things in the Beethoven sonatas are virtuallyimpossible to play on modern grands with their heavy actions,for example the glissando octaves in the climactic coda of the“Waldstein” Sonata. Holding your thumb and pinky at anoctave’s distance in each hand, you must slide up and down thewhite keys. In concert Rudolf Serkin used to wet his fingers inhis mouth discreetly as the passage approached to ease it along.

I tried playing that passage on the Katholnig, with its lightaction and quick response, and it was almost easy. Slide up,slide down; just like Chico Marx.

But what about, say, the late “Hammerklavier” Sonata.Even a steely modern Steinway can barely stand up to thedemands of this monumental music, with its pummeling chords,gnashing trills and hell-bent final fugue. I played the bracing chordal opening theme on an 1828 Graf, a renownedViennese company. It was like using a kiddie piano for an adult job.

Mr. Frederick was quick to point out that each piano fromthat era was valued for its individual qualities. The ideal of a standardized piano with perfect evenness throughout its range came with the late industrial age, he said. As he and Ms. Frederick write in an essay about their collection, “Pianosbuilt before the 20th century frequently displayed intentionallywide ranges of tone color.”

So Beethoven used to advantage certain aspects of thepianos he had at hand and looked beyond the qualities he founddeficient. At the Frederick collection, through its concerts,workshops and lecture-recitals, you can hear virtually everytype of piano Beethoven would have played. Better yet, playthem yourself. That’s the whole idea.

Mark and Charmaine Haas, AMICA members from Dearborn, Michigan, take this seriously as they plan each yearto take one of their player pianos to an area function anddemonstrate it for the enjoyment of festival goers.

This year, in September, they took their player to Trenton,Michigan to the 17th annual “Somewhere In Time” festival, acelebration of bygone days. Besides dressing in period

costumes and playing many of their favorite Rolls, Mark andCharmaine handed out AMICA brochures and gave visitors to the event an opportunity to try pumping the player him or herself.

Thanks, Mark and Charmaine, for promoting our hobbyand our organization!

How to use your AMICA BY-LAWS, Article II, Section 1g:

“To educate the public about the historical and cultural significance of automatic musical instruments.”

13

PLAYER PIANOS COME TO MOENCH HALL

PeoplePEOPLE

Imagine walking into a saloon in the Old West. You walk

up to the bar, get a drink, and sit down at a table. You chat with

your fellow cowpokes and watch the showgirls dancing on the

stage. But what are they dancing to? Why, the player piano in

the corner, of course!

In reality, player pianos were not invented until the early

twentieth century. And instead of being played in saloons in the

“wild” west, they were mostly found in homes on the eastern

portion of the country. So why has the misconception

continued? Actually, Hollywood has promoted the

misconception through the movies. Michael Kukral is fighting

this misconception and ignorance by displaying the many

mechanical parts and rolls of a player piano in a case on the

second floor of Moench by D-115.

Kukral, a geography professor at Rose-Hulman, became

interested in reproducing player and other pianos when he was

young. His father used to tell Kukral about the player piano in

his boyhood home. When Kukral was in junior high school, he

began working in a piano restoration store. He worked there

through college, and now he collects and restores pianos in his

spare time.

Kukral’s collection contains six restored pianos, hundreds

of rolls of songs, and other paraphernalia. He buys the pianos

in any condition and spends approximately 180 hours restoring

the 4,000 moving parts in the pianos. His collection includes

one of the first player pianos ever created. There are roughly

eight of these in existence.

Player pianos were the main source of home entertainment

in the 1920’s because their sound was more lifelike than

phonographs. They were expensive, but they produced music

for the average household who would not otherwise have had

access to the music. With the introduction of radios and electric

speakers, player pianos were pushed out of the market.

Player pianos come in many shapes and forms. The most

recognizable are the upright pianos, but they also take on the

style of the grand piano. The earliest forms looked like a

sideboard that could be rolled up to the keys of the piano and

then moved when the song was done. There were also

reproducing pianos, which were live performances by famous

artists. The music was as lifelike as someone playing.

The world of rolled music was as cut throat as the record

companies now. Reproducing piano companies signed artists

exclusively to their labels. They even hosted concerts where

the same song was played twice: once by the piano and once

by the artist. Some of the concerts were even sabotaged by

competitors!

The player piano has affected all of our lives. It was in a

player piano laboratory that cellular devices were discovered.

Another discovery was that of karaoke: some of the rolls

displayed the lyrics as they played!

By Eva BarlowSent in by Michael A. Kukral

THE ROSE THORNROSE-HULMAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

14

101-Key101-KEYBy Leonard Grymonprez

From the nearly fourteen hundred dancehall organs andorchestrions which have been made over the years by Mortier(see pages 892-905 of Bowers Encyclopedia), this is the largest,most beautiful, and for a thousand more reasons exquisitedancehall organ which has left the firm. It was manufacturedfor dancehall owners in the county of West Flandres, but lateron moved and set up for years at the “Thalia” Dancehall inBlankenberge (a city alongside Belgium’s sea coast, check page 898 of Bowers Encyclopedia), until dad bought it (withoutthe façade) on July 10th, 1950, the day of the author’s 18th birthday.

Certain rumors have occurred ever since which confusedconnoisseurs and owners of Mortier instruments in Europe andthe U.S., but the true story is this: dad, our crew and I stoppedby at Eekloo for a refreshment at the dancehall “The Circle”when we came back from an organ hire cruise in early July1950. While chatting things over with the dancehall owner,who used to be a long time friend of dad, we heard the grandnews first - this particular organ was for sale or would otherwise be destroyed!

We hastened, nearly rushed to Blankenberge and didn’twait to pay a pre-deposit on it. Unfortunately, the façadealready had been mashed down from its seven feet high balconysince “the removing people” explained they couldn’t find a wayto take it properly apart! My goodness . . . !

Fortunately, the organ main chassis plus the four additionalleft and right cabinets were rescued. After general cleaning,fixer-up and pneumatic restoration which took us around threemonths of work, it played for three years in our dancehall forthe enjoyment of visitors, listeners and dance couples.Although it performed without the façade, people didn’t carethat much, but rather preferred its fine voiced music above all.

Because of strong inside family affairs, it was sold in 1953to organ builder Arthur Bursens of Hoboken (Antwerp) andever since traces are lost. Most probably Mr. Bursens used themost precious pipe ranks and other components. I could notstate one single argument against it . . . it solely could have hadno better future!

This particular 101-key Mortier dancehall organ had anidentical instrumentation as the present day 101-key Mortierdancehall organ Tajmahal owned by Mr. Q. David Bowers, adancehall organ that dad and I also have owned and sold in thewinter of 1967/68 to Mr. Bowers.

If one studies the Thalia on lower part of page 898 of theBowers Encyclopedia and the Tajmahal on page 903, one would notice the middle section of the Thalia façade had muchevidence with that of the Tajmahal, except it doesn’t have bothfemale life-size hand-carved statues on it. Also both left andright niches of the Thalia organ have milk-glass columnsagainst the carved columns of the Tajmahal, which only has twoglass columns against the six milk-glass columns of the Thalia.The measurement of the Thalia was: length thirty-six feet andheight twenty-two feet.

Some other differences between both beauties are remarkable as well, although of minor importance. The Thaliadancehall organ, an instrument which entertained hundreds ofthousands of listeners and dance couples, is once again a basicstatement of never-surpassed beauty and tonal quality plus topcraftsmanship by all people on the Mortier crew!

As I expressed many times before in my articles whichcovered the Mortier firm, it is the Rolls Royce above all otherdancehall organs and pipe rank orchestrions and it never againwill be surpassed for sure! Unfortunately I have no picture ofthis organ any longer, but fortunately one could study it indetail on page 898 of the encyclopedia towards the curiosityand interest of all.

101-Key Mortier Dancehall Organ Thalia

/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MUSICAL AMERICA for February 10, 1934 ;NEW YORK TIMESDECEMBER 5,' 193il

A uTenor R.vo~l. Unusual Gift.

of Sensitivity and Mus ic;an­ship at the Town Hall.

IADMIRABLE IN DEBUSSYI

Delicate PrtlClllon of Dtct)o/,a.nd Intonation ~. Noted­

Lodl1er Group Given.

DEBUT Ifi HAfLEDOF FRANKLYN BAURN

RyLKNAR

B

"Mr. Baur sliilg with admirable ul.1.d.lJJstanding [a:nd taste. He preYed anewcomer of artistic value." New York Sun, December 5, 193'3

R

In hllll d'but TeeHAJ (n Un Town!Hll.1l leat. nl,ht, Jl"ra.nkLyn B..ur•.Unor. nveahd unu3ual gltl1ll ot:JleJUlUvlt)' and ll\utrchuuhlp. D ..bUIl&Y hi a periloul te",t (It: • IlnS-tt'.B I

lAl!Ile cmd. command. of hi. tn:Jtru­nunt. He mUlit. nat only oencompUIdlWcult phruC"C' and tnhrva.lI, butproject Debu,",ey'. unique c:omblnA·lion. or ('001, Jlquld det.a.c:hmcnt Ilnd... votupl~ tha.t It motc ot air andwater than or the human l1u.rtl

All this Mr. Baur admlre.bly ..c­compH:Ilhed In hi, third [fro up com­~rlslDg "Le jet d·...u." uC'rl!l.n,""C't-It I'c:xta.a 1anroureu"," and"Rondeau. of It I... long time .Inetone hu hurd the trrencb multI'080 tlntty dc::Uy~rtId. The Ilnru'..lyle ad.mlrably encomp..'ud, til'aubJ.ct, hot ODly ... \0 ton. C1o%orand Illm04phoTC, but a. to d~lIe.h

preclsion of diction o.nd an hHona·lton alw")'1 precisely In Un voealIln~.

The ;sam!! qu.HUe. marked. moatol his othtt'. 1lIlnrlDI'". pl.l"t1c:ularly

~.ls·UddocOnn~ag~r.F. "~~~I~~.,,~g~g~nel" al\d II A. D,u,m WIlhln &

~e:~h"'" Hj~::;n~l~od~ B8if:~: Iroin" &.1\4 ltDi-pClJun. potent.., d.ae4e/' beth florl41Y npld, 41­pl~y.4 bit tlexlbttUt All,do. ...•t.nd~n~ 0.1' .. dltter.,,~!5rlLhht. ITOuDon~,~

N

"A debut of considerable importance. The voice is warm, luscious anddirected by a fine sensitive musicianship." . '

Brooklyn TimeJ, December 5, 193.'1

"He was most successful in his Debussy songs, wh.ich were SUJlg with fineappreciation of the composer's style and with considerable imagination."

