Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 66, No. 5 September/October 2020
PuRchAse • sAles • consignment
of Quality Cylinder & Disc Music Boxes, Musical Clocks & Automata
For over forty years we’ve placed fine antiques in collections around the world.
Our reputation has been built upon appreciative buyers and satisfied sellers.
Pictured are a few of the musical antiques in our current and recent inventories.
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www.renantiques.com
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RENAISSANCE ANTIQUE S
Renaissance Antiques of solvang
Editor/Publisher
Russell Kasselman
(253) 228-1634
editor@mbsi.org
MBSI Editorial Office:
Iron Dog Media
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
editor@mbsi.org
Publications Chair
Bob Caletti
All manuscripts will be subject to editorial
review. Articles submitted for publication may
be edited or rejected at the discretion of the
Publications Committee and the Editorial
Staff. The article will not be published with
significant changes without the author’s
approval. All articles are considered to be the
author’s personal opinion. The author may be
asked to substantiate his/her statements.
Mechanical Music (ISSN 1045-795X) is published by
the Musical Box Society International, 130 Coral Court,
Pismo Beach, CA 93449 six times per year. A Directory
of Members, Museums and Dealers is published
biennially. Domestic subscription rate, $60. Periodicals
postage paid at San Luis Obispo, CA and additional
mailing offices.
Copyright 2020. The Musical Box Society International,
all rights reserved. Mechanical Music
cannot be copied, reproduced or transmitted in
whole or in part in any form whatsoever without
written consent of the Editor and the Executive
Committee.
MEMBERS: SEND ADDRESS CORRECTIONS TO:
MBSI, PO Box 10196,
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
Or, make corrections on the website at www.mbsi.org.
POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO
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Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 66, No. 5 September/October 2020
MBSI NEWS
5 President’s Message
7 Editor’s Notes
7 Japan Chapter Report
55 In Memoriam
Features
8 Nickel Notes
by Matt Jaro
20 The music of the Austrian
monarchy
32 In search of mechanical
music
37 Sam Clark
38 Sacred Music Part 4,
Evangelical and Gospel
Songs
47 The Hunt
49 The Queen, the Sultan
and the Organ Clock
MBSI has replanted 101 trees so far as
part of the Print ReLeaf program.
On the Cover
One of the earliest Mills Violano’s
produced. This magnificent
machine was part of Paul Mangan-
aro’s collection for many years.
Read more about Paul in Nickel
Notes. Page 8.
Monarchy music
Dr. Helmut Kowar reviews the
music and music boxes of Prague
and Vienna when music boxes were
most popular. Page 20.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 3
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
M
M
echanical music is a fascinating hobby! It
appeals to the artist, historian, craftsman, and
musician all at the same time. Play an automatic
musical instrument in a room full of people and all else
will stop as the machine enraptures the audience with the
sparkling melodies of yesteryear!
Mechanical music instruments are any sort of automatical
ly-played machine that produces melodic sound including
discs and cylinder music boxes that pluck a steel comb;
orchestrions and organs that engage many instruments at
once using vacuum and air pressure; player and reproducing
pianos that use variable vacuum to strike piano wires; pho
nographs; and self-playing stringed, wind, and percussion
instruments of any kind.
The Musical Box Society International, chartered by the
New York State Board of Regents, is a nonprofit society
dedicated to the enjoyment, study, and preservation of
automatic musical instruments. Founded in 1949, it now
has members around the world, and supports various
educational projects.
Regional chapters and an Annual Meeting held each year
in different cities within the United States enable members
to visit collections, exchange ideas, and attend educational
workshops. Members receive six issues of the journal,
Mechanical Music, which also contains advertising space
for members who wish to buy, sell, and restore mechanical
musical instruments and related items. Members also
receive the biennial MBSI Directory of Members, Museums,
and Dealers.
The only requirements for membership are an interest in
automatic music machines and the desire to share information
about them. And you’ll take pride in knowing you
are contributing to the preservation of these marvelous
examples of bygone craftsmanship.
More Information online at www.MBSI.org, or
Call: (417) 886-8839, or
Email: jbeeman.mbsi@att.net
Copy this page, and give it to a potential new member. Spread the word about MBSI.
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(online journal access only)
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(Add $20 for International air mail.)
Join online: www.mbsi.org/join-mbsi
Check or Money Order Payable to: MBSI Treasurer (US Funds Only)
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4 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
By Tom Kuehn
MBSI President
As you are reading this message,
many of us should be in sunny California
participating in our annual meeting
that was to be held jointly with the
Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors’
Association (AMICA). Fate,
however, intervened. The MBSI Board
of Trustees decided on May 22 to cancel
our annual meeting this year and
it proved to be fortuitous. We did not
know what the situation would be at
the end of the summer and certainly
did not anticipate the recent increase
in COVID-19 infections in many parts
of the country leading to additional
restrictions.
Some good news, the personnel at
the hotel where we planned to hold the
meeting agreed with our decision to
terminate the contract without paying
cancellation fees and refunded all the
deposits made by MBSI and AMICA.
The current plan is to hold our annual
meeting next year in Ft. Myers, FL,
hosted by the Southeast Chapter. The
schedule for meetings beyond 2021
has not been formalized.
Our annual meetings offer a wonderful
opportunity for members to
socialize with
friends and
visit outstanding
collections
in addition to
the necessary
work that must
be accomplished
during
the business
sessions for
committees
and also for
the society as a
whole. I thank
everyone who
participated
in the election
process this
year that replaced the normal procedure
that would have been held during
the business meeting. The results of
the election will be announced at the
next meeting of the trustees on Sept.
4 and published in the next issue of
Mechanical Music.
Another aspect of an annual meeting
is an opportunity to learn about all the
exciting events organized by the chapters
during the previous year. Activity
has diminished significantly since
March because of the coronavirus but
hopefully will recover soon. Without a
meeting this year, the plan is to publish
the chapter reports in Mechanical
Music for all to read.
One method of keeping mechanical
musical instruments in the public eye is
to play some of them, band organs and
calliopes for example, in parades. The
Wurlitzer 105 band organ replica that I
built 30 years ago has been played in
at least one Fourth of July parade to
celebrate American Independence Day
every year, until now. With parades
canceled, the organ stayed home and
was played for the neighbors instead.
The music chosen was Wurlitzer
Military Band style 125 roll No. 3033.
The first two songs on the 10-tune roll
are America the Beautiful and Stars
and Stripes Forever; the last two are
Yankee Doodle and The Star Spangled
Banner. You won’t find more patriotic
songs than those. A roll or two is played
Sunday afternoons when the weather
cooperates that often entices some of
the neighbors to come over and listen.
Music in the park.
As I wrap up my first year as president
of MBSI, I must say it has been
an interesting year at the least with
no shortage of challenges. I sincerely
hope that all of us will experience
a less stressful, more fulfilling year
ahead.
Welcome new members!
June 2020 July 2020
Wendy & Tim West Herbert & Allison Parkes
Allison Park PA Dover, DE
Amy Gaskin Harold Draper
Los Angeles CA St. Peters, MO
Sponsor: Don Caine Judy Williams
Alan Marsh Vancouver, WA
Marion, IA Sponsor: Don Caine
Ken & Patty Steele John Thomson
Murrieta, CA Tyler, TX
Sponsor: Robin Biggins Sponsor: Don Caine
Jeffrey Kaufman David Bolton
Manchester, NJ Norwalk, CT
Sponsor: Don Caine Sponsor: Ester Stefanidis
Jessica Holden
Alexandria, VA
MBSI MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
EACH ONE/REACH ONE NEW MEMBER
MBSI is always interested in increasing its membership and is pleased to offer new members a $15
discount off their rst year’s membership. You are considered a new member if you have not been a
member in the past three years. This discount is also available on our website, www.mbsi.org.
