THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

Published by the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors'Association. a non-profit club devoted to the restoration.distribution and enjoyment of musical instruments using perforatedpaper music rolls.

Contributions: All subjects of interest to readers of the bulletinare encouraged and invited by the pu.blisher. All articles must bereceived by the 15th of the preceding month. Every attempt will bemade to publish all articles of general interest to AMICA membersat the earliest possible time and at the discretion of the publisher.

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Publication of business advertising in no way implies AMICA'sendorsement of any commercial operation. However, AMICAreserves the right to refuse any ad that is not in keeping withAMICA's general standards or if complaints are received indicatingthat said business does not serve the best interests of the membersof AMI CA. according to its goals and by-laws.

ONE OF THE FIRST INNER PLAYER PIANOS

(Contributed by Alan H. Mueller)1/ 111111111111111/ 111111111111111 11111111111111111111111111111

The year is 1909. The daintydamsel playing one of the firstself-contained player-pianos is EmmyDestin. With the many voluminousfolds of her gown, she had to be anaccomplished artist just to operate the I

foot pedals. Note the massiveconstruction of the piano, with itsornate carved legs.

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

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BULLETIN

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SOME THOUGHTS ONAMPICO ROLLS

by Dean Howe, Jr.

Page Three

400 also used the X2 systemsin ce the y we re codedsometime after noterecording.

This article is composed partiallyof conjecture; and partially of materialfrom cat~log entries in the 1916Stoddard catalog (recently republishedby Frank Adams) compared withactual examination of all pertinentrolls I possess.

In the first place, it is my feelingthat with the exception of a fewpop u Iar n u m be r s, aII Sto ddardconversions of Rythmodic rolls arelisted in the 1916 Stoddard catalogue.The highest Stoddard numbers arelisted therein and already 60 or so ofthe 50000 series fully expressive rollshad been issued. No further Stoddard(sem i -expression) conversions weremade after 1915 or so. All of the otherRythmodic conversions were Ampicofull expression conversions made in1916 and later. So that leaves reallyonly 300 or less Stoddard roll titles.For simplicity, the old numbering(backwards) system I will refer to asStoddard even though these rolls hadArtigraphic and even later labels withthe old numbers. I am indebted to mycousin Dick Howe for information onthe note recording dates of Rythmodicrolls, for the way the Stoddardnumbers are reversed, and the latestnumbers in the Stoddard series.

Since so few conversions existed,the re is Iittle evidence for earlydeletions of titles to the catalog, sovery likely all conversions of classicaltitles were kept from the beginning to1916. In fact, all these Stoddardclassical rolls are also in the 1920Ampico catalog, but by then, most,except for those numbered5640-5720, are reco_ded to standardAmpico A.

There are four basic types ofStoddard - Artigraph ic rolls, and all ofthese are wh at might be called" sem i -reproducing". They all relyheavily on crescendos and to someextent resemble Welte codingpractices, because step intensities areused very Iittle (Welte has no stepsexcept for the perfectly timed fastcrescendo - a very risky method ). In

general they are below Welte inreproducing qualities because of lesssophistication in applying rolldynamics. As the techniquesimproved, the reproducing qualitiesdid also; so there is really only a slightvariation between the quality of a lateStoddard roll and an early 50,000series roll which followed. The fourtypes in chronological order aredescribed below:

X 1 (c. 1911-13). X indicates theslow crescendo consisted ofseparated dots (the reasonfor the long slots in thetracker bars all through theyears). This was used so thepaper would be strong andgreat accu racy was notneeded since the Stoddardslow crescendo was veryslow. 1 indicates the firstt y Pe 0 f st epinten sityperforation. It consisted ofsingle dots for lock orcancel, or if a change(partial-continuation) inintensity was needed, then asingle dot cancel and doubledot intensity lock for thefirst intensity to becontinued was used. Intheory, this is all that isnecessary according to thesystem, but if anything wassluggish, then there weremisreadings by theexpression mechanisms. Thissystem seems to have beenused for rolls numbered upto 500 (or 005 as theyappeared in reverse).

X2 (c. 1913-14). This systemu sed the same crescendocoding but the stepintensities were elongatedinto two almost separateddots or to three forcon tin u at ion . It isessentially the same systembut with longer holes forsafety. This was used fornumbers up to 800 or so. Ofcourse some numbers below

A2 (c. 1914). The A indicatesstandard A Ampicocrescendo coding. The 2indicates the dots were ofthe sl ightly separated typeas in the X2 rolls. Thereseem to be fewer of thesero II sand they seem at ransitional type betweenX2 and A3 (see below).They seem to fall belownumber 800 also.

A3 (c. 1915). The A againmeans standard-typecrescendos and the 3 meansth ree closely spaced dots (asin later rolls) constitute astep dynamic turn on or off.At first glance these rollsappear identical to all laterA roll s, but they haveessentially fewer stepdynamic changes and hencefewe r correctly separatedmelody passages. Th is is thecoding system used on rollsfrom 800 to the end of theold series and also on someearlier ones coded long afterrecording.

A4 (c. 1916---). I will designatethe standard A Ampico fullyexpressive roll, A4. Theseinclude most early 50000se ri es ro II s which wereRythmodic rolls withexpression added. With theexception of most of therolls between 5640-5720, all50000 series rolls had fullreproducing expression,even though many hadexpression added long afterthe note recording. Also, Inmost cases, already codedStoddard rolls when given50000 series numbers wererecoded A4 type.