. New York Herald Tribune, December 5, 1933

"}I\ concert tenor of uncommon qualifications. Mr. Baur, singing anuJlha,ckne~,ed progrC!!TI, has the valuable asset called 'Une.' This with soundmusician*ip, good natural resources and clear articulation should win hima ranking with fhe cQIrlparatively few worthwhile recital-giving tenors."

New Yorker Mtrgasine, December 16, 1933

"Anyone who can get such a 'hand' as he did with a group of the moreab'struse Debussy songs is an artist to be reckoned with. His fine tenorvoice and finished style made his entire concert a genuine suc.cess.."

New York JOIlr:na!, December 5, 193.8

Franklyn Baur Appears inFirst New York Recital

From Musical America/or December 25, 1933

Franklyn Baur, tenor, Edwin McArthur,accompanist. Town Hall, Dec. 4, evening:

Durch's Feuer wird das Silber rein; Deposuitpotentes de sede Bach

Der Gang zum Liebchen; Nachtigal!; WieMelodien zeiht es mir; So willst du desArmen Brahms

Le jet d'Eau; Green; C'est l'Extase Iangoureuse; Rondeau Debussy

Sudden Light; To Helen; Sonnet; A Dreamwithin a Dream Loeffler

~/ One of the fmest song programs given thus far thisv --Yseason was the above, in which Mr. Baur' introduced

himself to New York's recital public. He sang thisexceedingly taxing list of vocal art music entirely frommemory, in itself an undertaking, one that requiredunusual courage, to say nothing of skill. Fortunatelyhis musicianship is of a quality that insured his doing itwell.

Mr. Baur deserves all manner of praise for the wayin which he devoted his art to the music, bending hisvocal equipment to its service, instead of making it ameans for personal display. His voice is one of greatpurity, generally well produced, he phrases artisticallyand intelligently and his enunciation of the texts in allthe languages he sang was admirable.

He is a young artist, who should go far in thisfield, if he continues to apply himself with the sameseriousness of purpose that had obviously beenemployed in the preparation of this program. Hishearers applauded him heartily and demanded extras,among them the Berceuse from Godard's operaJocelyn, the old English Cherry Ripe and theLondonderry Air.

Mr. MacArthur's share in the enjoyable eveningwas a considerably one, executed with technicalmastery and tonal beauty.

Management NBC ARTISTS SERVICE - 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York. George Engles, Director

15

16

Alexander ZilotiALEXANDER ZILOTIBy Denis Condon

Alexander Ziloti - Only on the Duo-Art

Yes, it’s true! Ziloti didnot make rolls for any

other reproducing piano nordid he make any gramophonerecords. So, the eight pieceswhich he recorded for Aeolian in 1922/23 are theonly examples of his artavailable to us today. [I takethe spelling of his name fromthe New Grove, the oldspelling Siloti is no longerused.]

Born in South Russia in1863, he became a pupil of

Tschaikowsky and of Nicholas Rubinstein in the Moscow Conservatoire. His great success there culminated in him beingawarded the Gold Medal at his final examination. Rubinsteinadvised Ziloti to take lessons from his more famous brotherAnton. However, Anton had neither patience nor skill as ateacher, and Ziloti said that the lessons were “a nightmare”. Inan attempt to avoid accepting Ziloti, Rubinstein asked the young man to prepare four major works: Schumann “Kreisleriana,” Beethoven “Emperor Concerto” and “SonataOp. 101” and Chopin’s “Sonata in B minor”. A formidablearray of pieces which had to be ready in six weeks! Ziloti hadnothing pleasant to say of Rubinstein except that it was throughhis advice that he went to study with Liszt in Weimar.

Ziloti had no means of his own to go abroad so the directors of the Imperial Russian Musical Society decided tosend him to Liszt at their expense. Liszt’s “lessons” were thefoundation of today’s master classes. Pupils would arrive withtheir music which they would leave on the piano and Lisztwould go through the music to select a piece for study. Thusthe chosen pupil would then play the item with Liszt offeringencouragement and criticism. Ziloti was part of this routinefrom 1883 to 1886.

Among his fellow students were a number of pianistswhose work we also know from piano rolls - Rosenthal,Ansorge, Reisenauer, Sauer, Stavenhagen, Lamond and more.A particular associate of Ziloti was Arthur Friedheim. Theybegan their friendship in Liszt’s class and maintained it for therest of their lives. In his remarkable book Life and Liszt,Friedheim gives an account of some of the ways that Zilotiwould attempt to amuse Liszt. For example, enlisting

Friedheim’s help, Ziloti planned to surprise Liszt at one of theSunday afternoon entertainments given at the home of the Stahrsisters. These two women were former pupils of Liszt and herarely missed one of their musicales. Ziloti’s idea was for heand Friedheim to play from memory Liszt’s Faust Symphonyarranged for two pianos. The success of this venture led to aperformance on the following Sunday of the Dante Symphonygiven in the same way. This in turn led to a concert in theGewandhaus in Leipzig at which the two works were againplayed on two pianos. Quoting Friedheim: “The performanceswere given in the presence of the composer, he received amighty ovation from the audience and a legitimate performanceof the two symphonies with orchestra soon followed.”

In 1887 Ziloti became a professor at the Moscow Conservatoire, but he soon took up the life of a touring virtuoso, playing in Russia, Germany, Belgium, France, GreatBritain and the United States. He eventually made his home inthe USA in 1922 and taught at the Julliard School for a number of years. Among his pupils were Nikita Magaloff, WilhelmBackhaus and Rachmaninov, who was Ziloti’s cousin. Alexander Ziloti died in New York in 1945. All who heard himinvariably mentioned his beautiful singing tone.

Ziloti’s Duo-Art rolls6585 Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 in C#m

Original copies of this roll are hard to find. Consideringthe competition, Grainger 6497 and Hofmann 6139, this performance stands up very well. It is straightforward [a fewdecorations do not tally with the Joseffy edition] and comparesfavorably with my own preferred performance, Stavenhagen onthe Welte. The Finale in particular is brilliant and exciting.

6636 Liszt: Benediction of God in the Solitude from Harmonies, Poetic and Religious [revised and abbreviated by Ziloti]

As originally written by Liszt this sublime music takes atleast fifteen minutes to play. Ziloti’s performance with hisabbreviations and “revisions” lasts round about eight minutes.Nevertheless this splendid roll [made all the more splendid in the British edition by Percy Scholes’s Audiographic annotations] is one of the jewels of the Duo-Art catalog. Thebeautifully phrased tenor melody stands out in perfect proportion from the whispered accompaniment while the

17

climax is in magnificent contrast to the devotional atmosphereof the music as a whole. Wonderful!

6875[1] Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy - Movement Two: Adagio

This strange mixture is odd indeed. The second movementof the Fantasy is some ninety bars long, Ziloti gives us a version of twenty bars only and does not come near to expressing the nature of the music’s grave solemnity. It is followed on the same roll by:

6875[2] Liadoff arr. Ziloti: Goolenki [A Cradle Song]

From a composer who was famed for his indolence, this isa gentle piece rendered by Ziloti with affection and a good dealof style. This and the disappointing truncated Schubert strikeone as being odd bedfellows on the same roll and there is probably a story as to how they came to be issued together.

6657 Riabinine: Ukrainian Folk Song

Ziloti was a country lad who was brought up on his father’sestate near Kharkov in the south of the Ukraine. This is thevery sort of song that his nurse would have crooned to him asan infant. The dark somber and rich tone makes this an idealshowpiece for the Duo-Art.

6600 Bach: Prelude in E minor - Andante[arranged from the organ solo by Ziloti]

The elaborate note about this music that appears in the1927 Duo-Art catalog really does say it all. Sufficient to say,the performance fulfills all of the qualities that the catalog notesuggests. It is indeed “impressive, loftily beautiful and uplifting.” This is the sort of roll to which the listener comesback again and again.

6985 Bach: Choral Prelude in E minor[Theodor Szanto, Edited by Ziloti]

This piece is one of the forty-five chorale preludes inBach’s Orgel-Buchlein. These consist of hymn tunes often decorated with expressive ornaments usually spread over a simple traditional hymn. They are one of the glories of theReformation where the congregation provides the sung hymnwith a solid basis for the often elaborate organ accompaniment.

6600 Bach: Cantata No. 29 Prelude [Arranged by Ziloti]

There is a British Duo-Art roll of this music [Duo-ArtNo.098] played by Leff Pouishnoff in the arrangement by Saint-Saens, from a worthwhile group of Bach transcriptionsfor the piano by this adventurous musician. The British catalog,mistakenly, gives its number as Cantata No. 28. I prefer thePouishnoff rendition, as it is more in keeping with the secular,

rather than sacred, nature of the event for which it was composed - the inauguration of the Leipzig Town Council inAugust 1731. Ziloti’s playing of this is, as I hear it, not as vitalas that of Pouishnoff.

Ziloti also contributed to the Duo-Art auction roll of “Variations on Chopsticks.” He played the sixth variation composed by Rimsky-Korsakov: Grotesque Fugue.

To conclude this monograph, I quote from Ziloti’s description, in later years, of Liszt’s fascinating personality:There were thirty or forty of us young fellows and I rememberthat, gay and irresponsible as we were, we looked small andfeeble beside this old man. He was literally like a sun in ourmidst. When we were with him, we felt the rest of the world tobe in shadow, and when we left his presence our hearts were sofilled with gladness that our faces were, all unconsciously,wreathed in smiles.

Further reading:

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

Ziloti: Reminiscences of Liszt

Friedheim: Life and Liszt

Dubal: The Art of the Piano

Burger: Franz Liszt - A Chronicle of his Life in Pictures andDocuments [This has some wonderful photographs of Ziloti]

Two Pieces Beautifully

Played by SilotiFantasia (Slow Movement) Composed by Schubert

and Liadoff-Siloti and Goolenki (Cradle Song) Played byAlexander Siloti

68759 - $2.25

Schubert’s great Fantasia in C Major (Opus 15) is oneof his finest and most poetic compositions for piano. Its Slow Movement comprises a set of ineffably lovelyvariations on the entrancing melody of one of the most famous and most beautiful of all his songs, “The Wanderer.” The wondrous beauty of the melody iseffectively set off by the simplicity and correspondingbeauty of the harmonic investure. Here the distinguishedRussian pianist, Alexander Siloti, has played it most poetically, and has also followed it on the same record-rollwith his own skillful arrangement of a little masterpiece by Liadoff - a Cradle Song in which a lovely, singingmelody is deftly set to a gently rocking accompaniment.