Current MBSI members who sponsor a new member will receive a $5 discount off their next year’s
MBSI membership renewal for each sponsorship. Attach a copy of the discount voucher below to a
copy of the membership application form on Page 4 of this issue of Mechanical Music. Place your
name as “sponsor” on the application form.
Please make copies of these forms as needed and send the completed forms with checks to the MBSI
administrator at the address listed below.
★
★
★★
®
(INTERNATIONAL)
ORGANIZED IN 1949
DEVOTED TO ALL MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
★
★
★★
®
(INTERNATIONAL)
ORGANIZED IN 1949
DEVOTED TO ALL MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Musical Box Society International
P.O. Box 10196
Springeld, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax: (417) 886-8839
Musical Box Society International
P.O. Box 10196
Springeld, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax: (417) 886-8839
Dues Voucher –$15
New U.S. members may join MBSI for one year at $45 (instead
of $60); Canadians $55 (instead of $70; and, other International
members at $60 (instead of $75). This certicate must accom-
pany payment and a copy of the completed membership
application from page 4 of this issue of Mechanical Music.
New Member Name(s):
Authorized by MBSI Administrator
NEW MEMBER
GIFT CERTIFICATE
New members are those who have never been members of MBSI
or those who have not been members for three years prior to
submission of this voucher.
New members are those who have never
been members of MBSI or those who have
not been members for three years prior to
submission of this certicate.
Gift Membership Name
Address, City, State, ZIP
Phone Email
Sponsor
SPECIAL OFFER: Purchase one or more rst-year MBSI gift
memberships at $45 each U.S., $55 Canadian, or $60 other International
and you will receive $5 off your next year’s MBSI membership
renewal for each “New Member” gift.
Please mail this form together with your check made payable to “MBSI” to the MBSI Administrator at the address listed
above. Memberships are $45 for U.S. residents, $55 for Canadian residents, and $60 for other International residents.
Editor’s Notes MAILING ADDRESS
MBSI Editorial/Advertising
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
EMAIL ADDRESS
editor@mbsi.org
PHONE
(253) 228-1634
Editor’s Notes MAILING ADDRESS
MBSI Editorial/Advertising
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
EMAIL ADDRESS
editor@mbsi.org
PHONE
(253) 228-1634
By Russell Kasselman
MBSI Editor/Publisher
This issue is packed with so much
great content, I had to shorten my
column here to only a few words. The
new MBSI Japanese Chapter report
(below) was a late addition, but one
I did not feel should be left out of
the issue since it is quite significant.
Congratulations are in order as this
chapter begins its new adventures.
I wish to extend my warmest thanks
to all our authors who contributed to
this issue. They each deserve a nice
round of applause for their hard work.
New articles are always welcome.
Please send them in any time.
Japan Chapter
By Sachiya Sasaki
On Sunday, Jul. 26, 2020, a commemorative
business meeting to establish
the new MBSI Japan Chapter was held
with 16 members attending.
We were all MBSI members. This
time under the influence of COVID-19,
it was not an in-person meeting but
an online meeting with the technical
support of Hiroshi Ohkawa.
A congratulatory message from
MBSI President Thomas Kuehn was
read in Japanese by Makiko Watanabe
prior to the proceedings.
The outline of the business meeting
was as follows:
1. MBSI Japan Chapter (JC) was
established.
2. Four officers of the board were
elected.
•Sachiya Sasaki, Chair
•Naoki Shibata, Vice-Chair
•Hiroshi Ohkawa, Secretary
•Makiko Watanabe, Treasurer
3. The business plan and the
annual budget were approved.
4. The draft of bylaws was
discussed.
During breaks, members’ music
boxes and automata collections were
also shown online.
It was a good opportunity to deepen
the bonds of friendship with the same
hobbies.
With the support of MBSI members
around the world, we were able to
establish a new Japan Chapter.
We would like to express our deepest
gratitude to all MBSI members.
Members of the new MBSI Japanese Chapter met via Zoom, an online video chat tool, to conduct their first official session.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 7
Nickel Notes
By Matthew Jaro
An afternoon with Paul Manganaro
Let’s go back to a simpler time about
six years ago. I visited Paul Manganaro
in rural Pennsylvania. Since that visit,
Paul has largely retired from taking on
big restoration projects. He will still
do small jobs. He has sold most of the
collection that I saw on my visit. His
collection, contribution to mechanical
music and expertise as a restorer all
justify this trip into the past.
It was a rainy October day. I was
driving along the rural roads in Eastern
Pennsylvania on the way to the
house and workshop of Paul Manganaro
in Coopersburg, PA. I’ve known
Paul for some time but I never really
got to spend any time with him. Now
I feel that I’ve really met a new friend.
I guess that’s the way it is with this
hobby. Paul is both a restorer and a
collector of mechanical music and an
avid player piano pumper.
Beginnings
As always, I asked Paul how he got
started in mechanical music. I feel
this is an important question not only
because it might help us learn how to
attract new members to the hobby but
it is often a pivotal event that started
a collector/restorer down this path.
I think it also typically shows how a
person’s life is changed by the musical
machines. Paul’s moment was in high
school when he visited a friend’s
house. There was a player piano in the
basement. Jim, who was the father of
Paul’s friend, enjoyed the mechanical
music hobby and had Larry Givens’
Paul Manganaro
book “Rebuilding the Player Piano”
as well as some catalogs from G.W.
McKinnon and Hathaway and Bowers.
Jim ran a church group and every
Friday night Paul would go over to his
house and the kids would sing around
the piano. Paul was 15 at the time and
wanted nothing to do with the church
group. He thought it was goofy, but he
was interested in mechanical things.
Jim explained that he took the piano
apart twice a year to service it and
described the 88 bellows, valves and
pouches. Paul couldn’t imagine how
all those components could fit in such
a small area. Jim said he would adjust
the piano and clean the bleeds, etc.
Paul asked to be included the next time
he took it apart. As soon as Paul saw
all the mechanical things, he knew he
wanted a player piano. By then, Paul
was 16. One time at Jim’s house, Paul
heard ragtime being played. This was
before the film “The Sting,” so ragtime
wasn’t really popular yet. Right then,
Paul knew that he wanted to play the
piano.
Paul asked Jim “How do you get
a player piano?” Jim replied, “You
ask everyone you know if they know
where there is an old player piano and
someone will tell you where there is
one.” This made no sense to Paul at
the time, but he followed the advice.
One of Paul’s cousins found a player
piano up the street from her house in
a garage. Paul bought it. It was a single-
valve Standard Shoninger located
in Upper Montclair, NJ. He got it for $25
with a box of about 75 rolls. As soon
as he graduated high school, he began
to restore the piano in Jim’s garage.
This was in June 1973. Jim knew
where to get the materials. Also, the
pianos were newer back then (weren’t
we all?) so there wasn’t as much work
required to restore the piano as there
might be now. For example, there was
no need to adjust the valves. Anyway,
Paul got the piano back together and
it worked really well – so he decided
to do restoration work for a living and
that’s how it turned out!
Early Work
Paul lived in Nutley, NJ, with his
8 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
This North Tonawanda A roll orchestrion
spent time as part of Paul’s collection,
playing many a roll from the stacks at
right.
parents. He started restoring pianos in
their garage the first year and then he
rented a storefront. Paul tells the story
of the time he was going to participate
in an antique show in Bergen County,
in a place called Schuetzen Park. He
hired an assistant, named Freddy
Jason, to move the Shoninger he had
restored with Jim to the park where
he would offer it for sale. Paul planned
to arrive at the park later, since he
was going to church first (it being a
Sunday morning). Paul told Freddy to
demonstrate the piano for people and
if anyone asked how much Freddy
was to give them an asking price
of $2,000. At that time, pianos were
selling for $500 or $750 so it was just
a crazy price Paul was using to discourage
anybody from buying it. Paul
arrived at the antique show just before
noon. Fred announced: “There’s a guy
asking about your piano and wants to
buy it.” A few minutes later, the buyer
approached Paul and said, “I respect
the price and I really like the piano
and I just want to know when I can
have it delivered.” Paul’s jaw dropped
and he thought: “MY PIANO!!” So he
sold it. The piano went to this fellow
in Bergen County and Paul never saw
it again. He went for years (until 1987)
without having another player piano.