The rolls between 5640 and 5720with a few exceptions were· broughtinto the 50000 series with originalStoddard expression entirely intact. Ibelieve it was done on an emergency

Page Four

I am not certain if all rolls5640-5720 are Stoddard coded, since Ihave only about half and wouldappreci ate correspondence aboutthese. Also are there any Stoddard

period a high reliance on crescendos,with the greatest amount being on theearliest coding (which comes out ofsequence in the 50000 series, that is5640-5720 are the earl iest coded rollscop y rig h t dates notwithstanding).These earlier rolls really sound wellonly on A pianos, and the 5640-5720rolls sound miserable on a B pianocompared to a Stoddard, because ofthe lesser impact of crescendos on Bpianos and the fact that only one halfcrescendo can be obtained withoutamplification.

Violins, fiultars, Manlhlllns,Banjos, Tailing Machines.

A:I the UTIST" POPULAR SHEET ""SIC.------- AIle SdKt AssWt-.l ef

rODllar aid Standard Books,Stillonery and r~rlodltals.

----I

So you can see the 50000 seriesbefore 5720 was built up in two orthree ways -- New Recordings maybe(and I am not sure of this because I donot have complete Rythmodiclistings), Recoded Stoddard Rolls andall were recoded when renumberedexcept for those 5640-5720, andNewly Coded Old Rythmodic Rollssome going back many years to thei roriginal playing date. These wereprobably mostly done without thepia n i sts overseeing the operation.After all, some were al ready dead, etc.There is absolutely no sequence ofrecording dates on rolls before 5720.

The coding seems about as goodon the rolls from 1916, as those from1918. There was through all this

basis to finish out the conversion ofold series numbers to 50000 series,and also because most of these rolls"sounded" all right as is. Surprisingly,some of these semi-reproducing rollswere the most popular Ampico rollsand many were cut into the latethirties. I have one, 5654, on whiteD-A paper; another, 5717, with a laterD-A metal spool; and another, 5689,on the late brownish very brittle paperof 38-39. All of the above were madeafter 1937 as indicated by box typeand labels at one end only. Of thisgroup I know of only one roll, TheWilliam Tell Overture, that wasrecorded to full expression whendivided to two rolls in the 60000series.

These semi-expression rolls maywell have been dumped into the 50000series because of a shortage ofemployees during World War I or theflu epidemic (1918?). It is interestingto speculate about the causes. Ingeneral, they were renumbered withthe highest~50000 numbers of the oldRythmodic rolls which had beendynamically coded all out of sequence.See end of article for representativerolls according to type so you may seewhat Stoddard coding looks like.Above No. 5720 (approximately) therolls were all coded as recorded orapproximately so. Actually at thispoint the "original" reverses fromAmpico coded from Rythmodic toRythomodic issued less Ampicocoding.

Since the semi-expression rolls of5640-5720 were added at the end ofthe Rythmodic changeover, they alsowere the last to be switched from theearly numbers to all 50000 numbers.The real reason for this slip-up ofhaving some semi-reproducing rolls inthis sophisticated 50000 series stillbaffles me. They probably felt that noone would know anyway - but whythen were all the other Stoddard rollsrecoded when put in the 50000 seriesand these not? There are some fairlycomplicated pieces of music in thisgroup as well as many Iight classicswhich possibly sounded all right assemi-expression rolls. My feeling isthat they were short of help andneeded to keep up the issuance of new50000 numbers, so many per month,and they sl ipped these by.

Examples of different types of Stoddard coding

TYPE OLD NUMBER 5000 NUMBER TITLE1916

(in reverse)

Xl 36 5643 Nearer My God to TheeXl 104 5665 Bohemian GirlXl 144 5694 Fifth NocturneXl 158 5655 Pas des AmphoresXl 200 5675 Salve DimoraXl 346 5654 Entrance of ButterflyXl 378 5656 Air de BalletXl 453 5650 Kiss WaltzXl 503 5679 Firefly Selections

X2 101 5677 Celeste AidaX2 183 5671 PagliacciX2 263 5703 Hungarian Rhapsody #2X2 466 5717 Un Peu d I AmoreX2 534 5683 NocturneX2 681 5692 Cielo e MarX2 683 5682 The Holy CityX2 805 5684 Sari Waltzes

A2 133 5700 WaltzA2 349 5688 TannhauserA2 806 5696 Valse Caprice

A3 312 5664 BerceuseA3 421 5691 Introduction and Valse Lente

rolls (especially classical) not listed inthe 1916 catalog, and are there any Bcod ings to these 5640-5720 rolls,other than William Tell?

There is a whole sequence ofwhat could be called the desirability ofthe crescendo vs. the step dynamicsand it can be traced chronologicallyfrom the crescendo on top in theStoddards down to the step dynamicson the top just before B rolls; to thecrescendo being an amplifier almostexclusively (early B) and finally sort ofa compromise on some of the Milnemedleys of the late 30's wherein heused the crescendo a great deal inabout equal amounts to the stepdynamics.

The change from favor of thecrescendoes makes the A and B pianosrea II y two separate types ofreproducers and the rolls only partiallyinterchangeable. If you trace Ampicocoding history from 1914 to 1935 youwi II see a tendency from Weltecrescendos to Duo-Art steps andfinally a compromise. I am not sure ifthis was due to the philosophy only,of the roll coders; or was due to someidea that steps are more accurate(scientific); or what? Again, this is asubject for some conjecture, and Iwonder if anyone has a good guess asto why the pattern went the way itdid, other than the chance personaltaste of a then-employed coder.

So it would seem that I startedthe article with some of my thoughtsabout Stoddard coding and ended witha question of why the coding emphasischanged from crescendo to steps.Maybe I have added a bit ofknowledge about coding and dating,and have at the same time rekindledthe 'gradual-step controversy. We allknow the steps were small enough tobe undiscernible by the human ear,but maybe psychologically the gradualseems better. At least it did to thosewho coded more by subjectiveintuitive methods as on early A's. Ofcourse with the spark recorder thescientific or step method would seemthe best. Then too, the rolls made forA's and using B technology (c.1926-28) were more compatible forthe two systems if the crescendos werenot used as much.