THE ILLUSTRATED LQNDON NEWS, JULY 17, 1926.-137

c .~

H o s p [ T A L TYFROM the wdcome to the farewell English hospitality

knows no peer. The restful contentment bred of tha:tconsummate art that conceals all art is the happy lot of

every guest. The hostess is at her best when she knows sheis giving of the best, and no hostess can provide betterentertainment than perfect music.

The ·Duo~Art''P I A N 0 LA· P I A N 0SOLVES FOR EVER THB PROBLEM OF PROVIDING ENTERTAINMENTFOR YOUR GUESTS, YOUR FAMILY AND FOR YOURSELF

The !l\test dance, a popular song Qr a great classic-using the 'Duo-Art~ as a•Pianola' Piano you can play them yourself, the delicate controls allowing the fullestscope for every variation of expression.Us~g specially .·pr~p~red. artists' rolls, the ·~~o.Art' will. reproduce, withoutasslStince, and mdisungulShably frora the onguJlll, the finished platform per­formances of the greatesr living pianists.Then, as an ordinary piano for hand playing, the 'Duo.Art' has that beauty oftoneand delicacy of touch always associated with the famous names of Steinway.Weber and Steck.

An [n"italianAt Aeolian Hall are many beautiful raudels of this wonderful instrument that youare cord.iaJly invited to inspect and to play.Easy payment terms with immediate delivery call be arranged and a liberal allowancemade for your present piano or player piano in part excl).ange.

Price List D C2 and Easy

. Payment and Exchange

Terms free on refJuesl.

18

THE AEOLIANAEOLIAN HALL· NEW

COMPANY LTD.BOND ST. LONDON WI

THE ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS, A~R)L 24, 1926.-789

NaITAxAL

brings rest after tht day's stress.With '!- 'Duo-Art' your repertoire is infinite!y greater than thatof the most versatile pianist. You become a skilled musician, ableto play any and all music, an(j the simple' Pianola' controls, whichinclude the celebrated Themodist and Metrostyle, enable you toplay it with personal expression, exactly as ii playing by hand.If you would listen to music rather than play it yourself, you havebut to select a 'Duo-Art' roll actually· recorded by one of theworld's great pianists, and the 'Duo-Art' will reproduce for youexactly the artist's original performance.The 'Duo·Art' 'Pianola' Piano may be either a STEINWA Y,WEBER, or STECK, and therefore is always a superb piano for Price ListD.Ca.and easy Pay",<,nJplaying by· hand in the usual way. $nd .rchangeterms sent on ;eq~st.

AN INVITATION TO PLAY THE 'DUO.ART.'

You are cordially invited to inspect. andpl.ay the beautiful Upright or Grand Models ofthe •Duo.Art . :tt Aeolian Hall. Prices are moderate; convenient payment terms canbe arranged, and a generous allowance made for your present plano in part exchange.

W HEN the day's game has been finally re-fought, whenconversation flags, and pipes burn out unnoticed, whensport - wearied muscles gratefully relax and silence and

reverie hold sway, then the hour's great need is Music-to bridgethe void, to soothe th~ senses, to stimulate remembrance, to satisfysome inward want of the soul.

It E

THE AEOLIAN COMPANY LTD~ Jtal,b cN'-eAff dDon2 $f:#ee6. J:on.:iJorb W1.

19

THE ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS. JUl.Y 17. 1926.-13l!

ON BUYING A CAR.

By JOHN PRIOLEAU.

CA.R.THEOFCHRONICLETHE

buy« must knaw exactly what he WlloDts. andbel quite soue that he is DOt elCpccting afv.ll. fledged trnascontinental tour« at the price.power. and size of a fe{ltherweight I1,Inabout.Many of these little cal'S are ex.tremcly wellbuilt, and. will put up w;th a lot of ill·usage for aloug time, but it is DO mQre sensible to expect th.emto catTy heavy 103oc18 day in an4 day out, economic­ally,~ it is to expect the wo<k Q( a team at .hirehorses Crom a cob.

The fourth rule. which "' daily growing moreimportant, is this ; .. Do not bel beguiled by a d=Ung

VlSmIIG ONE OF 'TIlE OLDESt' HOSt'llUWlS III EIlGLAIlD I A NEW

SIX-CYLDI'DBR 1""34-H.P. SINGER SALOON OUTSIDE THE .. PIGHTIHG

COCIC5 J' AT ST. AJ..8AHS.

1M 1'1U •• LIJ(D OF lilY :FATHERS": A lS"9-H.P. HOTCHKISS WEnlAJOI SALOOK

HECOTlATlNC nil! HIUS IIEAR SNOWDON.

are useful to (oUow when cb()O§i.ng a now ear.TIw lint is to make up you. mind irrevocablyon what your price limit is, a. figure which shouldinclude the cost of everything. It may not sound

like good /iu""cc to say

"';;:;Z~{::::=::::;;:::'--::----:---:::--:::-"'"7""77-;-;:-:::i--:::;::J_tJlat YQU should ma.kCJH 1:hi5 limit as higb asyou can alford to, but.gencrn.lly speaking, it issound from the point ofview of your own motor­ing life. "Buy the bestj>ml..........Word...is /11< GoldenRule.

The se<:oDdrole is; "00you. best todecide wbatis the maiD.work you winTC'luire of you.car, and howmany peopleit will usuallyha:ve to carry.'~

This is very im·portant. Manya new car hasproved a dis­appointment toan inexperi-enced buyer,simply becausehe bas in 19no.­ance a1lowed

Even to the hardened veteran of ~ty yean I u- hillliteU', for exa..r:nple. to be '\-rooedporionoe. wbo bas bougbt as many ca<'S as he bas from the path oC ""mmon-senso bydriven years, there is always something of a very the beauty of a "Sports Clovergenuine thrill about buying the .twenty-first and Leaf," when what he really D«<led wasito saccessors. a large all-\Veath«. Body-wo.k, !3ken

Much morc magic there is in it. mucb Illoro interest as a whole, is fax from perfect to-day,and much more excitement, just at this particular from the USC'I:":i point of view, if nottime, when. after some very grim days, we are aU from the maker's. The closed can;lookiug forward to a period Q( pcace aad comCort. whlch. are now all the rage may belU fa. that """"'a alone, this month of July 1926 as nncom1ottabl. as ""y tu-yeat'-Oldwould bel regarded us a particularly p.opc. time Cor =, especially when they have only twobuying a Dew car. although. [ always.think it is ~beurd doors. Open touring ~ arc some·to talk of U seasons" in car-bUying. It is always a. times. good.. and sometimes very bad,good time to buy cars, A cur is a fricad fa. :ill the and the Duye, lD'lI.t wl\lk wry warilyyea< round, and it is of no importance at all in wbat indeed whee it COlll<S to the .finalmoath you buy it. All th.at matters is that you decision.should bUy the right ODe. The third rule. which ill an obvious

Buying a·ca. I 01 wllat sort shall the magic eo< CQrollary of the first two. is to buy asbel•. whicb from the very date of he< purcha.sc will mueh horse-pow« as you cun for thealways remain in her owner's memory' as a memorial money. Some of these new, light.of our escape from, uational TUm ( It is obvious small-engia.oo cacs are ~xtraordjnarily efficient, array of accessoric:s. U A certain number of gadgetsthat it must be a cur which win take the p~ of and altogether delightful things to own. but the a.e naturally an indispcnsullle pa..-t oC a propcdy·honou. amongst all its pre- =~;--,;==-;-....,.,-~~~--------....,....,-------....,-----;-,., equipped ..., bot soma of thedecessors and successors. It ~: r", M., ~,! iii' ~ rubbish which one sees c1utter-m.ust be a car over the choice ing up dashboards on newoC which all p<lSOillle pains are cars to-day is m«ely Q sigataken, the best .... yoa can oC money wasted whieh mightbuy fo< the money. have been far more profitably

( buve bought new cars to.- spent on the mechuuism. Itabout the last t..enty.fivc years. does Ilot. of course, foUow thatand ( am glad to say that J because a car bas many acccs-.till find the job as interesting sorles it is therefore a badand as difficult a$ ever it was. ~~ but it is unwise toWe hcar .Q' great deal about doduoe that a .. sUpe<' equip·pCrfectioD, and sucb ot1lfI as mcnt" means that as muchlinality oC design (us i1 anything attention bas been lavishedwere linal in this woddj, but on moro important parts oCthe b:<1th of the matter Is that the ca..no ,ingle ca. to-day possesses This is going to be acv,.Ey single featu.. desired by tremendous motoring yea., andthe ave~ own«. ""d that that supreme optimism whichsome oC them make nth« a Is the natianal gift DC thepoor display. AgaInst this you Englishman is sending peoplohave. when you are consHiering out on to the roads in morethe best cars aD tho market. thousands ~ eve.. Everyonetho practical certainty of get· wants to see the EDgiand whichting good materiaJ, good design. will never again be threatenedsolid construction, and. above by revolution, and the onlyall, real engine efficiency. Oilier way to do it is by road, Inthings may not be up to the 8110cccding articles I hope tosame .~durd. but. ..t all give read.n of TM Illuswokde""nts, you buve .. very saUd LoftdJJn NefJJS my impressions ofand satisfying bo.sIs an which to various kinds of ..... to suitworl<- various depths oC pockets. with

There are one o. two rules OUTSlI>lt tml TOWER OP 1.01IDOIl: mil llI!W TWB Sllt.cYUlllIEIl 1(·11.1'. SlnR toQIUllG CAll details which ""'y bel oC set-which expenooce !las taught me m All AlltIDT SETtUG. vice to the buy....

THERE is m:Lgic in the very words. Of all the~ings the ave<age man buyS to ..tve his dally

needs 0(' pleasucc, a motor-QI' a.nd its adjuncts arcbeyond question the most interesting and ex:citing~

________________T_H_E._'_IL_L_U_ST_RA__T_EO LONDON NEWS, APRIL 24, 1926.-790

CARAVANNINGTHE IDEAL HOUDA Y.