Paul’s storefront was in Lyndhurst,
NJ, and he called it “Paul’s Player
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 9
Paul’s Seeburg Style B orchestrion. This Style E Seeburg spent time in Paul’s home.
A Weber pianola restored by Paul and proudly displayed in his home.
Pianos – player pianos bought, sold
and restored.” Paul visited every
restorer he could and learned about
restoring. The first restoration he did
cost the client $250. Today, because
of all the deterioration that happens
over the years and years, that same
job might cost $7000.
Nickelodeons
It was 1974 and Paul was still
at his parents’ home. He wanted a
nickelodeon. There was a fellow
named Tony Farina who was a piano
dealer. He had a home in Westwood,
NJ. Tony would travel and buy
reproducing pianos and nickelodeons
throughout New Jersey and New
10 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
York. Tony’s home was lined with
nickelodeons and reproducing pianos.
Paul bought a Seeburg L from Tony for
$2,500. Paul was so happy to finally
own a nickelodeon, but he only owned
it for a couple of months. He needed
the money to buy more pianos, so he
sold it Glenn Crater, who has owned
it for 40 years now. In an effort to
expand his business, at age 20, Paul
began buying and selling automatic
pianos in addition to restoring.
I asked Paul how he got into jukeboxes.
He said there was a coin-op
dealer named Bernie Gold who would
buy nickelodeons from Paul. One day
Bernie said, instead of $7,000 for the
nickelodeon, I’ll give you $6,000 and
a slot machine. Paul said, “But I don’t
want a slot machine.”
Bernie said, “I’m giving you the slot
machine for $1,000 and if you can’t
make $200 on this, I’ll take it back and
give you your thousand dollars.” This
was great since Paul didn’t have to do
anything to it. So he started selling slot
machines.
Paul says he is not sure how he
got into jukeboxes. Maybe he saw
machines like the 1015 bubbler in
collectors’ homes. He certainly has
no memory of them when he was a
kid. But, suddenly he wanted one, and
advertised. Since then he has been
buying and selling jukeboxes.
Pumping Pianos
I asked Paul what got him interested
in pumping pianos rather than having
an electrically-operated piano. He
said he understood right away that
you were supposed to put expression
into the music, and the really old rolls
(around 1910-1912) had very clear
expression markings on them. He
originally just followed the markings
on the roll, and that started to give him
a feel for what he was supposed to be
doing. Later, he could see if there was
a chord coming up that would require
extra volume and he could pedal
faster at those points. I mentioned to
Paul that I would always tend to pump
in rhythm to the music, so that faster
pieces would be exhausting. He said
that he was pumping since the age of
17, and it just came naturally.
The current player piano that Paul
A Seeburg E Special restored by Paul.
Paul plays a tune on the Bush and Lane Player Piano.
owns is a Bush and Lane. Paul says it
is the best player he has ever owned.
Another restorer rescued it from
someone’s basement. The wood is
book-matched walnut and the spool is
veneered, the spool box is walnut and
the back of the piano and three sides
of the posts are veneered as well. It
has a working sostenuto pedal (which
is very unusual for an upright). The
restorer was going to rebuild it, but
Paul begged him to let him buy the
piano the way it is.
During the 1980s, Paul participated
in antique shows run by Irene Stella.
Irene considered Paul’s pianos to be
an attraction at her shows, so Paul
would bring between one and five
player pianos to a shopping mall for a
few days as part of the antique show.
During this time, Paul told Irene that
he had the idea of a player piano
pumping marathon to get in the Guinness
Book of Records. Paul wanted to
do the marathon at this time because
he had just restored a Lauter Humana
player piano which was unbelievably
easy to pump. He thought, if he was
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 11
ever going to do this marathon, he
better do it with this piano.
Irene thought it was a good idea and
said that Paul should pump a player
piano during one of her antique shows
for publicity and Paul himself wanted
the publicity to sell more pianos. Paul
suggested doing the pumping for the
duration of the show which happened
to be 80 hours (Wednesday morning
at 8 a.m. until Saturday afternoon at 4
p.m.). So it was decided the marathon
would take place in an upcoming
antique show in the Willowbrook Mall
in New Jersey.
Paul conducted the marathon
according to the Guinness Book rules.
He stayed at the shopping mall all
night with only the guards there. To
conserve strength, at night Paul would
play classical rolls, with only a few
notes on them (instead of rolls like
the William Tell Overture), during the
day he played lively stuff. According
to the rules, 55 minutes of each hour
had to be spent pumping the player
piano. He could use the five minutes
every hour for a break or save them
up for later. Paul saved up enough of
his break time to sleep for two hours
on Friday night.
At the end of the 80 hours, Paul’s
legs were terribly knotted-up. When
he got home, he would wake up during
the night and his feet were moving
because after three days of pumping
he got conditioned to not falling
asleep. Looking back, Paul said, “But
it was fun!” So, in the summer of 1987,
he was awarded a plaque for pumping
a piano for 80 hours straight.
The Peerless Style 44
It has been thought by some people
that the company that made the oak
case for the Peerless 44-note cabinet
piano also made the cabinets for the
Encore Banjos. They look similar and
they were made in the same area.
Paul bought two machines from a
collector in New Jersey, a Seeburg L
and the Peerless, with the thought of
keeping the Peerless. When he was
17, one of the first nickelodeons he
ever heard was a Wurlitzer Pianino at
Space Farms in New Jersey (named
after Mr. Space!) The farm is still there
and David Ramey, Jr. restored their
Paul’s Peerless 44-note cabinet piano stands tall among the other pianos around it.
machines in 2014. Paul was entranced
with the Pianino. You couldn’t see anything
work, just the hammers through
the glass. Also, the idea of seeing half
a piano was amazing. He had never
heard of such a thing. So, getting the
Peerless was like a dream realized.
A Maturing Business
Paul bought his first house in 1980.
It was a little house with a store front
that used to be a grocery store back
in the 1920s. He loaded that front
room up with pianos. He had so many
pianos in there that he had to worry
about the floor giving way. In addition
to the pianos at his house and in
his store, Paul would rent storage
facilities to hold even more pianos.
When he moved to Coopersburg, PA,
in 1987, he had about 42 pianos. It
became clear around that time that he
12 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
The flawless nameplate on the Peerless 44-note. The hammer rail from the Peerless 44-note.
The inner workings of mechanical music machines like this Peerless Elite drew Paul to his career as a restorer and dealer.
The exterior of the Peerless Colonial Elite Orchestrion is as
attractive as its inner workings. A Regina Hexaphone mechanism gleams in its case.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 13
An automaton featuring a harbor, windmill
and buildings sits atop a piano.
This scene is much larger than it might
appear. You can just see the upper section
of it in the photo on Page 12 behind
the Peerless 44-key.
should get rid of most of them – which
he did. Player Pianos were starting to
go out of style and were harder to sell,
so it just didn’t make sense to keep
them all. He got rid of the inventory,
including reproducing pianos, a little
at a time, rather than moving it to his
new house.
While restoration was always Paul’s
bread and butter, he starting buying
juke boxes to sell, even before he
moved to Coopersburg. What was
wonderful was the fact that Paul didn’t
have to commute to a job and could
live in a beautiful country setting. He
could go to New Jersey to pick up restoration
projects and work on them
in Pennsylvania. Today Paul is well
known by serious collectors, but back
then he had to buy his own machines
to restore and sell.