If one has either a B or A piano,but not both, then one should to someextent consider the time of coding ofthe roll when considering if it will dowell on one's piano. For A pianos, theearly rolls all do well, but manyclassical selections made c. 1928-31 dopoorly because the ampl ifications arelost. For B pianos, the Stoddards arethe worst and the earl ier A rolls arenot too good because of confl icts ofcrescendos and problems with fullvolume from crescendos alone.

However, if one examines mid-Aroll s, in many cases there is aredundancy of dynamics. That is, ahighly accented note will be done byboth steps and crescendo. In manycases these rolls do relatively well on Bpia nos. Th is is not the case forStoddard rolls as they rely almost fullyon crescendos for some loudestpassages.

Page Five

Also, you may gather that bylooking at the coding on your earlyroll you can date the time of codingwithin a year or two. This is of someimportance since the copyright datesdo not always reflect the coding datesas far as I can tell.

I have written the article as ifwhat I state is fact, but it is onlytentative unless I could see many morerolls, or have accurate descriptions ofthe label and coding. Below are listedsome 50000 rolls with Stoddardcoding of the different types so youmay make comparisons and see if youcan come up with conflicting oragreeing facts. I hope to hear fromyou.

Dean Howe, Jr.310 W. 92New York, NY 10025(212) TR7-0855

Page Six

September, 1925 Contributed by Haden Vandiver

"PAGLIACCI"Leonca...allo

CfheDUOARTREPR.ODUCING PIANO

WEBER'World-famous

An instrumenr that preservesflawlessly the dreaming poetryof Paderewski; the torrenrial,Jovian thunders of Hofmann,the subtlety of Bauer, de Pach­

mann's melancholy quiet, Grainger's charm,the beauty of Novaes' tone, the perfection ofBachaus. Truly, the Duo-Art is a mark ofdistinction to the home that contains it.

'The World's 9dusic 9dasterpieces Heard in Your Own Home

STEINWAYSTECKW HAT a fabulous instru­

ment the Duo-Art is, andwhat untold possibilities ofentertainment it offers! Thinkof a piano that pIays everything,from Bach Fugues to the latest fox-trot ofGeorge Gershwin. One that renders a gemfrom a Gilbert and Sullivan opera a momentafter it has played the matchless "Liebestod."

THE AEOLIAN COMPANYThe Foremost tMakers of tMusicallnstruments in the World

AEOLIAN HALL ~ NEW YORKLONDON PARIS MADRID MELBOURNE SYDNEY

RYTHMODIK RECORDINGARTIST II

Following the publication of thearticle on Rythmodik RecordingArtists in the September, 1972, issueof the Bulletin, additional research andinformation received from severalcollectors have led to the developmentof a more complete list. This listfollows. Any additions or correctionsto this list would be greatlyappreciated.

*Clarence Adler*Eugen d'Albert* Luba d'AlexandrowskaArthur AndersonPansy Andrus

*Harry Archer*Victor Arden (Lewis J. Fuiks)*Andriano ArianiFred ArnoWm. J. Axtman

*Cecil Ayres

*Wilhelm Bachaus*Frank Banta*Harold Bauer*Wm. E. Berge*Eubie Blake*Adol phe BorchardAlphonse E. BorhrerGeorge BotsfordLouis BreanMae Brisette

*Howard Brockway*Joyce Brothers*Richard BuhligWm. Lincoln Bush

*Ferruccio Busoni

Bertha W. Cady*Harriet CadyFred Cahn

*Teresa CarrenoHelen ChaseHenry Chase

*Herbert ClairLew CobeyE. Fred ColberEmil Coleman

*George Copeland ­Maree Cooke

*Esther Marvin Cutchin

Lee David*Leonard DavisU. Davis

*Walter DeckerHarry deCostaReginald deKovenEugenie dePrimoWill Donaldson

by Richard J. Howe

*Maurice DumesnilW. J. Duncan

Ted Eastwood*James Ecker*Helen Louise Edgar*Melville Ellis* Artemisa Elizando

*Edgar FairchildGeorge Fairman

*Geraldine FarrarSam FeinbergMaida Firucici--- FlorignyArthur FranklinMalvin M. Franklin

* Annette FrancesUgo FreyAnatol (1) FriedlandLewis J. Fuiks

*Paolo Gallico*Felix Gerdts (Marguerite Volavy)* Lt. --- Gitz-Rice

Kenneth E. Goit* Leopold Godowsky*Katherine Goodson

--- GrantArthur N. Green

*Edward GriegThomas GriselleVictor GriselleAlbert Gumble

*Mark Hambourg*Hans HankeGertrude Hanneman

* Leander H. Hansen*Mary E. HarrisonJane HaroldHerschel Henlere

*Theodore HenrionCharles Henry

*Victor HerbertWilma HillbergRussell Hird

*Ferdinand Himmelreich*Frederick Albert Hoschke* Arthur Hochman*Joseph HoffmanM. Wagniere HortonJane Howard

*McNair IlgenfritzH. Israel

*Carrie Jacobs-BondHenry JentesJames P. JohnsonHerbert Jones

* Robert Joyce

Page Seven

W. B. KernellDr. E. J. Kerntler

*Edwin Kendell--- Kimbal

*Paul King*Bertha Klemen* Andrei Kmita (Howard Brockway)* Fritz Kreisler

*Frank LeForge*Earle LaRoss*Joseph Lambert*Max Landow*Eastwood LaneJohn I. Lederer

*Ethel Leginska*Ralph LeopoldMattie LevineOscar LifsheyEva Liminana

* Arthur Loesser--- Luigi

Jimmie McHughLewis Makay

*Pietro MascagniGiuseppe Martucci

*Mrs. D. S. MelametMurray Mencher

*Frank MilneMelville Morris

* Raphael Navas

Fillmore Ohman* Leo Ornstein

*Wi Ifred Pelletier*Mande Pierson

Lew Pollock*Muriel Pollock*Wynne Pyle

Emilia Quintero

*Guiseppe Raudegger*Gustave Riemann*Claire Rivers* Lee S. Roberts*Adele Rosenthal