A.:CI~r"s- lUe 0(Jorand rrec:"l~n. /'Ilkist the tuCOJot tnlAnvWr tcellery;o(C~at Bri..m. by il)et\ltny ~tU<tetl

Motor Caravan. de Luxe.:Prori~ wJ,h l'J'YNe Cabto~ Btolh1'OoOa\ mot and cold

;;:'l1!~O::;:'~~~..tnd~'h1.~r~~~rtbvU.ItMI+ »a.lhi~fil.hl~.k(t"I$.::rIlOlf/UJtJI,.~R~~::~~..;rril ~~~)lJ~.1tl\ indusll/'t

wi~hoRl CItY ~Jttnu wha'"""".Write ror bllntt.tJ'!IllllUtklIl'a,Il:'d brom!Jl'll... A CRDUU~

011 _H••a:,&," ~V=:t'r"ddrcH on ~I tlr

IIAllVIY • BATHURST'S CARAVAN ANDMOTOR TOURS, LTD., (DepL CI,

235. RECENT STREET. LONDON, W. "'PHONEt MAYFAIR 1296-0314...

aerial for this apparatus is a. short length o[ \"'"irC

stre.tcbed between the wireless cabin and oae o( theengine gondolas. Loop aerials, for use when direvlion-finding is in progress. are fitted diagonally roundthe outside of the airship's envelope, the centre ofthe loops coiuciding with the lead-in to the \'Ioi.rele:sscabin. The loops consist of two turns 01 wire spaced9 in. apart. and are doped to the fabric with linentape. forming a neat and unobtrusive, bllt veryefficient, fitting. Inside the cabin~ eigllt termina..lsare fitted on an ebonitc panel to which the ends of

the loops are connected. Thisenables tbe loops to be put ineither panllcl Or series. as mightbe found most advantageous OD.

the wave--lcngth being received.For the reception of continuouswave, spark, and telephone mes~

sages, a. plug-in coil tuner, cover­ing a Vo-ave-range of 300 to 25,000metres, is connected to the high­frequency amplifier in pi""" oftb.e transformer and radio~gonio­

meter units whi.cb are used fordirection-finding. Eleven plug-incoils are provided to COV("-'r thefull wave-range, anyone of whichcan be inserted according to thewave-length being rtceived.

The chie! difficulty in fixingthe apparatus in tue wirelesscabin of 'the NJ)rg~ was lack ofspace, the operator's quartersbeing somewhat crampe-d. Infixing the instrum.ents it wasnece559Xy to give mOre attentionto convenience of wiring than toappearance; but in spit~ o( everyecoaomy in space and weight, thegenera! effect is very wockmanlike.

The receiving apparatus is sup­ported OD 1WO shelves 011 the in-terior wall of the cabin, whilst the

whole forward wall is taken up witb tllC transmitterpanel. A narrow table is provided for the ope.-ator'swriting, aod for the manipulating ke}', on the star~

board outside wall. Under the left-hand side o( thetable the transautter inductance is fitted to the floor.and to tbe right is fitted a small triangular eupboardfor carrying spares. Non-spillable accumulators) anddry batteries stand on the .o.OO( of the cabin.

10 b.p. Modeh from £23612135 hop. Model. from.. £376Aak for tUasttated Art Cata!O.,.If· ."d ~e of nea:r_t Antllt.

ManW4ciuJ'cf3 :

SWIFT OF COVE.NTRY. LTD., COVE.NTRY.Lmtiofl SItQlllTOO!JfS. RrbGlr ond SudC$ Dr~f;

IH.5. lollJ AMe, W.C.2 (oae !Dill..,11 from Ltier:tl« SoUUIt TGbeSr.!ion.).

be varied from ·inside tile cabin by a special leverwhich may be adjusted and locked to suit the speedat which the ship is tra.velling. Or at tnc rate re­quited by tbe dynamo.

Into the base of the goodola i. lilted a specialtype of faLdead. for paying-out the trailing aerial.wbiC'11 )s 300 ft. long. 'this fairlead+ enables a newaerial and weight to be fitted while tbe airship isin 8ight, should it be necessary to do· so. Spocial.Marconi receiving apparatus is utilised botb fordirection-tindmg and for ordi.o.ary reception. As in

all a.ircraft. economy of spa« and the minimumof weight are es&eotial features; and to meet theserequircmeats. several of the units are used both ford;zeeti<Jn,finding and ordinary reception porposes.

A Marconi short-wave, two-valve receiver, witha wave-l"ilIJ.ge of lo-roo metres. is carried. Thisis intended for communication wit11 Point' Banow,where a short-wave tJ"3Dsmitter is installed. The

Don't buy a Mew Caruntil yoU have seen the new 10 h.p. and 12{35h.p. Swifts. Sturdinea and performance arethe outstanding qualitie. of thee«: two excellentcan. With either of them you do not haveto cOlISider whether the work that you havefor them i. within their power. They will notfail you, for they are deugned for hard work,yet they are sen.itive to your control witboutbeing delicate.

GIRDED BY LOOP AERIALS FOR DIRECTION,FINDING AT THE NORTH POLE: THe AIRSHIP··NORGE."

When A..rrlundscn'& :2trshlp .. Norge" ~ the vicinity of the North. Polo. hor'" ccm~ will be of little. u.so forna~tion. Wlth tho .e.ld. howovOT. (If her wtl'81l:s.s dlreclioll.-jlndlng appatat\&.$, to con!unctJon wllh the two loopooll.b wblth AI"'Il fht.ed diago1l3)\y u'O\Ul.d thl e.Dn\ope (.33 UluttTol.ttd above by ow.rtesY ot Marconi', WlreleD Te:lq.r:tphCompany, tW.) her'" <Xltntn:lnder'" will be :lIble to check tho ~h(p'~ posiUof) by e:lGhaDfi.Dc a1grIaJs with dLst~t rdjo

~tatloM.,

RADIO NOTES.

Broc}m.-e "ot. 7(1. .ulll jru.

The Ireat~eDI ]a dven by I:l

f:l(l:..)lI' Continoota.l Specialist wbo b:uprucli*t.J in I.-ond-oo for the: hut :J.O )"C3.t'1I.

Be remove_ in on~ sillier, perman­cnllJ <:lopol withou1 paie, thOK: lines.WT\ftklll, aod loose .skiD; about !.he e}'m.;LOt! (rolD no'iC to m<:)uLb.

Be re8Core8 to the faeo a.nd neck i.tt~-ootbfo.l f;O"toUI" by tightctling tMib4by tinlt~.

lfo l't3.ulIfle$ lhe compie:l.ion,

He Bhapes the Dose ;lt1d can jatoIdeoll ff)(ro. tl.nd l"l!lDOVQ' or corrects .n)'b.cizl bl~milh.

Let us tobow )'OU thl!: way to look (rom15 W 10 ~aC'$ }"otlegcr. We l,l~C 00

lotiOi'll. poma.d.c:s, m:u..~ge or m<:loke.up:0..,( 1"osull,$ aTIC Smmecl~te ll.l'ld la&tinJI.W~ charge ;ab)'olutcly nolwllK for:'l.dVH:("-COltJc 70nJ ,c<: hOiV we dQ i.t "'odjudge {(Or y('ur~lt

FACE LIITINGrestores your contour andmakes you 20 years younger

HYSTOGENE INSTITUTE Ltd40, Baker Street, Loudon, W.l

I N tbe pastt most cxpeditioos to the Pclar Regionshave had to undergo long periods o( complete

isola.tion from the oUUsidc world, since it has notbce.n po'iSjblc to carry the me3.l1jl of communic.a.tingwith clvilisation. It is o( particu.lar intetest. there­fore. to know tl.Lat. in regard to the AmundsenEllsworth Polar 8igbt. arrangements have been madewhereby tbe Marconi Company have equippedthe a.j[7jhip Norg8 I. with special transmittiog andreceiving apparatus. which. willenable the: commander to keepin touch. witb either ship or landstations up to very considcr~

able distances. The airship will,In fact. be in a position tomaintain oommunication withthe outside world throughout itsvoyage through Arctie solitudes.In regions where interlerence isnot great, the transmitting andreceiving range will probably beanything up to 2000 miles.

01 specioI int......t is thedirectioo·finding system. whichwill enable the navigators accu­r3.tely to determine their" positionand COO"",, despite tile lact tbatcompasses will have reducednavigational value in the region"I the P<Jle it5eU, due to theearth's magnetic 6cld effect, andthe fact that actually at theP"le all ditccti"n will be duesouth.

In order to m",t the specialconditions obtaioing in the air­ship. and to utilise to tile bestadvantage the very limited spaceavailable, tb. principal trans­mltting componeDQ arc mountedon a light ~ baseboard. Theaerial tuning inductance and vadometer Cormseparate units. and, used in conj unction with tbeairship's trailing aerial, cover a wa.ve-range ~{ ap­proximately 550 to 1500 metres. The generatingdynamo is 6tted just astern of the wireless cabin, andis dri"E!t1 by a (our-bladed air-scrcw. Or propeller.capable of developing about tbTl,e horse·power. 'beangle at which the propeller face$ the air-strea.m can

ul.1910.

-rv-r";'l";'-:~1";N-:-';N'N-("';'NN':-;~tN

-, \"

'>:::!J

21

22

The year 1974 was proclaimed by the Belgian Organizationof Tourism as the Year of Folklore and Folkloristic Activities.The Belgian seaside resort of Koksyde (20 miles from Ostend)already had several such folkloristic activities before. Forinstance the Iceland-seamen cortege (a colorful folkloristicdance group); the procession of St. Marten (a celebrity devotedto an imaginary coming home from the giant KO back fromIceland and a successful cod fishing); a three-day-long animated and folkloristic market and more of such events.

But, finally after long years of waiting, a Museum devotedto Mechanical Musical Instruments was opened on Easter of1974 on a sun-graced Saturday. The inauguration by the mayorof Koksyde, Mr. F. Dewulf and in the presence of Mr. AlfonsBursens (Arburo), Mr. Romain-Charles Hooghuys, the ownersDaniel Dagraed-Parreyn and a large group from friends andsympathetic supporting visitors attended the grand opening.

The museum is located at 45 Vandamme Straat, Koksyde.It is opened Easter until late September with entrance being 75pence. There are well over one hundred and eighty collectedand exposed instruments on display. Mr. Dagraed himself started collecting mechanical musical instruments years beforewhich turned into his collection of today. The necessary spaceand accommodations are a former dream which today is turnedinto reality and cozy presentation for visitors to have a closelook at all of these music makers which at one time had entertained many of their ancestors.