I asked Paul how he discovered
the Automatic Musical Instrument
Collectors’ Association (AMICA) and
MBSI, and he said that in 1975 he met
Alan Lightcap through Jack Hardman.
I asked how he met Jack, and Paul
said he went to a garage sale to buy a
box of piano rolls. When he got there,
he found the rolls had been sold. The
homeowner said that the man who
bought them had left his card. Who
does that? If you know Jack, then you
know how efficient and meticulous
Paul said he sort of fell into buying and selling jukeboxes like this Wurlitzer Victory
Jukebox that remained in his collection for quite some time.
he is. So, Paul called Jack, who lived
about 20 minutes from Paul, in Verona,
NJ. Paul visited Jack and brought six
Ampico rolls in poor condition that
Paul was proud to have found. Jack
said, “You’re not playing these rolls
on my piano,” and proceeded to show
Paul three grand pianos, his brand
new Baldwin, a Knabe Ampico and a
Steinway Duo-Art that Alan Lightcap
restored. They all looked brand new
to Paul who had never seen work like
that in his life – and that’s how Paul
met Alan, who sort of became Paul’s
mentor and taught him how to do fine
work. Paul says that knowing Jack
opened the door to AMICA and the
MBSI.
I know that Paul did a number of
projects for the editor of the AMICA
14 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
The stunning Steinway Liberty piano that was decorated by noted designer George
A. Schastey. At left is a close up detail of one of the carvings.
Bulletin, Glenn Thomas, and naturally
I asked Paul how he met Glenn. Paul
said he was interested very early on in
a MIDI system because of his friendship
with Frank Himpsl. Frank wanted
to MIDIfy his rolls. Paul said he could
build a unit that Frank could use, and
in trade, Paul would get copies of the
MIDI files that Frank produced. The
unit had eight different roll frames
to accommodate the large variety of
roll formats. Paul met Spencer Chase
at one of the music box conventions
because of his MIDI work. Spencer
called Paul up one day and asked if he
could put one of the MIDI units in a
piano. Paul had put three or four units
in pianos, and then Spencer asked if
he could put one in a piano in New Jersey
– and that’s how Paul met Glenn.
I asked Paul what some of his most
unusual restoration projects were. He
said he restored a Gabel Automatic
Entertainer jukebox. The early Gabel
models were all mechanical. It even
changed the needle with each record
played. Playback was acoustic (using
horns). Later models had an electric
motor that would go on for an instant
to wind the spring motor for you, and
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 15
then it was all mechanical. It’s an
extremely complex machine with tons
of linkages (to select records, replace
needles, play the records, etc.). Paul
took it all apart without a manual,
got it all back together and couldn’t
get it to work 100 percent reliably.
Finally, it dawned on Paul that the
cast iron frame which supported the
mechanism had sagged over the years.
The only solution was to file some
parts (which Paul was very reluctant
to do, since he doesn’t like changing
anything like that) – but it was the
only solution – and the machine has
worked reliably for more than eight
years now.
The Steinway Liberty
Absolutely the most beautiful piano
I have ever seen is Paul’s Steinway
Liberty piano. It dates from 1882. The
piano was made for William Clark, a
famous cotton thread manufacturer.
The cabinet work was accomplished
by George A. Schastey, a famed
designer. I asked Paul how he found
such a glorious instrument and his
explanation was fascinating.
Once upon a time, there was a
piano dealer in New Jersey who dealt
mainly in low-end pianos and Paul
was known for buying pianos at this
point. Paul went with this dealer into
a Catholic Church institution (where
they have a church and school on the
same campus). The dealer had already
bought several upright pianos for $50
each out of the school. They went up
to the third floor, and opened a door
and sitting there was a Steinway. The
dealer told Paul it was a really fancy
Steinway from the 1800s and it was
really something special. Paul kept
saying “I don’t want to know anything
about it,” because Paul thought it was
one of those Steinways with the elephant
legs on it. They were beautiful
looking pianos but 30 years ago they
were worth nothing. The dealer pursued
the piano, but because the piano
was donated to the church, there had
to be an auction in order to sell it. The
dealer won the auction and bought the
piano for $3,000 in 1981.
Later on, everyone started saying to
Paul, “You have to go see this piano!”
Paul said he even heard the story that
A view from the front of the Steinway Liberty showing the intricate scroll work on the
music stand. Below is another highlight of one of the carvings on the piano.
16 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
One of the earliest Mills Violanos. Paul bought it from George Indig with a promise to
restore two others and leave them in George’s collection. George was so impressed
with Paul’s work, he hired Paul to restore the whole collection.
another dealer, who generally didn’t
pay much for pianos, had offered
$15,000 to buy this piano that Paul
had initially passed on. This story
convinced Paul that the piano must
be something out of this world and he
made a bee-line to the dealer to see it.
When Paul saw the piano in the dealer’s
living room, Paul could not believe
how fantastic it was. After extensive
negotiation, Paul and a friend bought
the piano and they have had it ever
since.
Over the years, a great deal of information
about Paul’s Steinway Liberty
piano has come to light. According
to Steinway’s records, Paul’s piano
was sent to the factory of George A.
Schastey in New York, NY. Schastey
was one of the first architectural
One of the earliest Mills Violano rolls
ever produced, circa 1907.
decorators in America. He was
responsible for creating three rooms
in the Rockefeller mansion. He made
the beautiful art case for Paul’s piano,
several other matching pieces and
even designed an entire music room
around it. Paul has a picture of the
piano in the original setting.
In 2009, The Metropolitan Museum
of Art was given the dressing room
from the Rockefeller mansion that
was done by Schastey. The museum
did a great deal of research about
Schastey and they called Paul’s piano
the Rosetta stone, since it is one of
Schastey’s only fully-documented
pieces. In December 2014, the Metropolitan
Museum of Art unveiled
its Rockefeller dressing room and
brought in other pieces of wood working
art done by Schastey from all over
the country. The museum made Paul’s
piano the centerpiece of that display.
Paul now wants to sell the piano. He
says he doesn’t like owning it, because
it’s too much of a responsibility.
The Mills Violano
Paul knew another collector in New
Jersey, George Indig, who collected
nickelodeons and Lionel trains. George
had three violin machines and Paul
wanted one in particular. Paul had just
gone to Jasper Sanfilippo’s where he
saw an early Mills Violano restored by
Terry Haughawout. Paul had heard all
the late ones, but when he heard this
early one, he said, “That’s what I want
for myself.” The machine from George
was in terrible shape – so Paul proposed
to pay George some money and
do restorations on the George’s other
two machines in exchange for owning
the early Mills. Paul made trip after trip
to George’s house (which was an hour
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 17
Paul’s Link orchestrion, purchased from George Indig’s widow after George passed away.
and a half away) because he wanted
to make sure George’s two machines
were working well. George saw how
hard Paul worked, and hired Paul to
restore all his other machines. Paul
ended up restoring George’s entire
collection! After George passed away,
Paul bought a Seeburg E Special, a
Peerless Elite, a Link orchestrion and
an organ clock, from George’s widow.
After having a nice visit with Paul
and making a new friend, I had to
hit the road to home. It was dark
and rainy, so I decided to take the
Interstate highways. Aside from the
incessant truck spray, the trip was
uneventful but certainly it was more
stressful than the rural route I had
selected for the trip out to Paul’s place
that morning.
Paul Manganaro can be reached at
newmatics@gmail.com
Email Matt Jaro at mjaro@verizon.
net if you would like any information
about style “A”, “G”, “4X”, “H” or “O” rolls.
Also, comments and suggestions for this
column will be appreciated.
Reprinted with permission of the
author and The Automatic Musical
Instrument Collectors’ Association
(AMICA). Originally printed in the January-
February 2015 issue of The AMICA
Bulletin.