*Xaver Scharwenka*Fred A. SChmitzPhil Schwartz

*Harry Shipman* Augusta Schnabel-IdelfsenMarion Scott

*Morris Simon*Olga Somaroff*Henry Souvaine

--- Speranto*AI Sterling*Dan J. Sullivan*Milton Suskind

continues on next page

Page Eight

RYTHMODIK RECORDING ARTISTS I I Assisted by:

cont i nued Initials Possible Artists

A. K.A. F.E.W.W.E.D.H.C.

*James Whittaker*Otto Winternitz*Eleanor Winograff

Edwin WilliamsVictor WittgensteinBertha WolpaEgbert Van Alstyne

*Marguerite Volvavy

*Lillian Utz

*Harry ThomasAndrei KmitaArthur Franklin, Annette FrancesEleanor WinograffW. E. Draper, Will DonaldsonHerbert Clair, Henry Chase, HelenChase, Harriet Cady

M. P. Maceo Pinkard, Muriel Pollock

*Vincent Youmans E. C. Esther CutchinFrank Laird Waller H. S. Harry Shipman, Henry SouvaineHarry (?) Walter *Michael ladoro R. J. Robert Joyce

*Mabel Wayne D. Carlos Alfonso lelayer E. F. Edgar Fairchild* Ward-Stevens *Mana lucca E. B. Eubie Blake

Henry Charles Webb P. W. Pete Wendling*Pete Wendling J. L. Joseph Lambert, John Lederer*Jerry White *Ampico Artists D. M. Donald Makay

~ ~A¥~-

For SaleAMICA Technicalities Book. $5.50including mailing charges. Reprints ofinteresting technicalities articles whichhave appeared in the AMICA Bulletin.spiral bound, with cover. Send ordersto:

AMICA Pins. $4.25, including mailingcharges. Sterling silver lapel pin or tietack with AMICA design.

AMI CA Stationery. $2.00 (letter size).$1.75 (note size). including mailingcharges. Fine quality stationery withornate AMICA borders. Each packetcontains 25 letters and matchingenvelopes. Send orders to:

Bound issues of the AMICA Bulletins.1969·1970 combined. $15.00. 1971.$15.00. 1912. $15 Spiral bound, withcover Send orders to:

Mrs. Gladys Jones21 Mercedes WaySan Francisco. CA 94127

*Howard Koff2141 Deo Dara DriveLos Altos, CA 94022

*

Robert Lemon4560 Green Tree DriveSacramento, CA 95823

*

It's not nice to fool around withMother Hester. Send in your articlesand contributions to AMICA Bulletinbefore it's too late!

*

Page Nine

HOW MANY PIANOS HAD THE WELTE-MIGNON (LICENSEE) MECHANISM?

by Bill Pixley

It was advertised byWelte-Mignon (licensee) in March,1925, that thei r reproduci ngmechanisms could be purchased with103 leading makes of pianos. By May,1925, their ads boasted 112 makes; bylate 1926 and as late as March, 1927,they claimed 115 makes.

It has always intrigued me toknow what all the makes were.Possibly they sent out a list of them toprospective customers on request. Or,surely, some avid collector has made

up his own listing.

Besides the 103, 112 or 115makes claimed in these years, theLicensee actions undoubtedly wentinto other makes in earl ier years. TheJ & C Fischer Co., of course, was laterabsorbed by the American Piano Co.and could not be claimed by Licenseein 1925, 1926 or 1927. Did Mason &Hamlin use Welte (Licensee) beforeAmerican purchased them? In theroster David and Jan Patterson arelisted as owning a 1925 Steinway

Welte-Mignon Licensee. Even though Iknow there were original Weltes withSteinway pianos, surely by 1925 theAeolian contract with Steinway wouldnot have permitted anything but aDuo-Art. I have not included thispiano in my listing, but it does remainan enigma.

I have listed 38 makes and wouldbe glad to hear of others eitherdirectly or through the AMICABulletin. My address is Box 321,Arkansas City, Kansas 67005.

+ Acoustigrand

* Ahlstrom (1925)

,. Autopiano

* Baldwin (1924)

+ Ivors & Pond

* Kimball

+ Kran ich & Bach

+ Kurtzman

Lauter

Schomaker

Steger

Vose

* Francis Bacon (1924)

* Julius Bauer

* Butler

+ Briggs Grand

+ Bush & Lane

+ Christman

** Mason & RischCode: * Owned by AM ICANs

** Mathushek II: Listed in Presto Buyers Guide (1926)+ Taken from old magazine ads

* Mehlin & Sons (1919) ** From an advertisement in the AMICABulletin

* Milton

* Oktavec (1926)

+ Packard

+ Conover

+ Doll & Sons

:##: Faber

* J & C Fischer (1919)

* Hamilton (1924)

* Hardman (1924)

* Hazelton Bros. (1917)

* Heintzman (1926)

41: Hensel

* Howard (1925) (1922)

** Poole

+ Premier

* Schoninger (1923)

+ Schultz (Also Aria Divina)

+ Sohmer

* Stieff (1928)

+ Straube

~ Weaver

(Possible Others):

Krakauer

Page Ten

GARLAND DAILY NEWS Tuesday March 2 1971

Physicist buildsreplica of past

ComposerArthurFreed Dies

DR. WILLIAM FLYNT with a replica of on old·time nickelodeon, or "orchestrated piano'he has buill. All the instruments seen through gloss panels, as well as the player pianoaction, start moving as a quarter is dropped in the sial.