The unique collection comprises a group of remarkableorgans and orchestrions, for instance the famed Aalster 84-keyMortier orchestrion, which has a tremendous amount of semi-classical and operatic music books arranged by the latenoteur Mr. August Schollaert. There are several Mortier organsand orchestrions on display, two 92-key Gebruders Decaporchestrions, three 88-Arburo orchestrions with perforatedpaper music rolls, three Pierre Eich electric coin pianos. Thereare also several foreign manufactured instruments such as theGerman Gebruder Weber Unika violin solo piano, two PhilippsSohn Pianella models, a Popper Happy Jazz Band - model, aHupfeld orchestrion (exact style number unknown so far), onePaul Losche orchestrion, two Spanish street pianos, one Thibouville-Lamy organs, two small Gavioli barrel organs, twoMignon reed and music roll operated organs. Further morethere are two Ariston reed organs and a Harmonipan reed organ,a concert grand player piano. There is a line of Komet,Polyphon and Symphonion table and upright music boxes ofvarious styles and a number of discs, a collection of cylinderand disc boxes from Switzerland, France and Germany, a lineof antique gramophones, one bird organ Serimette from the eighteenth century, and a series of smaller reed and pipe organs. Unique to record on your cassette recorder! Quite

understandably, the municipal officials immediately agreed tosupport any effort of Mr. Dagraed for the future expanding and coming events inside and outside the museum and congratulated him for his personal and amazing efforts whichall turned into the museum of today.

Beside the present Belgian Organ Museum, one will simply agree with me that whenever, wherever a fine fairgroundorgan appears, in many versatile aspects it deserves great admiration and estimation among many people. In fact theyreflect a joyful memory into the richness of ours and othernational folkloristic symbols. The fact is Belgium always hasbeen the most remarkable country in Europe covering the subject and the manufacture of dancehall organs and orchestrions. I am certain in saying that by now precisely everyone knows this is true!

Famed names such as Theofiel Mortier; Gebruders Decap;Frans Decap; Arthur Bursens (Arburo); Alfons Bursens; LouisHooghuys; Pierre Verbeeck; Koenigsberg; Van Steenpurt;Daneels; DeVreeze; Fasano; Remond Duwyn and others havebeen the manufacturers of these instruments which gained nameand fame in our country and far abroad, even in both the Americas. One even may not forget the many German manufacturers which had their sales branch offices in Belgium,and I could well assure you my dear readers, that they all havedelivered a world of beautiful, versatile instruments to Belgianbuyers at the time. . . however, exact figures will never berevealed!

Both neighboring country’s - Holland and Belgium - nowhave their own museum of mechanical musical instruments.

Nevertheless, the Dutch museum at Utrecht was foundedyears earlier, but one must agree that the Belgian museum wasrealized only with the personal research force and privateefforts of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Dagraed.

Since the joyful opening day on Easter 1974, a possibilityexisted in Belgium to offer the single one or the groups of visitors a glimpse, and the fascination, to see and hear again the“survivors” from a bygone era, which quite probably at onetime had entertained in many ways most of their ancestors. Toomany, much too many mechanical musical instruments passedaway through the care of the axe. Too many also have beenslaughtered off, only to be recalled again by a hundred thousand different stories. If it might occur, certain names are and maybe unknown by an innocent knowledge of them, have themchecked up through the index of the renowned Bowers Encyclopedia. I am sure you will find traces of them. I thankyou for the interest and, maybe we might meet each othersomeday at the museum. Who knows?

Belgian MuseumNATIONAL BELGIAN MUSEUMBy Leonard Grymonprez

The National Belgian Museum for Mechanical Musical Instruments.

23

Richard Reutlinger and Bing Gibbs talk.

NewsFrom

The Chapters

FOUNDING CHAPTERReporter: Thomas J. McWay III

President: Bing Gibbs (408) 253-1866

Our joint Christmas Meeting was held again this year atRichard Reutlinger’s Victorian Home in San Francisco onDecember 16. This was from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. About 40members showed up this afternoon for a relaxed get-together.

The first hour everyone had light drinks and snacks andtook a tour of Richard’s Victorian Home. Richard has severalplayer pianos on each level of his home. About 3:30 p.m. dinner was served. Again Richard did the home cooking witha great tasting chicken stew and other vegetables. We alsohad several types of pies and cookies.

About 4:30 p.m. Bing Gibbs, President of the foundingChapter, gave his report for the year 2001 AMICA activities.During this discussion members talked about activities for theyear 2002. Richard Reutlinger, our treasurer, gave a report on our financial situation which is very good this year. Also there was talk and action on getting John Motto-Rosconsidered for Outstanding Award for AMICA Member doingoutstanding work and effort for promoting AMICA and playerpianos in America. John has spent the past several yearsdoing extra work all year long helping AMICA. Bing Gibbstalked about all the extra work that John Motto-Ros has donefor AMICA and the Sierra Nevada Chapter and also helpingthe Founding Chapter with many activities. Bing then talkedabout AMICA activities for the coming year 2002.

About 5:00 p.m. the meeting came to an end and members went back for more food or down to listen to some

of Richard’s player pianos. About 6:00 p.m. members startedto leave to go home. Again another great Christmas AMICAparty at Richard’s home in San Francisco. Thanks againRichard from all AMICA members.

Richard Reutlinger’sVictorian Home at 824

Grove Street in SanFrancisco

Many player pianos in this room which used to be a garage for cars.

24

Dinner beingserved.

Members talking aboutAMICA

Christmas tree with American Flags on it.

Christmas tree on top of player piano

Members listening to some of Richard player pianos

John next to the patriotic Christmas tree

Dinner being served.

25

AMICA members listening to player piano that was used inMovie Theatres to play along with silent movies.

Dinner being served.

Members eating dinner and

relaxing

Bing Gibbs, President, talks about AMICA Activities from thispast year 2001 - a good turnout allyear long.

Bing Gibbs talks about other members

having meetings at their home next year.

Bing Gibbs talks aboutAMICA activities this year 2001and next year 2002.

Bing Gibbs listens to members talking about

future AMICA activities for the year 2002.

Player piano used in the Movie Theatres when silentmovies were played up to 1928.

Richard Reutlinger, treasurer, reports on our financial situation which is very good this year.

26

BOSTON CHAPTERReporter: Donald Brown

President: Ken Volk

The Boston Area Chapter journeyed to nearby NewHampshire to the home of Ed and Jean Everett. Since ourlast visit with the Everett’s, they have moved and have soldthe big Bursens Dance Organ they had to Bill Harris. This time we had an organ grind outdoors that brought theneighbors to hear and see, and Chris Christiansen arrived inhis restored 1947 Crosley auto. Inside awaited the Everettcollection of toys from the 20s and 30s, and Ampico Chickering grand piano, a Regina musical box, an 88-noteupright, a 58-note Orchestrel, Edison phonos and cob organs.There was an elegant snack table with punch and coffee whilewe gathered and reacquainted. The organ grind brought threecrank organs, and a yet to be assembled laser-cut kit broughtby Jack Breen called a Castlewood Busker Organ from Australia. The playing organs were brought by Ken Volk,Tony Misiano and Chris Christiansen, and all did well.

Ken Volk ran our business meeting, and under old business, our search for a replacement upright pumper pianofor the Charles River Museum has not produced one worth restoring. Many have too much rust in strings and critical parts. Dorothy Bromage may have a Lester “Colonial” already in her barn that would do. New business was nominations and election of new officers: Bill Koenigsberg-President; Bob Tempest-V. President; Ginger Christiansen-Secretary; Karl Ellison-treasurer. Joe Lavacchia reported that 70-year-old Bill Harris now hasEd Everett’s Dance Organ, and is restoring the two RevereBeach Hippodrome Band Organs. The facades are beingmade in Europe, and the pipework in one is missing. Weheard that Art Reblitz has a new book published, “The Golden Age” from Mechanical Music Press inWoodsville, NH 03785.

The December meeting will be a dinner at Livingstonesin Billerica, Massachusetts. A short meeting will be heldwhile waiting to be served, followed by coffee and music atthe home of Dorothy Bromage nearby. Her Duo-Art, Ampico and Welte pianos will supply the music.

Chris Christiansen inhis ’47 Crosley

Ken Volk and his organ

Tony Randazzoplays his organ

Chris Christiansen and his Hofbauer organ

The Music Room in the basement

27

Karl Ellison plays the pumper

58-note Oak Case Orchestrel

Bill Koenigsberg and Tony Misiano discuss the Chickering Ampico.

Bob Tempest, Bill Koenigsberg, Ginger Christiansen, Ken Volk, Chris Christiansen

GATEWAY CHAPTERReporter: Mary Wilson

President: Yousuf Wilson

Gateway and Heart of America AMICA Chapters held ajoint meeting and monkey organ rally on October 20, 2001 atthe St. Louis City Museum.

The “Cranks and Pranks” rally began on Friday nightwith a BBQ at Cynthia and Gary Craig’s. Setup at themuseum began at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. “Cranks”,of course, referred to the cranking of the organs while“pranks” consisted of various hobbies, collections, and anticsof the members. This included quilts, music boxes, smallmusic box collectibles, carbide canons, and noisemakers.

Gateway Chapter had an interesting display of the JohnSmith organ they are building as a chapter project. A finishedorgan was displayed. The finished parts of the chapter projectwere displayed on a table, along with pictures taken at thevarious work sessions. Also displayed was a hand-made rollpunch demonstrating the actual punching of rolls for thisorgan.

After the rally ended at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, everyoneheaded for historical Scott Joplin House and the restored“Rose Bud Café” for a catered dinner. Meetings of Gatewayand Heart of America Chapters were then held.

At the Gateway Chapter Meeting, it was decided to playour street organs for various Salvation Army Kettle locationsin the St. Louis area to encourage more donations. Plans werealso discussed for completion of the John Smith organ and forour upcoming Christmas Party.

Heart of America Chapter also held their meeting, atwhich the 2002 Convention and their Christmas Party at theKoehlers were discussed.

Excellent entertainment was then provided by the “St.Louis Ragtimers” consisting of Don Franz on the tuba, AlStricker on the banjo and Trebor Tischner at the piano.They played favorite rags that were on rolls (piano and nick-elodeon), such as “Shame on You,” “St. Louis Rag,” “Downon the Levee,” “Red Rose Rag,” “Maple Leaf Rag,” andmany more.

It was a great ending for a great weekend.

28

Tom Novak andChapter project

pictures and partsfor the John SmithBusker Organ the

chapter is buildingat City Museum.

Carl and Kathy Cavitt and friends at City Museum.

Robbie Tubs and Charles Tyler with their musicbox display at St. Louis City Museum.

At Cynthia and GaryCraig’s Friday nightBBQ - shows Kathy

Cavitt playing Yousufand Mary Wilson’stwin of the Gateway

Chapter Organ.

Hal O’Rourke and Eugene Zeeman at City Museum

Tom Novak and Bob Crawley ofGateway Chapter demonstratingthe roll punching machine madeto punch rolls for the John SmithBusker Organ at City Museum.