18 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Interesting Tidbits
An original sales receipt for 1911 for a Regina and base cabinet, purchased at a total price of
$80 with $10 down and $70 due. Note the fine penmanship and writing style on the invoice. Also,
remember when there were so few phones that phone numbers could be listed as 135 Oxford like
this one is for the C.C. Harvey Company?
In 1885, organs were a hot ticket in Chicago, IL. Five factories, as reported by the Music
Trade Review, were pushing more than 2,100 organs out their doors each month. One line
of the article notes the W. W. Kimball Company produced 1,000 organs in the space of 23
days. What a feat!
The music of the
Austrian monarchy
An incomplete account of the musical repertoire of musical
boxes manufactured in Prague and Vienna
Fig. 1: August Bartel, Vienna, Austria, musical box (music no. 469, current no. 1296) playing three tunes, with a tune sheet on
the lid of the case (auction Dorotheum Vienna, May 27, 2009, no. 155), photo © Helmut Kowar.
20 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Fig. 2: Anton Olbrich, Vienna, musical box (music no. 2519)
playing six tunes, the tune sheet affixed to the lid of the case
(Muzeul Ştiinţei şi tehnicii “Ştefan Procopiu.” Aparate muzicale
din colecţii publice şi private. Iaşi, Palatul culturii, 14
Septembrie – 14 Octombrie 2018, special exhibition), photo
© Helmut Kowar.
By Dr. Helmut Kowar
In about 1820 Anton Olbrich, in Vienna, Austria, and
Franz Rzebitschek, in a small village near Teplitz, Czech
Republic, (some years later he settled in Prague), started to
make musical box movements. They developed a specific
design for these movements which differed in several
technical details from their more famously known Swiss
counterparts. Once they settled on a standard model for
their movements, Olbrich and Rzebitschek did not evolve
them any further and all succeeding Austrian manufacturers
seem to have adopted the same technique.
In my research into the instruments featuring these
movements that have been found so far, this configuration
of movements reveals a clearly structured musical repertoire
corresponding directly to the music being produced
at the time and this structure seems to have remained
unaltered over the decades.
The musical box movements were designed mainly to
fit in clocks (nonetheless we find many movements fitted
into plain wooden cases), and their distribution was more
or less confined regionally to the Austrian monarchy and
adjacent eastern countries.
Fig. 3: August Bartel, Vienna, Austria, musical box (music no.
469, current no. 1296), the tune sheet.
The report given here is based on research from data
collected through observing approximately 1,400 of these
movements. Of the movements observed, more than 1,000
of them were found to be in playing condition and sound
recordings were made1.
To be clear, the fact that my research involved only about
1,400 movements out of the approximately 110,000 movements
produced in Prague and Vienna altogether, mean
that these statements and findings concerning the musical
repertoire remain incomplete. Further, the information
gathered from the instruments available for observation
was also fragmentary. For example, many of the instruments
were in poor condition and did not play at all and
1 Helmut Kowar: Musical Boxes from Prague and Vienna, Vienna:
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press 2019. The sound recordings are
part of the collections of the Phonogram Archives of the Austrian Academy
of Sciences https://www.oeaw.ac.at/phonogrammarchiv/
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 21
Fig. 4: Gustav Řebiček, Prague, musical box (music no. 3388, current no. 49638) playing two tunes, the tune sheet affixed to the
underside of the case (auction Dorotheum Vienna, May 27, 2009, no. 156), photo © Helmut Kowar.
even those that did play, while having quite a number of
tunes that could be identified when listened to, had even
more tunes that were unknown and at best could be classified
as either being a waltz, a ländler, march, czardas etc.
Some tunes displayed characteristics which made them
recognizable as arias or a couplets but which aria or couplet
remains unclear. Many manufacturers originally attached
tune sheets with their movements, but well-preserved tune
sheets today are very rare, and often only illegible parts
or remnants in poor condition are left. These sheets were
often glued onto the inside of the lid (Figs. 1, 2 and 3, pages
20-21) or on the underside of the bottom of the cases (Figs.
4 and 5), on the backing or on the frame of picture clocks
and mantle clocks (Figs. 6 and 7, Page 24). The makers
used preprinted slips of paper and entered music number
and current serial number of the musical box movement
(sometimes the numbers are missing), and the title of the
music pieces by hand. In addition, we find tune inscriptions
in pencil or ink on the cases themselves or on the backing
of picture clocks which name the musical program.
The information about the musical repertoire, however,
occasionally contains inconsistencies as well as outright
errors, or the manufacturer used names, abbreviations and
designations which were common at the time, but are not
readily understandable nowadays, not to mention there are
incorrect spellings of words and names, or indecipherable
characters due to handwriting styles or faded ink (Fig. 8,
Page 25). Thus, with some of the titles given on the tune
sheets it was impossible to identify the music piece.
The sources found so far provide us, nonetheless, with
a surprisingly precise picture of the state of music at the
time. One can identify three main musical genres: dance
music, operatic music, and folk music. Occasionally art
songs, some piano and popular music, salon music, national
anthems and church songs appear. These may be summarized
as a separate fourth group. An export of movements
seems to have occurred only in the first decades, which
means that the output of the Czech and Viennese makers
served mainly – or almost exclusively – the needs of the
peoples of the Austrian monarchy and of east European
countries, thus the repertoire is completely different from
the music on Swiss musical boxes.
22 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Fig. 5: Unsigned musical box by a Prague maker, possibly by Alois Maly (music no. 107, current no. 380) playing two tunes, the
tune sheet affixed to the underside of the case (auction Dorotheum Vienna, March 23, 2011, no. 176), photo © Helmut Kowar.
With the second title an error has occurred: “Une Bagatelle” is a polka-mazur by Johann Strauss jun. and not by Verdi.
Keep in mind that the tunes given here display the
musical genres quite well, but these lists do not provide
any information as to the frequency of the tunes appearing
on the musical box movements. Many tunes are present on
numerous movements throughout decades, for example,
the “Radetzky,” a march by Johann Strauss; “The Blue Danube,”
a waltz by Johann Strauss II; airs from “Martha” an
opera by Friedrich von Flotow; “Guillaume Tell” (William
Tell), an opera by Gioachino Rossini; “Norma,” an opera by
Vincenzo Bellini; “Les Huguenotes,” an opera by Giacomo
Meyerbeer, “Hunyadi Laszlo” an opera by Ferenc Erkel; or
the Austrian or Czech national anthems, to name just some
of the most favored melodies.
It bears mentioning that several tunes which are completely
unknown today are to be found repeatedly as
well, for instance Joseph Kreipl’s song “S’Mailüfterl,” or a
“Ländler” by Alexander Moritz Baumann. The latter piece
may also serve as an example for the fact that the very
tunes were set on musical boxes by manufacturers both
in Vienna and in Prague: Baumann’s “Ländler” appears on
Anton Olbrich’s movement in Vienna as well as on Slawik
and Preiszler’s in Prague. That is to say, the music box makers
both in Prague and Vienna served all the peoples of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire irrespectively of local musical
preferences.
Dance music
Obviously, this genre forms the most extensive group,
consisting of waltzes, polkas, marches, quadrilles, cotillions,
czardas etc. In respect to the dates of their first
performance this group ranges from Johann Strauss’ “Fra
Diavolo Cotillion” op. 41 (1830) and Josef Lanner’s “Badner
Ringl´n” op. 64 (1832) and lasts through Johann Strauss II’s
“Lagunen-waltz” op. 411 (1883), and Carl Michael Ziehrer’s
march “Fesch und schneidig” op. 506 (1901). In terms of
most common composers to be chosen to appear on a
musical movement, the senior Johann Strauss and his
contemporary Josef Lanner, along with Johann Strauss II
are most popular, followed by Josef and Eduard Strauss,
Philipp Fahrbach senior., Franz von Suppé, Carl Millöcker,
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 23
Fig. 6 Anton Olbrich, Vienna, musical box (music no. 309, current no. 6536) playing two tunes, the tune sheet affixed to the
wooden board which closes the back of the pedestal of the mantle clock (Museum of Music History, Institute for musicology,
Hungarian Academy of Sciences), photo © Museum of Music History, Budapest.