BY WAYDE CLOUDAreplica of the past has been

recreated by Dr. William E.Flynt, a physicist for VaroManufacturing Inc., who hasgained qUite a reputation al­ready for restoring old pipeorgans.

Dr. Flynt has built a nickelo­deon piano which lie describesas less sophistocated technical­ly than a pipe organ, "but a lotmore fun."

Due to inflation, however, Dr.Flynt's nickelodeon piano re­quires two bits instead of thecustomary nickel used in 1910,dispelling, of course, the oldtheory "Put another nickel inthe nickelodeon".

Practically starting fromscratch with this project, Dr.Flynt purchased an old playerpiano in September 1970, andremoved the player action,assisted by Ed Sewall, a Geo­tech engineer.

Dr. Flynt redesigned andbuilt the player unit back intothe piano, adding provisionsfor other percussion instru­ments including mandolin(rinky tink), metalbar xylo­phone, bass drum, snare drum,cymbal, tambourine, Indian

block and triangle.Coin-<lperated, unattended,

the nicekodeon is fully auto­matic and semi-vandal proof.Included is an automatic rollrewind ani! shut-<lff after eachtune. There are five tunes oneach roll.

Dr. Flynt patterned hisnickelodeon after the famousbut now rare Coinola brandorchestrated piano. In the ear­ly days these were used itaverns, restaurants, waitingrooms and railroad sta tions.

"Nickelodeon" refers to earlymotion picture theaters whereadmission price was five cents.Sometimes, however, back inthe early days orchestratedpianos were used in nickelo­deon theaters, hence the nameof nickelodeon piano.

This is only the first of sever­al nickelodeon-type pianos thatDr. Flynt hopes to build. Theyhave no antique value for seri­ous collectors but would proba­bly be worth their weight forentertainment purposes.

There are 22 holes for percus­sion, 66 playin~ tunes, makinga total of 88, which is standardpiano layout.

Ordinary 88-note up-to-<latepiano rolls have been re-pro­grammed by Dr. Flynt to in­clude percussion instrumentswith very good results.

Typical tunes include "Whenthe Red Red Robin ComesBob-Bob-Bobbing Along", "JaDa", Dixie", "Turkey in theStraw" and many others. Quitespectacular are the Sousamarches particularly "Starsand Stripes Forever" with thefamous piccolo solo played onthe metal bar xylophone orglockenspiel.

Termed fun too by Dr. Flyntwere performating the orches­trations for "Bridge Over theRiver Kwai" march and LeroyAnderson's "Sleigh Ride".

In commenting on his recentproject, Dr. Flynt, who cur­rently serves as organist forAxe Memorial United Method­ist Church explains that thenickelodeon piano has en­deared itself to the Flynt fami­ly like a favorite pet. Theneighborhood kids, accordingto Dr. Flynt are also enjoyingthe nickelodeon which is locat­ed in Dr. Flynt's garage-work­room at 1722 Iroquois.

Photo by Dick NClltf'Y

Los 'AngelesArthur Freed, 78, com­

poser .of such songs as "ICried for You" and "Pa­gan Love Song," and pro­ducer of sueh HollywOOdmusicals as "American inParts" and "Gigi," died of'a heart attack yesterdayat the University of Cali­forniaat Los AngelesMedical Center.

A dominant figure in the

i~f~ict~~~k ~: ":aU:~~aJi~Arms" in 1939, Freed beganhis career as a song writer,

He was brought to Holly­wood in 1929 by the late Irv­ing Thalberg, MGM studiohead, to collaborate withNacioHerb Brown on anumber of musicals, begin­ning with ·'Broadway'.Melo­dy," the first musical to winan Oscar.

In all, Freed producedmore than 40 MGM pictures,most of them musicals.

"AmerIcan in Paris" and"Gigi" hoth won AcademyAwardsas.hest picture.Dth­er Freed productions includ­ed "Show Boat," "Meet Mein St. Louis," "Annie GetYOUI' Gun," "The HarveyGirls," "Easter Parade.""Singin' in the Rain," "Onthe Town," "Tal<e Me Out tothe Ball Game," and "TheBarkleys of Broadway."

In an interview, Freedonce said his first rule was,"don't bore the audience."

Among the freed songsthat have long been popularare "Temptation," "Singin'in the Rain," "Fit as a Fid­dle," "You Were Meant forMe," "You are, My LuckyStar," "All I Do Is Dream ofYou," and "I've Got a li'eel­in' You're Foolin.'''

Freed was born in SO~lth

Carolina but spent a rovingboyhood with his parents,living in both Australia andBritish Columbia and ;.it-

PageE/even

I LETTE RS TO THE EDITOR I••• 1 am hoping through the power ofthe Bulletin to find some answersabout Duo~Art pump rebuilding. Mypump is a conventional four-bellowunit with a 16%" wheel of a 1928 5'8"We be r gran d . Various articles inprevious AM I CA Bulletins haverecommended that the doublethickness heavy-duty pneumatic clothcurrently being made for recoveringpumps not be used because it is ofinferior quality. In the June '71 issuean article by Nick Jarrett recommendsEnglish lining kip for this purpose. Myquestions are:

1. Is good-quality dout,~e-thickness

he'avy-duty rubberized cloth forpumps still available?

2. If so, where can English lining kipbe obtained?

YOU CAN GET IT FOR FREE!

Did you know that AMICA has afilm that you can use... for free? Greatfor parties, chapter meetings,acquainting your philistine friendsabout the fun and frolic of playerpianos. It's a one-reeler on Super-8film, with sound. The title? "They AllLaughed ..." Contact Ginny Billings,1428 Liberty St. EI Cerrito, CA, ifyou're interested in borrowing it.