Mary Wilson with a display of her quilts at the City Museum Organ Rally.

Ron Bopp,Mary Jo Bopp,Carl Cavitt at

their CityMuseum Display.

Tom Griffith, Ron Bopp, Hal O’Rourke at Cynthia andGary Craig’s BBQ.

29

Phillip Baird and Dorothy Olds licking the spoons after dinner while Ron Olsen, Don Barton, and

Howard O’Neill chat nearby.

On December 2, 2001, many Northern Lights Chaptermembers were found meeting at the lovely home of Barb andPaul Watkins, which overlooks the Mississippi River inChamplin, Minnesota. It was a bright sunny (winter, hardlyany snow) day for driving to an AMICA meeting, with hopesof seeing and hearing their grand piano. Unfortunately, therestoration is still in progress.

Our President Dave Kemmer had the misfortune of hitting an icy spot on the highway following the storm ofNovember 24-25, tipping his van and suffering a fracturedvertebrae in his neck. Hence, he is recuperating at home in amagnificent neck brace.

The meeting was conducted by V.P. Jerrilyn Boehland.Don Barton presented information regarding the proposedconvention to be hosted by our chapter in 2005. Discussionfollowed and members volunteered their assistance in planning.

Chapter officers for the following year (or two) are President; Dave Kemmer, Vice President: Phil Baird, Secretary: Jason Beyer, Treasurer: Howie O’Neill,Reporter: Dorothy Olds.

As per usual, following the meeting, we enjoyed a traditional Holiday dinner.

Future meetings are scheduled as follows: February -Randy Hammond’s; April 27, 2002 - Don Barton host atHeights Theater - movie and organ concert with dinner atNye’s Polonaise Restaurant; Summer - Ron Olson’s; August18 - Dave Kemmer’s Oronoco.

NORTHERN LIGHTS CHAPTERReporter: Dorothy Olds

President: Dave Kemmer

Dorothy Olds, Jerrilyn Boehland, Tim Wheat

Barbara Watkins,Jason Beyer, PaulWatkins

Don Jones, Ron Olsen, Tim Wheat

Ron Olsen, Don Barton,

Howard O’Neill

30

Phillip Baird, Dorothy Olds, Susan (Kelley) Beyer

Jerrilyn Boehland,Dorothy Olds, Susan(Kelley) Beyer, andDon Barton discussingproposed 2005 AMICA Convention.

Jerrilyn Boehland, Tim Wheat, Ron Olsen, and Phil Baird enjoying refreshments.

Barbara Watkins,Ron Olsen, PaulWatkins, PhillipBaird

Jason Beyer reading minutes

while Don Curderla,Barbara Watkins,

and Ron Olsen listen.

Jerrilyn Boehland,Tim Wheat

Janean and Don Curderla talking with Barbara Watkins.

Our hosts, Barband Paul Watkinsin their fantastic

kitchen.

31

Our host, Carl, prepares the

Aeolian pipe organ to play a march.

Halie played the Steinway in a Christmas duet with the AeolianDuo-Art pipe organ.

Halie Dodrill plays theSteinway as Carl and

Jack Becvar listen.

Carl Dodrill in his pipe organ workshop, explaining thefoundation’s work on restoring a 2/8 electro-pneumatic

organ. Brian Tate checks out the console.

Our December meeting was held at the Mercer Islandhome of Carl and Halie Dodrill. It was our first visit since the Dodrill’s formation of the Pipe Organ Foundation, acharitable group that accepts donated non-working pipeorgans that are then rebuilt and provided to churches that want, but can’t afford to purchase, a pipe organ(www.piporganfoundation.org) Several of our chapter members are involved in this new effort.

During the meeting we heard the Dodrill’s 1927 two-manual thirteen rank Aeolian Duo-Art pipe organ, as wellas a 1912 Steinway, Model O, Duo-Art player/pumper grandwhich is tied to the pipe organ. Two orchestrelles also livewith the Dodrills - an 1897 model V and a 1900 model W.

Concerts featuring all of these instruments were spacedthroughout the afternoon. Following a delicious potluck dinner, the annual holiday gift exchange was its usual meleeof getting and stealing gifts.

PACIFIC CAN-AM CHAPTERReporter: Carl Kehret

President: Kurt Morrison

Mark Smithberg andDan Brown admireMyra Karp’s gift of amonkey that recordsand repeats anymessage.

Francis Riley acts as the tremolo as Wes Sporedemonstrates the foundation’s first organ.

32

Food enough to feed an army. Clockwise are Larry and Jackie Slosson, Norm Gibson, Wes Spore, Mary Lou Becvar, Phil Dayson, Jack Becvar, Maury Willyard, Aileen and Ted Miholovich.

Members listen in appreciation to the duet of Halie at thepiano, with the pipe organ. Clockwise are Dan Brown,

Fran Willyard, Ron Babb, Maury Willyard, Ray Parkinson, Peg Kehret, and Phil Dayson.

SIERRA-NEVADA CHAPTERReporter: Nadine Motto-Ros

President: John Motto-Ros (209) 267-9252

On Saturday, December 8, we met at the home of Johnand Nadine Motto Ros for the Chapter Christmas Party. Wesidestepped a formal meeting for more fun-oriented things.Several tunes were played on all of the instruments. The Seeburg KT Special and Marshall & Wendell Ampico B hadChristmas rolls, classical was on the Link 2E, popular 1920’s music on the Seeburg G, and Mexican music on theEmpress 2E.

The gift exchange was the highlight of the party withDoug Mahr acting as Santa. We all draw numbers, withnumber one picking a wrapped gift and opening it. Numbertwo has the choice of picking a wrapped gift or taking thenumber one gift. If a gift is moved three times, it stops on thethird turn. This can get pretty exciting if there is something ofinterest to several people.

Our first meeting of 2002 will be business oriented toplan the events of the year. Sorry our full membership couldnot attend; they missed a great Christmas party.

Mara French with Fred and

Lorie Deal

John and NadineMotto-Ros hosts

Nadine Motto-Ros and Doug Mahr

Vickie Mahr, Sharyn Cunningham and

Roy French (guest)

33

Richard Rigg looking somehowlike he’s caught with his hand inthe cookie jar. (He was actuallyfixing the clock??)

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTERReporter: Shirley Nix

President: James Westcott

November Meeting

This year we had a meeting in November, which is notour normal month, but it worked out that it was a good timeand didn’t clash with any other plans.

This meeting was at the wonderful home of Dave andDiane Reidy in Santa Ana. This home has to be seen to bebelieved! Dave and Diane have filled it to the brim withantiques, all top quality in perfect condition. They have decorated the house itself with paper, paneling, and all theextra touches to make it another world when you enter. Youseem to have slipped back into the Victorian era for sure.

It would be hard to tell about all the extras in the home -light fixtures, dolls, furniture, pictures and prints on the walls,clocks, just everything that is needed to set the tone of thehome.

In the living room is the Ampico piano, a fairly newacquisition, and it got a lot of use this day. They have somegreat music for it, and we availed ourselves of the assortment.Another super piece, with a matching roll cabinet.

From there, we ventured upstairs to the music room, alldecked out with an antique soda fountain and life-size figuresof Dan Dailey and W.C. Fields. Do we keep good company,or what?

This was the first time Dave had demonstrated the bandbox attachment for his Violano, and it was really a crowdpleasing experience. The Violano is also fitted out with amidi system. As I said, everything is top of the line and inperfect condition. Another item most of us hadn’t seen was“Sam the Piano Man,” which is an automata of sorts of a piano player. It is really fun to watch - he is quite real-looking, and tireless!

Of course, the Wurlitzer Pianorchestra is the crowningitem. The case on this machine is really beautiful, and themusic matches or surpasses the case - need I say more? It isreally quite an experience to sit in the soda fountain room andlisten to this wonderful instrument.

When one got tired, if one ever did, of listening, thePackards were on display in the garage for our enjoyment.Dave has two Packards, again in perfect condition, and theyare really gems. They were in the garage because we had

some rain, another unusual event for our Southern CaliforniaChapter.

Dave had arranged for a driver to come down the hill andpick up those who had a hard time walking up his driveway . .. “up” is the key word there. Everything had been considered,and taken care of. The Reidy’s are wonderful hosts, and weall had a great time.

We had a short business meeting, with the officers on thebalcony and the members in the driveway below (the rain hadstopped by then, luckily), and our Prez, Jim Westcott said hethought everyone should put in a balcony as it made us feelquite regal being up there.

Our next meeting will be the Christmas party December1st at the home of Frank and Shirley Nix. We are trying itearlier this year since so many people say they have so muchgoing on in December as it gets closer to the holidays.

Our host and hostess (with the mostest) Dave and Diane Reidy.

Frank Nix and Fred Roth

34

December Meeting

The December meeting was early this year compared toour usual, occurring on December 1st at the home of Frankand Shirley Nix. The Nix home was decorated for the holidays, setting the tone for a festive evening, with lots ofgoodies to eat and loads of good music from the Nix collection.

Most everyone had been to see the collection before, butfor those who hadn’t, it was an interesting evening, to say theleast. Frank keeps adding to his collection, and can fill several hours just playing one after the other of his wonderfulmusic machines.

The Duwyn is always a favorite, and of course the Banjo-orchestra is a real crowd pleaser every time. Throw inthe Weber Styria, the Mortier 80-key, the Carl Frei Dutchstreet organ, violanos of several styles, Wurlitzer B-X and C-X, just to name a few, and you get an idea of what theentertainment was for the meeting.

We had a short business meeting, with the main businessof course being the announcement of the slate of new officers,which was, as usual, voted in unanimously. Our new President will be Frank Nix, until someone else agrees totake the office, our new Vice-President is Richard Ingram,Treasurer is Ken Hodge, and Secretary/Reporter is ShirleyNix. Frank will stay on as International Board Rep, so we areall set to go for the next session.

Jackie Porter presented Jim Westcott with a noveltyitem in thanks for his term of office, along with a list of suggestions for him to keep him busy in his “retirement” fromoffice. Jim graciously agreed to all she threw at him,although somehow I questioned his honesty in doing so????We all hate to see Jim leave office, but couldn’t talk him intoanother term. I guess time will tell if he is actually going toapply himself to all Jackie’s suggestions. Depends on howbored he gets, I guess.