Fig. 7 Anton Olbrich, Vienna, musical box (music no. 1961, current no. 16757) in a mantle clock playing two tunes, the tune sheet
affixed to the back of the pedestal of the mantle clock (private collection) photo © Philipp Weinmann, Vienna.
and Carl Michael Ziehrer, with each of them having several • Steirische Tänze op. 165
works that appear on multiple movements. • Die nächtlichen Wandrer, waltz op. 171
These lists start with the composer’s name followed by • Die Talismane, waltz op.176
the works most commonly found pinned on a movement • Ober Östereicher Echo Ländler op. 186
during the 1830s to early 1900s. • Hans Jörgl polka op. 194
• Die Schönbrunner, waltz op. 200
Josef Lanner • Die Rosensteiner, waltz op. 204
• Die Badner Ringl´n, Deutsche op. 64
• Haimbacher waltz op. 112 Johann Strauss
• Die Petersburger, waltz op. 132 • Fra Diavolo Cotillion op. 41
• Rococco waltz op. 136 • Mein schönster Tag in Baden, waltz op. 58
• Marien waltz op. 143 • Elisabethen-waltz op. 71
• Liebesträume waltz op. 150 • Venetianer galop op. 74
24 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Fig. 8 Orphan tune sheet found on the back of a picture clock (auction Dorotheum Vienna, Apr. 2, 2019), giving the titles of four
tunes: two numbers from the opera “Le siége de Corinthe” by Rossini (the march of the Greeks and the chorus of the Greeks),
and two tunes from the opera “Mara” by Johann Netzer, which was premiered with great success 1841 in Vienna. The writing is
unclear in more than one respect: with the first tune the title is unidentifiable (“Le …”), the second title reads “Parcerolla” which
certainly means “barcarola,” and in the last line Rossini erroneously is named as composer. The appropriate four-tune movement
has been removed and replaced by another one which plays a completely different musical program. Photo H. Kowar.
• Merkurs Flügel, waltz op. 83 • Attaque Quadrille op. 76
• Grazien-Tänze, waltz op. 81 • Johannis-Käferln, waltz op. 82
• Heimatklänge, waltz op. 84 • Fraunkäferln, waltz op. 99
• Taglioni-Waltz op. 110 • Annen-polka op. 114
• Die Berggeister, waltz op. 113 • Liebeslieder waltz op. 117
• Carneval-Quadrill op. 124 • Satanella-Quadrille op. 123
• Apollo waltz op. 128 • Motor-Quadrille op. 129
• Sperl-polka op. 133 • Pepita-polka op. 138
• Egerien Tänze, waltz op. 134 • Myrthen-Kränze, waltz op. 154
• Minos Klänge, waltz op. 145 • Man lebt nur einmal, waltz op. 167
• Volksgarten Quadrille op. 157 • Freuden-Salven, waltz op. 171
• Rosen ohne Dornen, waltz op. 166 • Taglioni-polka, op. 173
• Wiener Früchterln, waltz op. 167 • Le Papillon, polka-mazur op. 174
• Odeon-Tänze, waltz op. 172 • Erhöhte Pulse, waltz op. 175
• Die Landjunker, waltz op. 182 • Armen-Ball-polka op. 176
• Zigeunerin Quadrille op. 191 • Sans-souci-polka op. 178
• Bouquets, waltz op. 197 • Krönungslieder, waltz op. 184
• Ländlich sittlich, waltz op. 198 • Une Bagatelle, polka-mazur op. 187
• Herztöne, waltz op. 203 • Wien mein Sinn, waltz op. 192
• Helenen-waltz op. 204 • Künstler-Quadrille op. 201
• Quadrille im militärischen Styl op. 229 • L’enfantillage (Zepperl-Polka) op. 202
• Die Sorgenbrecher, waltz op. 230 • Jux-Brüder, waltz op. 208
• Des Wanderers Lebewohl, waltz op. 237 • Šampaňská polka (Champagner-Polka) op. 211
• Original Wiener Bürger march WoO (without op. • Tritsch-Tratsch polka, op. 214
number) • Nachtigall polka op.222
• Drollerie-polka op. 231
Johann Strauss II • Concordia waltz (this title could refer either to the
• Neue Steirische Tänze op. 61 waltz “Leitartikel” op. 273 or to “Morgenblätter” op.
• Fesche Geister, waltz op. 75 279)
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 25
• Juristenball polka op. 280
• Aus den Bergen, waltz op. 292
• Flugschriften, waltz op. 300
• An der schönen blauen Donau, waltz op. 314
• Lob der Frauen, polka-mazur op. 315
• Telegramme, waltz op. 318
• Neu-Wien, waltz op. 324
• G´schichten aus dem Wienerwald, waltz op. 325
• Aus der Heimath, polka-mazur op. 347
• Wiener Blut, waltz op. 354
• Pariser, polka-française op. 382
• Waltz from the operetta “Der lustige Krieg” (“Nur für
Natur”) op. 400
• Lagunen-waltz op. 411
Josef Strauss
• Mai-Rosen, waltz op. 34
• Moulinet-polka op. 57
• Wiener Kinder, waltz op. 61
• Flattergeister, waltz op. 62
• Waldröslein, polka-mazur op.63
• Die Zufälligen, waltz op. 85
• Tag und Nacht-polka op. 93
• Gablenz- march op. 159
• Frauenherz, polka-mazur op. 166
• Etiquette, polka-francaise op. 208
• Allerlei polka op. 219
• In der Heimat, polka-mazur, Op. 231
• Lock-polka française op. 233
• Sphärenklänge, waltz op. 235
• Mein Lebenslauf ist Lieb und Lust, waltz op. 263
• Frohsinn, polka op. 264
Eduard Strauss
• Helenen-Quadrille based on motifs from the operetta
“La Belle Hélène” by J. Offenbach, op. 14
• Über Feld und Wiese, polka op. 138
• Erinnerungen an Baden, polka op. 146
• Telephon polka op. 165
• Boccacio-waltz based on motifs from Franz von
Suppé’s operetta op. 175
Philipp Fahrbach senior
• Die Schmeichler, waltz op. 13
• s’Schwarzblattl ausn Weanerwald, waltz op. 61
• Eine Grille – Schottisch, op. 205
• Kärntner-Lieder-waltz op. 230
Franz von Suppé
• Herr Jegerl polka
• Fatinitza-march from the operetta “Fatinitza”
• March from the operetta “Der Teufel auf Erden”
• In der Hinterbrühl, march
• Gervinus polka from the farce “Gervinus, der Narr
vom Untersberg”
• Boccaccio-march from the operetta “Boccaccio”
• Fanfani-march from the operetta “Die Afrikareise”
Carl Millöcker
• Laura waltz, based on motifs from the operetta “Der
Bettelstudent”
• Stimmt schon! polka française from the operetta “Der
Feldprediger”
• Polka from the operetta “Der Feldprediger”
• Apajune-march based on motifs from the operetta
“Apajune, der Wassermann”
• Gasparone-march from the operetta “Gasparone”
• Jonathan-march from the operetta “Der arme
Jonathan”
Carl Michael Ziehrer
• Mamsell Übermuth, polka française op. 69
• Weana Madl’n, waltz op. 388
• Fesch und schneidig muß er sein! March from the
operetta “Die drei Wünsche,” op. 506
Often mixed in with these popular tunes, we find quite a
number of musical pieces from different composers, some
famous works as well as some completely unknown compositions.