__ «:.:L1> ...~~

OPEN LETTER FROM GINNY BILLINGS

AMICA IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

3. How many yards of lining kipdoes it take to recover the pumpbellows?

4. Wh at kind of glue workssatisfactorily with lining kip?

5. What length service life can Iexpect from lining kip here in the verydry and moderately polluted air ofPhoenix, Arizona?

6. What is the currently favoredmaterial for replacing the pumps' flapvalves and what's its source of supply?

Although I've had experiencerebuilding other parts of a Duo-Art,this is the first time I've done thepump. So could someone tell me theproper way to disassemble the unit?

Dick Merchant2419 West Echo LanePhoenix, Ariz. 85021

AMICA has grown in the pastthree years to triple its previous size.As many of you know, I've agreed totake on the job of Executive Secretaryto ease the club through its initialgrowi ng pains and to coordinateAMICA's many services. If you have aproblem of any kind relating toAMICA, let me know and we'll try toimprove things.

AMICA's whole purpose inexisting is to provide its members withservices: We have roll auctions,replacement roll leaders, past years'Bound Bulletins for sale, AMICA pinsand stationery, extracts of ourTechnicalities articles boundseparately, membership lists indicatingtypes of instruments owned andlocation of members, and perhapsmost importantly, the AMICABulletin.

The Bulletin is basically aresearch tool. Its intent is to pool theresources of the whole membership inorder to provide each of us withinformation that would otherwise beunavailable to most of us. Where doesthis information come from? You, ofcourse I

Hester Zimmerman, the BulletinPubi isher, is an exceptionallycompetent and talented person, and Irecommended her to take over thevery demanding job of putting out ourpublication. She's doing an excellentjob of it, too. BUT-- she is, as I was,totally dependent on you for thematerial she prints. -

Most of us know more aboutsome facet of our hobby than anyoneelse knows. You're no exception. Whynot sit down and write somethingabout it? Send it in to Hester. Ormaybe you want to know aboutsomething that hasn't been mentionedin the Bulletin. Let Hester know aboutit. Chances are, someone in theAMICA membership can provide youwith an answer. Perhaps you have anunproven idea. Bounce it off themembership, and maybe together wecan all work out a successful answer. Isthere something you think AMICAshould be offering to its membershipthat isn't presentl y ava i lable? Tell uswhat it is, and we'll try to help. In anutshell, communicate, AMICAns!The AMICA Bulletin can only be asgood as the contributions it receivesfrom the membership, so let's get towork and give Hester some help.

Page TwelveD r (; I:' .\1 II r R I () ! ,I'

Contributed by Haden Vandiver

AMPICO0,':j~ : ..;',.,. ~._' CC'n:L~J L'1. -!..':, " T: .',: .:: ....; /' 'CJ:oJ

MASON &HAMLIN

K NAB E C HI C K E R IN G--J, <.~ c. FISCH ER .. HAIN ES BROS.

l\IARSHALl &WENDElL. AMPICO SYMPHONIQUE..

THE WILLIS (./'.0'...:.,:•.)

I "·'·lri,·,tI~,· "Iwrllf",( ,,,,,,/..1., - .... -:.i( tIl ."'-4 •.;((.

1,/ if/;Ii," I"'.'"ft/'-II' ".llf ( ~ ,,-ill I"'''''> '/II .11I11,i,-"

)"",/rJ.

REPLACEMENT LEADERS

These 11-1/4" x 17" reprints--untrinuned, without tab, are almost identical to the originalpaper and printing and are intended for decorative purposes and the reconstructing ofdamaged rolls. Supplies of the styles illustrated below are available from Nick Jarrett,3622 21st St., San Francisco, Calif. 94114. Please note that postage is extra.

G. D/A black on white H. Ampico

A. D/A black on whiteB. D/A brown on white

,C. D/A black on whiteD. D/A green on white

E. D/A brown on buff

~_._.

I[[AM IP IT C 011~~1_cC_7~.~~i;~J.;< t;

•I. Ampico

F. D/A black on white

TEMPO

J. WelteTEMPO green on white green on white brown on buff.............--_ --.--.- _--_ -.-...•.-.-

STOCKS ARE STYLE OUANTITY

A~PTED ONLY Blli.

CEACH: MINIMUM D$3.00

E5¢ for first 20 Feach additional.

G Out of stockTOTAL PRICE: H

POSTAGE: I

AMT. ENCLOSED: Jpayable to

K

ORDERS ACCEON THIS FORM

POSTAGE: 7leaders, 1¢

MEMBERS ARE URGED TO ORDERNOW, WHILEAVAILABLE.

PRICE: 15¢ORDER,

K. Welte blue on whiter······················.NAME :· ----------------------:ADDRESS:· -------------------:CITY & STATE:· ---------------~• ZIP AMICA1•••••••••······························_--••••••••••• ••• _ ••••••_ •••••••••••_ ••••••••••••~

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Page Fifteen

FORTUNE TELLING IS UNPREDICTABLE ON MONDAY MORNINGS

by Bill Coverdale

Roll label experts these days cantell just about what day a Duo-Art oran Ampico roll was issued and,without being an expert, I'd like to betthat a roll I got the other day wasissued on a Monday morning. Here'sthe story:

I like Wagner rolls played byRalph Leopold and I also like RobertArmbruster's playing, particularly onlarge long rolls for dinnertime playing.Seeing a roll listed at auction byArmbruster - 72909 - Selections fromFORTUNE TELLER and ITHAPPENED IN NORDLANDcomposed by Victor Herbert. I bid onit with the idea of enjoying someVictor Herbert I had not heard.