Jim gave out some gifts of his own to people who hadhelped him during his time in office, CDs he made of the collection of band organ music from the Luis Suierveld LPrecords. These great mementos went to Richard Ingram forhelp with meetings, Bill Whitney, who has acted as “BadgeMaster,” making name badges for us on demand, to KenHodge, Treasurer, to Jackie Porter, his Vice-President, and toFrank and Shirley Nix for whatever! We have played ours,and they are just great music, with a big variety of instrumentsand style. It was a really nice act from our departing Prez. . .Thanks, Jim.

The gift exchange followed the meeting, and there were,again, some wonderful gifts. It seems that every year the giftsare more creative than the year before, and really do includesome marvelous items. It’s always a lot of fun to see whatpeople come up with, and is a great part of the meeting.

It was nice to see Ben and Mary Lilien at the meeting.They can’t make it to too many of them anymore, and we arealways happy to have them. There were several new members, also, which is always a welcome sight. We seem tobe getting some really enthusiastic new people lately.

Lloyd Osmundson and Betty Canada getting good seats forthe meeting.

Bill Chapman, AMICA Membership Secretary

Brook Osmundson and our “Prez” Jim Westcott.

“Sam, thePiano Man.”

35

Our host and new President Frank Nix in the holiday spirit.

Our next meeting will be in February, although time andplace are not set yet. In April we will be having an organ rallyin Descanso Gardens again, and we urge anyone who is in thearea to come out. It will be a super rally, with perhaps somesurprise guests?

We here in Southern California wish all our AMICAfriends a wonderful New Year, and hope 2002 is filled withhappiness and peace.

Bill Blair, Jean Hurleyand very enthusiastic new member MaggieRichardson.

Jim Westcott, our retiring (Ex) Prez, and

his wife Carol.

Robin Biggins andDave Berstein

admire the giftsthey received

while Ken Hodgelooks on.

Some of the attendees in front of the Duwyn Café organ.

Members listen to the banjoorchestra

SOWNY CHAPTERReporter: Frank WarbisPresident: Mike Walter

One early August morning a group of SOWNY membersheaded in convoy to Ottawa to ultimately end up at the homeof John and Janet Johns for our meeting. Halfway toOttawa, we stopped for a delightful lunch at a restaurantrenowned for its Bohemian fare. As we were staying overnight, we had made arrangements to stay in Ottawa. WOW! -the place that Anne Lemon had chosen for us was a fabulousfour-star Inn that had originally been built in 1872 as a privatehome called “Gasthaus Switzerland.” It is now listed as oneof Ottawa’s finest Bed and Breakfast Inns since 1985, andlocated right near the Byward Market. When we arose in themorning we enjoyed a complimentary breakfast (buffet style)offering a variety of breads, jams, croissants, muffins, Frenchtoast, eggs, cheese, and their famous “Birchenmusli.”

36

Mike Walter(Pres.) on the way out managed to stop a runaway train.

Our group for a final picture at the Museum.

We connected with the Johns at the Canadian Science andTechnology Museum on St. Laurant Blvd as they hadarranged a tour of the storage facilities for us. Only 1/7 of thecomplete collection is on public view in the museum at onetime, the rest being stored in large warehouses. We were metby Dr. Helen P. Graves Smith who is the assistant to the curator, Cuatorial Division. To arrange tours she can be contacted at 613/991-3086.

Our tour guide had previously pulled out several musicaltreasures for us to study. We started with a 1924 Knabe thenmoved on to the Sakbut - an electric piano synthesizer. Ourguide then showed us a Capital Cuff box cylinder playerwhich was weighted with lead to give more mass whichwould be added or deleted to aide in tuning. There weremany more instruments that were shown to us but it becametime to leave for an evening with the Johns.

John and Janet have a lovely home in Ottawa, completewith a heated greenhouse where Janet grows orchids for competition and pleasure. We had a fabulous gourmet mealprepared by Janet muchly enjoyed by all. We finished withone of our usual sparkling meetings led by our PresidentMike Walter.

1924 Knabe - company established in 1837, admired by Anne and Gary Lemon.

Stella disc player, with Colin Hinz ready to takea picture.

John Johns seated at his 1920 Steinway Duo-Art grand.

The Sackbut - an electric piano synthesizer.

37

ADVERTISING GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT

ALL ADVERTISING IN THE AMICA BULLETINAll advertising should be directed to:

Robin Pratt630 East Monroe StreetSandusky, Ohio 44870-3708Phone (419) 626-1903 e-mail: pianola@cros.net

Ad copy must contain text directly related to the product/servicebeing offered. Extraneous text will be deleted at the Publisher’sdiscretion. All advertising must be accompanied by payment inU.S. funds. No telephone ads or written ads without payment willbe accepted. This policy was established by a unanimous vote ofthe AMICA Board at the 1991 Board Meeting and reaffirmed atthe 1992 meeting. AMICA reserves the right to edit or toreject any ad deemed inappropriate or not in keeping withAMICA’s objectives.

The BULLETIN accepts advertising without endorsement,implied or otherwise, of the products or services being offered.Publication of business advertising in no way implies AMICA’sendorsement of any commercial operation.

AMICA PUBLICATIONS RESERVES THE RIGHT TOACCEPT, REJECT, OR EDIT ANY AND ALL SUBMITTED ARTICLES AND ADVERTISING.

All items for publication must be submitted directly to thePublisher for consideration.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: $.20 per word, $5.00 minimumfor AMICA members. Non-members may advertise double themember rates ($10.00 minimum). Because of the low cost ofadvertising, we are unable to provide proof copies or “tear sheets”.

DISPLAY ADVERTISINGFull Page — 71/2 " x 10" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $150.00Half Page — 71/2 " x 43/4" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 80.00Quarter Page —35/8 " x 43/4" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 45.00Business Card — 31/2 " x 2" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 30.00

Non-member rates are double for all advertising. Special 6 for 5 Ad Offer - Place any ad, with no changes, for afull year (6 issues), and pay for only 5 issues. Payable in advance.Photographs or halftones $15.00 eachLoose Sheet or Insert Advertising: InquireWe recommend that display advertisers supply camera-readycopy. Copy that is oversized or undersized will be changed tocorrect size at your cost. We can prepare advertisements fromyour suggested layout at cost.PAYMENT: U.S. funds must accompany ad order. Make checkpayable to AMICA INTERNATIONAL. Typesetting and layout size alterations charges will be billed.DEADLINES: Submissions must be received no later than thefirst of the odd months (January, March, May, July, September,November). The Bulletin will be mailed the first week of theeven months.

(Rev. 6-98)

“They may forget what you said, but they willnever forget how you made them feel.”

~Carl W. Buechner

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”

~ Oscar Wilde

FOR SALE

ORANGE COAST PIANO Orchestrions:Wurlitzer “Pianorchestra”Style 12 with Silver fox finish 100% excellent condition works great.Also includes the Original Peacock Wonderlight comes with a 68 rolllibrary can be seen on page 681 of the Encyclopedia of AutomaticMusical Instruments top right side of the page. Greatly reduced pricecall for quote. 1880’s Imhof Mukle Barrel Orchestrion 50 key 114”high with nickel plated trumpets very impressive instrument a similarmodel can be seen on page 466 right side lower part of page. Includes 9tune barrels call for more information. Pierre Eich “Super Violin” Orchestrion with original pewter lights Sound Great!$38,980.00 or near offer! Weber- “Unica” Excellent condition withbeautiful beaded lamp shades $48,950.00 or near offer. 1893 VeryRare North Tonawanda 25 key with tremolo Monkey Organ 9 tuneBarrel $10,750.00 or near offer, Coinola-Cupid Rebuilt with Burl Walnut case comes with 4 “A” rolls priced to sell fast. Mira 18 1/2”Concert Grand Console Disk Music Box with built-in storage in Fiddleback Mahogany. Very loud and bell like tone only one worddescribes this “BEAUTIFUL” with 10 Disk’s call for quote. LateModel 1929 Mills Violano Virtuoso Mahogany Case works great!with 4 incredible rolls, 2 recuts and 2 Original and also with service manuals $33,500.00, or near offer! 4-Nickelodeon’s from “ Knott’sBerry Farm” : Engelhardt style “A” tiger oak with 3 original art glass panels $4,750.00, Link “2E” Keyboardless needs some work$6,250.00, Nelson/Wiggens “3A” with reiterating folded xylophone$7,500.00, Seeberg A with Violin Pipes added $7,500.00 or make anoffer on all. 4 Mortier 80 key Book Music 12 books available makeoffer! Call for more information and prices at (714) 432-7426 ask for Kim or John. We also carry the largest collection of Ampico,Welte, Duo-Art, Recordo etc., player piano rolls anywhere! You can see our current Musical Instruments on our website athttp//www.playerpianos.com (1-02)

Beautiful 5’8” 1919 CHICKERING Ampico #130428. Piano com-pletely rebuilt approximately 20 years ago, new hammers and strings.Exquisite hand-rubbed lacquer finish on case has been returned to theoriginal brown mahogany color. This early A-model Ampico plays allAmpico rolls with wonderful expression, from the earliest to the late Brolls. Includes matching bench and approximately 100 Ampico rolls.Asking $11,900, will consider offers. David Wallis, 708-366-3103(Chicago area). (2-02)

1916 WURLITZER 125 MILITARY BAND ORGAN mounted on4’ x 6’ small wheel parade trailer, very good condition. Can deliverwest to Midwest, pictures on request, $24,000. WATLING OWL 5¢SLOT MACHINE with music box, oak and nickel, very good condi-tion, $12,500. Ervin Canada, 909-882-2297 (CA). (2-02)

Great American Orchestrions for sale!!! SEEBURG G Orchestrionfully restored, $55,000 - a bargain! Rare SEEBURG L Orchestrionrestored, $55,000. Historic SEEBURG H Orchestrion with manyrolls, unrestored; rare COINOLA SO Orchestrion, restored, one ofthree known to exist! Spectacular AMPICO CONCERT GRAND!by Schiedmayer of Stuttgart, Ampico A, stunning inlaid furniture finishcase with warm Mason-like tone! Tim Trager, 630-654-1145,Trager@idt.net (2-02)

LARGE COLLECTION FOR SALE: Over 1250 rolls includingapproximately 100 Welte, 110 Soloelle, 100 65-note, 115 Cecilianorgan rolls, 100 Angelus 65-note, 5 Wurlitzer, also some Melodant,Angelus, Themodist, Recordo, Solo Carola, Art Echo, Artrio Angelus,Gulbranson instruction rolls, O rolls, A rolls and 88-note rolls. 58-notepush-up player (walnut), Pianocorder kit, Pianocorder push-upplayer, “Sally” animitronic piano player and singer. Call DickLeonard, 415-665-7916. (2-02)