The “Frühlings Knospen waltz” by August Lanner
is one of the latter. (August Lanner, the son of Josef Lanner,
died in 1855 not more than 20 years old.) Another example
of a tune that was not widely known but is often mixed in
on a movement is Anton Emil Titl’s “Slavjanka-Polka.” A
list of other obscure tunes found mixed in with the more
popular music follows:
• Luigi Arditi: Il Bacio, waltz
• Johann Brandl: Studenten waltz
• Josef Gungl: Klänge aus der Heimat, Oberländler op.
31
• Iosif Ivanovici: Donauwellen, waltz
• Eduard Kremser: Das Herzklopfen, polka française
• Joseph Labitzky: Olmützer polka op. 91
• August Lanner: Frühlings Knospen waltz
• Adolf Müller: Spulen polka
• Jacques Offenbach: march from the operetta “La
Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein”
• Ferkó Patikárus: Ida Csardas
• Juventino Rosas: Über den Wellen, waltz
• Theodor Franz Schild: D’Banda kommt, march op. 15
(referred to as “fun march”)
• Anton Emil Titl: Slavjanka, polka
As to the numerous czardas to be found, some are named,
but it was yet impossible to trace any details. For example:
• Alföldi Czardas v. Gáspár Bánat
• Huszar dal es Cardas
• Makuli Csárdás,
• Neogradi Csardaz, (the titles are given as written on
the tune sheets)
This pertains also to further waltzes and polkas which
remained unclear, although the inscriptions (given in the
following list as written on the tune sheets) indicate the
26 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
composition and sometimes name a composer:
• Der Gamsjäger, Polka v. Haag (not identified)
• El Furia! Walzer v. Granada (not identified)
• Favorit Polka von Hillmann (Carl Hillmann?)
• herzensträume, Walzer (not identified)
• Hoppsa Biabele-Polka (not identified)
• Ländler v. Baumann (probably by Alexander Moritz
Baumann)
• Lasset uns herzen, küssen, scherzen, Walzer (not
identified; however, Hofmeister lists a chansonette
“Lasst uns scherzen, küssen, Herzen” by Josef Kral,
published within his collection of compositions for
zither, vol. 4, no. 8)2
• Rattenfänger – Walzer (not identified)
• Silberne Hochzeits Polka (by Hans Christian
Lumbye?)
• Steyrischer Tanz v. Gruber (not identified)
• Vergißmeinicht Walzer (not identified)
• Volksgarten Walzer von Dubek (not identified)
• János Bihari: National Ungarischer arr. von Michael
Hebenstreit (Hungarian dance, unidentified)
The marches we have come across on the musical boxes
deserve a special note. On the one hand we have marches
which are actually a number from an operetta, and from
that they became favored tunes which can accordingly be
associated with dance music. These marches are listed
above together with the other pieces from popular composers.
On the other hand, several marches are found which
are downright military music, especially composed for the
use with military bands or for specific regiments. One may
notice the political significance of those marches which
were composed on special occasions, for example the
revolutionary year 1848, that caused the music to become
popular then3. A few marches gained a lasting success with
the public, like the “Radetzky” march and the “Rakocy”
march. They appear frequently in the following decades on
the musical boxes while the other marches vanished into
oblivion again. The following list gives the names of the
marches as written on the tune sheets:
• Großer Parade- Marsch by Josef Resnitschek (1835)
• Großer Parade-Marsch by Carl Haslinger (1842)
• Hunyadi-Marsch by Albert Ferenc Doppler, based on
motifs from the opera “Hunyadi Laszlo” (1842) by
Ferenc Erkel, arranged for the civil guard’s music.
• Rákóczi-Marsch, initially a national Hungarian song
which a certain Josef Ruzitska (Ruzicka) is said to
have transformed into a march4. It became something
2 Friedrich Hofmeister, Literarisch-musikalischer Monatsbericht,
Nr. 8, Leipzig, August 1878, 225.
3 Helmut Kowar: Die Revolution im Wohnzimmer, in: Musik und
Revolution. Die Produktion von Identität und Raum durch Musik in
Zentraleuropa 1848/49, ed. by Barbara Boisits. Vienna: Hollitzer 2013,
433-456.
4 Wiener allgemeine Musik-Zeitung, Nr. 46, 15. April 1848, “Notizen“,
184.
like a national hymn and was later on arranged by
Hector Berlioz and others.
• Kossuth-Marsch by Joseph Sawertal5, it acquired
importance as a national tune as well.
• Radetzky-Marsch by Johann Strauss sen., op. 228
(1848)
• Nationalgarde-Marsch by Heinrich Proch op., 142
(1848)
• Neuer Pariser Einzugsmarsch, probably by Friedrich
Wilhelm Voigt, op. 53 (1871)
Opera
Operatic airs, i.e. excerpts and arrangements of overtures,
arias, choruses, finales etc. ranging from operas by
Gioachino Rossini up to Richard Wagner, form the other
large group of the repertoire. In addition, we find quite
a number of pieces from operettas as well as from local
theater plays. Among them there are a not insignificant
number that are practically forgotten today. It is obvious
to me, that the musical pieces set on the cylinders were
excerpts from those operas being staged with the greatest
success then at the opera houses and theaters within the
Austrian monarchy. Apparently, some of the operas enjoyed
an enormous popularity, most notably Rossini’s “Guillaume
Tell,” Bellini’s “Norma,” Gounod’s “Margarethe,” and
Flotow’s “Martha.” Several numbers from each of these
operas appeared on the musical boxes. For example, from
Bellini’s “Norma,” we find the introduction, the preghiera
from the first act, the duet “Deh! Con te, conte li prendi,”
the cavatina “Casta diva,” and the duet “Mira o Norma” on
the musical boxes.
Some composers, such as Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti,
Bellini, and Meyerbeer, show up with several operas, and
others have just a single work. Evidently, often just one
aria has been fancied and was asked for many a time, as
for instance the famous aria from Erkel’s “Hunyadi Laszlo,”
which is to be found frequently.
Remarkably enough, as with the dance music, pieces
from an older repertoire do not appear. Only one musical
box surfaced so far which played the minuet from Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” In other words, the
repertoire depicts the staging of new operas throughout
the years of the production of musical boxes, starting with
Rossini’s “l barbiere di Siviglia” from 1806 – being already a
favorite when being pinned onto the cylinders – and ending
up with Viktor Nessler’s “Trompeter von Säckingen” in
1884, or Franz Lehar’s operetta “The Merry Widow” that
premiered in 1905. Quite a number of tunes became a
lasting success with the public; many others show up only
for a short time.
The composers appearing with several operas are listed
first, followed by those featuring one opera. Many numbers
of the listed operas show up repeatedly on the musical
boxes, in case the tune could be identified or details were
indicated these are given in parentheses – most often the
tune sheets read barely “aria from …” Anyway, as they are
5 Ibid.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 27
preserved rarely, one has to consider oneself fortunate to
find that information at all.