Luckily, none of the Club's

millionaires was especially interestedin the roll and I was able to bid it infor like a mere pittance (Everybodybelieving that, stand on their head).Anyhow, I put the roll on and listenedaway at it. I thought - whoever whouldthink that Fortune Teller would soundso much 'like Wagner, especially thestuff he wrote called Tannhauser? Thesong to the Evening Star was in thereand Pilgrims Chorus. MaybeArmbruster was having a little funwith the boys at Duo-Art. After all, heplayed rolls under a lot of differentnames, so maybe he was playingWagner under Herbert's name. I'mfortunate to have a Duo-Art catalogand I checked for the WagnerTannhauser and, sure enough, roll7289 by Leopold was listed,Tannhauser act three, Pilgrim Chorus,

song to the evening star and all therest. It fits right in to my collection ofLeopold's Wagner series.

I made new labels for the roll andbox and on the label I pasted on theroll (above the one originally on theroll) I wrote liThe label below is afactory error which arose from the useof pasted-onJabels. Note that the labelbelow is one number higher than theactual roll".

So after you read up on labelsand know all about them, you stillgotta allow for the Monday morningblues where the poor little girl keepsputting the labels she's got on any rollthat comes down the conveyor.Doggone it, I still don't know whatFORTUNE TELLER sounds likel

~

Reprinted from the Chicago Sun-Times, March 2, 1973

Contributed by Joseph Duci Bella

What/sa school piano?

Looking for the cost chordBy Bob OlmsteadNow, you may think a piano

is a musical instrument.And the dictionary may de­

fine the piano as a musical in­strument.

B,ut the Chicago Board ofE d u cat ion recently spent°$183.75 researching the ques­tion and has come to the firmlegal opinion·that it's not.

The question came up whenMrs. William L. Rohter, aboard menlher often criti.cal ofwhat she considers sloppy ac...counting practices, noticedthat the school budget lists pi...anos as furniture, not as musi...cal instruments, -and thereforenot as teaching materials.

This is crazy, said Mrs. Roh...ter. A piano's a musical in -strument. Everybody knowsthat.

E'VEN WEBSTER'S ThirdNew International Dictionarysays: "Piano: a stringed per­cussion instrument. . • ."

Not so, said the Board ofEducation. A..piano's a piece offurniture and always has been.

Mrs. Rohter went to the Chi...cago schools' music directorand asked him, "What doteachers do with a piano?"

He looked at her ratherstrangely and said, "Why, weteach music with it."

Armed with this expert opin­ion, Mr~. Rohter went iback tothe Board of Education and de­manded that it change itsmind and budget. The boardsaid it would research thequestion.

At Wednesday's board meet­ing, during a discussion of le­gal expenses, Mrs. Rohtercom p I a i ned that she hadlearned that the schools' legaldepartment spent $183.75 tofind out what a piano is - butnever told her the answer.

A .L EGA L AIDE DUGAROUND and handed hera

two-page opinion which con­cluded that while smaller mu­sical instruments may be Ust..ed as musical instruments, apiano is a piece of furniturebecause the budget has alwaysclassified it that way.

The significance of all this ­if any - is that the money fora piano could come from twodifferent tax funds - thebUilding fund and the textbookfund.

A year ago, the. school sys­t em' s accounting· practiceswere cr~ticized by its own ac...countants, Arthur Andersen &Co., as being so arbitrary .as tobe nearly useless in reflectingreality.

Mrs. Rohter maintains that- if the piano example is anyindi~ation - the budget's con­ductor.,may have changed, butthe melody lingers CIl .

Page Sixteen

THE AMERICA I'vIAGAZINE

.;»:.

The ./lngeius Grand Player~

ep iano 0/ 1912

r ;nlchanism has been presented;• 'rcpiano of today is a musical

'""uper instrument is most satisfactory,both to the trained musician as ,,;ell as to the untrained music lover,for it is always ready to be played, eith~r from the keyboard or bymeans of the perforated music rolls. .

THE KNABE~ANGEU,JSGRAND is the union of the Angeluswith the Knabe, a piano of international reputation for more than halfa century. It has the celebrated tone and touch which have earned

'for the Knabe the proud title of "the world's best piano. 1I

Only ANGELUS instruments have the following devices and aids which enable you'to produce musical effects equal'to those of the most accomplished pianist:

THE PHRASING LEVER, which gives you c

absolute control of tempo and enables youto instill into the music your own individu­ality. With no other tempo device is it pos­sible to obtain the same beautiful results.

THE MELODANT. which. brings out themelody of the composition, note for note.llgainst a subordinated accompaniment.

THE GRADUATING ACCOMPANIMENT,which gives you control of the accom­panying notes, independent of the melody,

thus enabling you to swell or diminishthem at your pleasure.

THE ARTISTYLE MUSIC ROLL, on whichis only one single expression line, givingan authorative interpretation of thecomposition.

THE VOLTEM RECORD ROLL, which is anaccurate and complete record of the play­ing of a master pianist. and which enablesyou to give an exact repetition of theartist's rendition.

THE WILCOX & W HIT E COMPANYBusiness Established /877 - Pioneers in the Player-Piano Industry

233 Regent S,.. LondonAgencies all over the World. Meriden, Conn.

When writing to advertisers please men lion TilE .\~IERICAN :',!AC;,\ZI.'E.

86 THE AMERICAN MAGAZINE--------------------------------

crr;eANGELUSContributed by Alan H. Mueller

The J/ngelus Grand Player-Piano0/ 1896

ICJ IVOLUTION is a law of meehan'es as well a. 01 ~;;;;;,~. Thetelephonp. and the automobile are far- different in form andefficiency from the original creations. So, also, is the play.er­piano, one of the most beneficent inventions of the age, for ithas brought into the home, as no other instrument has, music

with all its boundless pleasure and refining influence.

Proud as we were of introducing the firsf successful pneumaticpiano-playing mechanism in 1895, we did not rest upon our laurels~but with the genius of the inventor, the talent ofthe musician and theexperience of the practical and successful manufacturer. we have byinfinite labor and pains continuously developed the ANGELUS to itspresent 'point of artistic supremacy and mechanical excellence. Wehave achieved our steadfast purpose to make the ANGELUS a meansfor the personal production of artistic music.