WILLIAM KNABE COMPANY GRAND PIANO with Ampico“A” Reproducing Player System (restored), retubed, new tuning pins,dampers, and hammers (1983), dark walnut case, matching bench, androll collection. F. Moon, 417-886-6280. (2-02)

38

CLEVELAND PIANO KEY - quality key services at competitiveprices. Serving the trade for over 30 years. Our service available intop and front replacement, sharps, key bushings, blast cleaning andpolishing. Call or write for complete pricing information. Other ser-vices available upon request! Richard Salamone or John Hoelzl,rsalam@worldnet.att.net; 440-933-3906; UPS to: Richard Salamone,4700 Lakeside Avenue East, Cleveland, Ohio 44114. (2-02)

PLAYER AND REPRODUCING ROLLS for sale. Newly re-cut“Magic Melodies” DUO-ART and AMPICO rolls and new “Top Hat”88 note roll. Original and other re-cut rolls; program rolls for AMPICO and DUO-ART. All in excellent condition. Write or call forlistings. Magic Melodies, 360 Lawless Road, Jamestown, KY 42629,call 270-343-2061. (6-02)

TANGLEY CALLIAPHONE, Model CA-43 (Miner Mfg. Co.) automatic/hand play, great condition, with trailer, Honda generator and 8 rolls, $7750 firm, fob Houston. Call for info and photos. Dick Howe, 713-680-9945. (4-02)

REPRODUCO, Operators Piano Co., complete with all pipes andmany rolls, good condition, $5200. Jukebox AMI D-80, very goodcondition, $1150. Jerry Cuda, 417-753-2063, e-mail: jcuda@axs.net(5-02)

WANTEDAMPICO, DUO-ART, WELTE, RECORDO rolls wanted. I’ll buysmall or large collections. Now is the time to clean out duplicates andunwanted tunes! Contact: Dave Caldwell, 400 Lincoln Lake Rd.Lowell, MI 49331, phone: 1-616-897-5609, email: davidwfrommi@webtv.net (1-02)

ARTRIO-ANGELUS reproducing rolls and catalogs wanted. DavidKrall, 4218 Torrence Ave., Hammond, IN 46327, 219-932-2322 (4-02)

Visit the

AMICA Web page at

http://www.amica.org

AMICA Pacific Can-Am Chapterinvites you to its second

with the Annual Kite Festival

May 31, June 1&2, 2002 in scenicOcean Shores, Washington

Join us at the Ocean Shores Convention Center for aweekend of American and European fair organs, streetorgans, and calliope, and a host of other mechanical musicalinstruments. Enjoy the large organs outside, then go indoorsto the exhibit and demonstration rooms. Registration feeincludes a banquet, two box lunches, open house, doorprizes, and discount coupons from local businesses.

Located on the Pacific Ocean, mid-way between Seattleand Portland, our rally site is only minutes from beautifulsandy beaches. Galleries, shops, good restaurants, and recreational activities abound, all within easy walking distance of the rally. The host hotel, Linda’s Landing, is offering 2 nights for 1 (50% discount) or with a 3rd nightanother discount.

For Information & Registration: Norm or Sally Gibson, 125 Taholah St. SE, Ocean Shores, WA 98569-9549

Registration Forms at: www.thegibsonsbandb.com

39

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Phone: 419-626-1903

e-mail: pianola@cros.net

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(6-02)

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40

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41

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THE BILLINGS ROLLOGRAPHY, VOL. VI:

THE TEL-ELECTRIC COMPANY, 1905-17This unique company made an all-electric piano player that used brass rolls. It was in business only 12

years, until the start of the U.S. entry into WWI, but in that time issued as many as 8,000 titles!

Volume VI contains a catalog of over 6,000 of known titles issued by the Tel-Electric Company, arranged by roll number, title and composer, plus pictures of some of the pianists for the

hand-played series. This is an interesting snapshot of the music enjoyed by the wealthy in the first 20 years of the 1900’s.

We have compiled the first ever history of Tel-Electric, with many previously unkown pictures of the facility and machinery. Also included is a large technical section with descriptions, pictures and schematic

diagrams of the various models of players, and many patents. Over 600 pages, hard-bound.

TO ORDER: Send $75.00, plus $3.50 postage to : ROCK SOUP

14010 Rim Rock Drive, Reno, NV 89511-7347Phone: (775) 853-4659 • Fax (775) 853-3261

***********************Also specializing in the sale of RECORDO ROLLS, recut and original.

INSTRUMENTATION: Piano, mandolin, violin pipes, flute pipes, base drums & snare drum.

SOUND AFFECTS: Crash cymbal, wood block, & tambourine.

ROLLS: Wurlitzer APP 15 tune

DIMENSIONS: Piano 61 1/2” W x 28” D x 56 1/2” H. Side chest 56” W x 26” D x 52” H.

REFERENCES: Bower’s Encyclopedia p.699 Player Piano Treasury p.228

PHOTOPLAYER PRICE: $21,500 Includes 12 rolls2 custom made California redwood roll cabinets, each containing 48 Wurlitzer APP recut rolls in perfect condition.(Photoplayer purchaser will have firstright of refusal on the roll cabinets &rolls.) $4,800 each.

CONTACT: Doug Mahr(916) 988-7794Sacramento, CA

1916 Wurlitzer “G” Photoplayer

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AMICA TechnicalitiesSince 1969, AMICA has been publishing into bound vol-umes, collections of technical articles written and con-tributed by its members for publication in The AMICABulletin. They may be purchased as follows:Vol 1 - 1969 to 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10.00Vol 2 - 1972 to 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.00Vol 3 - 1975 to 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.00Vol 4 - 1978 to 1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7.00Vol 5 - 1981 to 1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20.00Vol 6 - 1989 to 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20.00

Postage PaidPlease note: Supplies of the earlier volumes may be

temporarily unavailable as stock is depleted. Overseas orders may take longer than domestic shipments.

AMICASTATIONERY

andENVELOPES

This is a reducedsample of

the small letterheadswhich can be purchased.

AMICA ITEMS FOR SALE

AMICA STATIONERY & ENVELOPESFor Quantities and Pricing contact:

Stuart GriggGrigg Graphic Services, Inc.20982 Bridge StreetSouthfield, MI 48034

Fax: (248) 356-5636e-mail: stuartg@grigg.com

The AMICA Bulletin1971 through 1999 bound annuals

of the AMICA Bulletins$24.00 (U.S. Dollars) per year postage paid

Make checks payable to: AMICA International

Send Orders to: Stuart GriggGrigg Graphic Services, Inc.20982 Bridge StreetSouthfield, MI 48034Fax: (248) 356-5636e-mail: stuartg@grigg.com

Get the Whole Story !In Stock Now Shipped Immediately !

The AMICA Bulletin remains the single source of complete information about the technical andsocial aspects of our hobby. No home library would be complete without a FULL SET of theAMICA Bulletins, bound into sets by year.

In addition, technical articles published in the bulletin have been extracted and published asinvaluable reference volumes. More than 30 years of knowledge, discovery and revelation can befound in the TECHNICALITIES, a complete set of which takes less than 30 inches of shelf space!

ORDER TODAY! In stock for immediate shipping via United Parcel Service or US Mail.

Attention Chapters!AMICA Brochure Holders

are now available for $3.00 each.

They are clear plastic with AMICA Logo imprinted

on a gold label.

Included will be as many AMICA New Member Info Brochures

as you wish at no charge.

Make checks payable to AMICA International.

Order from:Robin Pratt

AMICA Publications630 East Monroe Street

Sandusky, OH 44870-3708pianola@cros.net

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REPLACEMENT LEADERSThese 11 1/4” x 17” reprints, not trimmed and without tabs, are excellent replicas of the more popular types ofreproducing piano roll leaders. While intended for roll repairs, they may also be used for decorative purposes.To splice, overlay new leader on old roll, lay a straightedge on an angle, cut through both papers with a sharpknife, discard scrap, and butt-join with magic mending tape on top surface.

A. Brown on buff (For early red label boxes)

B. Black on ivory (Area for reusable artist photo)

C. Black on ivory (Most common)

D. Black on ivory (Very late rolls by combined Aeolian/American)

E. Green on ivory (Most common)

F. Green on ivory (Favorite Fifty & Selected Roll Service)

G. Welte Brown on buff (Most common)

Note: Early Welte’swith blue leaders maybe repaired with thisbrown leader. Many ofthese when reissuedhad brown leaders.

Please make checks payable toAMICA INTERNATIONAL, And send to:

BRIAN K. MEEDER904A West Victoria StreetSanta Barbara, CA 93101-4745

e-mail address for orders:BKMEEDER@aol.com

Checks or moneyorders from for-eign countriesmust be drawnon U.S. bank.

Style QuantityA ______________

B ______________

C ______________

D ______________

E ______________

F ______________

G ______________

Total Quantity ______________

Price: $ 1.00 eachMinimum Order: $10.00

Postage and Handling $ 5.50

Roll Order $ ________

Total Amount (U.S. $) $ ________

/',-(pi'

MUNSEY'S MAGAZINE-ADVERTISING SECTION.

In answerinr this advertisement 21 is desira/Jle thai :you 1?"~e,/.twn M UNSBY'S MAGAZINR.

THE AEOLIAN

THE AEOLIAN COMPANY,.8 West 23d Street, New York.

CHICAGO,Lyon & Healy,

Wabash Ave. and Adams St.

PHILADELPHIA,C. J. Heppe & Son,

III1 Chestnut St.

BOSTON,The M. Steinert & Sons Co.,

50 Boylston St.

IjHE presence of an Aeolian in the home means that you can have music at all times,

~ Any music that your mood may call for.H means this, but it also means rouch more.

, '" A good modern music box will produce music when you wish it., You have but to move a lever or press a button, leave it, and it will play itself-

Play by the hour if you wish it to.The Aeolian won't do that. It don't play itself, it can't.It isn't that kind of an instrument. You ha'lJe to play the Aeolian.There is as much difference in the performances of two people on the AeolianAs there is in the playing of any other musical instrument,With this exception: The Aeolian sounds the noles, there can be no discords.The player gives to the music the expression, tone, shading, and tempo.The people who are fondest of music play the Aeolian best.The Princess Aeolian, price $75.00, catalogue No. 13.Other Styles, up to $750.00.Aeolian Orchestrelles, $1,500.00 to $2,500.00.Aeolian Pipe Organs and Aeolian Pipe Orchestras, $2.500.00 upward.A new Piano, The Aerial, played in the same manner as the Aeolian.

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