In 1896 we brought out our first GRAND player-piano in a formwhich at that time was welcomed both by the trade and the public.A comparison of that instrument with our GRAND player-piano oftoday will most impressively show the progress we have made throughyears of deep study, careful experimenting and the successful workingout of different problems arising from the wedding of mechanics andart. We now incorporate the ANGELUS entirely within the GRANDpiano without appreciably enlarging the case or breaking its gracefullines. It is the harmonious union of the highest type of piano-theGRAND-with the ANGELUS, which is conceded to be the bestme~ns for playing the piano with the possible exception of the humanfingers.. It is the most graceful, compact and artistic form jn which

\rhcn writing to advertisers please mention THE .-\,mRICAN MAGAZI;\;E.

Page Seventeen

;;1";;::.

-~

Page Eighteen

FINANCIAL STATEMENT January 1 - December 31, 1972 CONVENTION CHATTER

Prepared by Barbara and Bob Whitely

Cash Received

Memberships

Auction

Bulletin ads

Bound Bulletins

Leaders

Pins, Stationery

Total

Cash Dispursed

Bulletins

Bound Bulletins

Auction

l4embership Expenses

Bulletin Board

Leaders

Office Expenses

Special Events

General Ledger

Overpayment of Dues

Total

6,544.75

8,893.33

530.00

726.25

126.97

407.91

4,424.47

1,047.57

8,318.95

597.10

70.50

77.01

309.13

592.10

1,461.45

52.00

17,229.21

16,950.28

Bill Pixley reports that he isplanning a display of original materialand a bulletin board of interesting andunique pianos and other instruments.He asks that members who would liketo contribute any material to thesedisplays to please contact him. Duringthe convention the original materialand magazines will be displayed inglass cabinets under lock and key.Viewers will not be allowed to handleit. All original material will bereturned. Members are also urged tosend him pictures of their instrumentfor the Bulletin Board. These, ofcourse, will not be returned. Hisaddress is:

Bill PixleyBox 321Arkansas City, Kansas 67005

•STOP THE MUSICI

Can you guess the name of the tune onthe cover of February's issue of theBulletin? Let's have a contest. Answerthe following three questions:

1. Type of roll

2. Name of the tune

3. "Unusual" nature of theformat as displayed.

A TRIPLE COINCIDENCE~---

Income over Expenses

Guiomar Novaes Pinto, Honorarymember of AMtCA, now lives in SaoPaulo, Brazil, and is listed in theAMICA membership list as a formerDuo-Art and Welte Mignon recordingartist.

Elizabeth and Robert Cornell livein Brookline, Mass. and are listed asmembers of AMICA.

Darcy Rodrigues d'Toledo lives in

278.93

By Robert W. Cornell

Sao Paulo and, under the program ofthe Experi ment in InternationalLiving, spent some months a few yearsago with the Cornells in Brookline.

Miss d'Toledo writes thatGuiomar Novaes Pinto is a famousBrazilian pianist and that she willmake an endeavor to contact her andsend us a report.

AMICA is truly international.

The first AMICA member to mail inthe correct answers will have hischoice of an AMICA tie-tack or pin, ora bound set of back issues of theBulletin. Send those cards and lettersto Bill Flynt, 1722 Iroquois Dr.,Garland, TX 75401. The winner willbe notified by mail and anannouncement will appear in the nextissue of the Bulletin.

*Be a world-famous author. Send inyour articles to the AMICA Bulletin ...we'd love to publish them.

*

Third International Convention of AutomaticMusical Instrument Collectors' Association

Convention AM ICA '73

PLAN NOW TO ATTENDAMICA '73IN TEXAS

~01-'{)S

~o<'--~·Gift.,-

0"~~0( •

,,~1'?1

"'),.sift.,~'

~~\Y.-~

~'(\0(\-

* A Real Texas Bar-B-Q

* Guest Artists

* Technical Sessions

* Home Tours

* Original Literature Display

* Texas Hospitality

Charlie W. Johnson, Convention ChairmanP. O. Box 38623 Dallas, Texas 75238

Home Phone 214-341 8584 Office Phone 214-749-2929

.. .· ... . . . . . . . . . . . .·. .... . . . .. . . .. ... . . . . . . . . . ..... . . . ...... . ... .·.... ..

<+·..·.·..·.·..·:-:.·..·.·..·.·..·.·..·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·..·..·..·..·.·..·.·..·.·..·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·..·.·.·..·..·.·..·..·..

·.. . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . .... .... ... ..........· .... . . .. . .. . . .. .. . ... .. ..........· .

KNABE AMPICO UPRIGHT1917 No. 82024

This all-electric piano is in very goodplaying condition and has beenextensively reworked by Jeffery Finnof Wilberham, Mass. The cabinet isdark red mahogany and has bronzeembellishments and a glass slidingdoor. Inside appearance is like that ofa piano only 5 or 6 years old. Alsoincludes a black player piano benchwith a flowered needlepoint seatcover.

Soundboard on this piano is notcracked. It holds its tune for a longtime and has a pleasant tone. Pianoalso has an automatic repeatmechanism. Refer to Feb. '73 Bulletinfor photograph. $1500 or best offer.

Robert W. GriffinRt. 2, Box 182ADardanelle, Ark. 72834501 - 229-4972

·..·.·..·.·..·..·.·..·.·..·..·..·.·..·.·..·.·..·..·.·..·.·..·..·.·..·.·..

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NEWS YOU'VE BEEN WAITING TO HEAR:

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AM leA 13 U L LET I N

H. ZimmermanPublisher

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS' ASSOCIATIONP. O. Box 1169 EI Cerrito, California 94530

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