Gioachino Rossini
• Il barbiere die Siviglia
• La gazza ladra (overture)
• Mosè in Egitto (preghiera)
• Semiramide (aria)
• Le siège de Corinthe (choeur des Grecs, marche des
Grecs)
• Guillaume Tell (preghiera, Tirolienne, Ländler)
Vincenzo Bellini
• La Sonnambula (chorus)
• Norma (Introduzione, duet “Deh! Con te, conte li
prendi,” cavatina, preghiera, cavatina “Casta diva,”
duet “Mira o Norma”)
• Beatrice di Tenda (preghiera)
Gaetano Donizetti
• Ugo Conte de Parigi (aria)
• L’elisir d’amore (duet)
• Lukrezia Borgia
• Gemma di Vergy (cavatina)
• Lucia di Lammermoor (sextet, duet, chorus)
• Belisario (aria)
• Linda di Chamounix (duet)
• Don Pasquale (aria, finale)
• Dom Sébastien (aria, duet)
Giacomo Meyerbeer
• Robert le Diable
• Les Huguenots (Rataplan, duet, chorus of the girls)
• Vielka (transfiguration-scene)
• Le prophète (coronation march, aria, skating quadrille,
drinking song)
• L’Africaine (aria)
Michael William Balfe
• Die vier Haimonskinder (Glöckchenduett)
• Die Zigeunerin (La Zingara), cavatina, aria
Daniel Francois Esprit Auber
• La Muette de Portici (march, chorus, barcarole “Amis,
la matinée est belle”)
• Der Zauberschleier (Le lac des fées), final chorus
Giuseppe Verdi
• Nabucco (aria, chorus)
• I Lombardi (aria)
• Ernani (cavatina)
• I due Foscari
• Rigoletto (“La Donna é mobile,” drinking song,
ballabile)
• Il Trovatore (stretta, duet, Miserere)
• La Traviata
Fig. 9: The cover of the score of the song “I und mein Bua”
helped to identify the tune, the tune sheet gave just the title
of the song. Furthermore the front page reveals interesting
details: Carl Millöcker dedicated this song to the popular
and well-known actress and directress of the “Theater an der
Wien” Marie Geistinger, a star at the operetta stage then; that
this tune turns up on a musical box indicates its success.
Bedrich Smetana
• Prodaná nevěsta
• Hubicka
• Dalibor
Richard Wagner
• Tannhäuser (march, entrance of the guests, aria “O
du, mein holder Abendstern,” pilgrim’s chorus)
• Lohengrin (“Nun sei bedankt, mein lieber Schwan,”
duet)
Additionally the following operas have shown up:
• Georges Bizet, Carmen (march)
• André Hippolyte Jean Baptiste Chelard: Die
Mitternacht
• Albert Ferenc Doppler: Ilka és a huszártoborzó
(overture)
• Ference Erkel: Hunyadi Laszlo (aria “Kar Hunyadi
Laszlo Magyar es,” czardas)
• Friedrich von Flotow: Martha (“The last rose’“ hunter’s
song, “Ach so fromm, ach so traut,“ finale)
28 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
• Karl Goldmark: Die Königin von Saba6
• Charles Gounod, Margarethe (cavatina, waltz, march,
duet, finale)
• Louis Hérold: Zampa (overture)
• Conradin Kreutzer: Das Nachtlager in Granada
(Romanze “Ein Schütz bin ich”),
• W. A. Mozart: Don Giovanni (minuet)
• Victor Ernst Nessler: Der Trompeter von Säckingen
• Johann Josef Gabriel Netzer: Mara (barcarola, aria?)
• Giovanni Pacini: Saffo (aria)
Several operettas show up with their tunes:
Jacques Offenbach
• La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (Couplets du
Sabre)
• La Chanson de Fortunio (love song, drinking song)
Johann Strauss II
• Der Zigeunerbaron (“Ja das Schreiben und das Lesen,”
couplet)
• Eine Nacht in Venedig (“Alle maskiert,” quartet)
Carl Millöcker
• Drei Paar Schuhe (“I und mei Bua”, song)7, (Fig. 9)
• Der Bettelstudent (“Ach ich hab sie ja nur auf die
Schulter geküsst,” song)
• Der Feldprediger
• Rudolf Dellinger: Don César (“Komm‘ herab oh
Madonna Theresa”)
• Franz Lehar: Die lustige Witwe
Within this group of operatic airs also three songs (couplets)
from theatre plays by Ferdinand Raimund have to be
listed. These plays became exceptionally famous in Vienna
and their main music numbers achieved great popularity,
hence, we find them with some musical boxes of the time:
Ferdinand Raimund
• Der Bauer als Millionär (“Brüderlein fein,” music by
Joseph Drechsler and Ferdinand Raimund; 1826)
• Der Verschwender (“Hobellied,” “Bettlerlied,” music
by Conradin Kreutzer and Ferdinand Raimund; 1834)
Folkmusic
Folk songs and folk dances appear frequently on the
musical boxes. Two tunes were recognizable very easily
by listening (the well-known Viennese folk song “Oh, du
lieber Augustin,” and the “Erzherzog Johann” yodeler).
6 The inscription on the tune sheet says merely “Kralovnna” (meaning
“queen”), which very probably points towards this opera.
7 The inscription on the tune sheet gives only the title of the song.
The cover of the edition for soprano and piano accompaniment reads:
“Fräulein Marie Geistinger Directrice des Theaters and der Wien
hochachtungsvoll gewidmet: I und mei Bua. Lied in niederösterreichischer
Mundart; aus dem Lebensbilde ‘Drei Paar Schuhe’; für eine
Sopranstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte componiert von Carl
Millöcker”.
With numerous other tunes it became quite clear that
they represented local dances, such as ländler or czardas.
Remarkably enough, many tunes display a typical Hungarian
style8. A few inscriptions on the tune sheets named
the music pieces, giving the title of the song or its provenance,
e.g. designating the piece simply as “Polish song.”
Regarding the indication of the musical program three
early movements of Anton Olbrich in Vienna are of special
interest. They show inscriptions scratched on the edge of
their bedplates, the first movement bears the inscription
“Jodler” (yodeler), with the second the inscription reads
“Dudler” (Viennese type of yodeler) and the third one
shows a “W,” most probably standing for “waltz.” The
following list gives the titles as written on the tune sheets.
• Steirische Tänze (Styrian dances)
• Hernalser Jodler (yodeler from Vienna)
• Magyar Indulo No 2 (Hungarian dance)
• Guittara – span. Tanz (Spanish dance)
• Ilirischer Marsch (Illyrian march)
• Banater Kolo (Banat dance)
•V Čechách tam já jsem zrozená (Czech song)
•Přijde jaro přijde bude zase máj (Czech song)
• Jenom ty mně, má panenko, pověz (Czech song)
• Polnisches Lied (Polish song)
• Hey Slovani (originally a Slovak song)
• Kentek national en zadar a punio (dance from southeast
Europe)
Several other dances, e.g. mazurkas, and songs are
named on the tune sheets but thus far it is not possible to
trace any of the given titles.
Miscellanea
This small group consists of a few tunes of various
genres, most of them originating from the last decades of
the 19th century, thus displaying the most recent musical
compositions meeting a new taste of the public.
The earliest part of that group is made up of national
anthems, most frequently Joseph Haydn’s “Kaiserlied.” The
hymn of the Austrian monarchy appears, followed by the
Czech, Polish and Russian national songs.
• Gott erhalte, by Joseph Haydn (national anthem of the
Austrian monarchy),
• Kde domov muj (Czech national anthem)
• Mazurek Dabrowskiego (Polish national anthem,
based on a folk dance)
• Bosche, Zarja chrani (Russian national anthem)
• La Marseillaise (French national anthem)
8 Anton Olbrich in Vienna obviously served in particular the
Hungarian market and had to put many Hungarian tunes onto his
movements. He also ran some kind of outlet for his movements with the
help of a branch of a Viennese firm for metal goods in Pest and Debrecen,
which becomes apparent from the advertisements of the company of
Franz Frank (Vienna) in: Pesther Handlungszeitung. Kommerzial-
und Industrie-Anzeiger 14 (1841) p. 51, numerous ads also published
in the following years.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 29
Fig. 10: From the cover of the score of the song “Weana Chic und Weana Schan’” we learn that this popular tune was performed
by the actress Minna Roth at the “Etablissment Ronacher” in Vienna, a theater which staged operettas, revues, variety etc.
30 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Several popular songs show up, some of the tunes coming
from older times but more often the pieces rank among
the younger repertoire:
• Carneval of Venice (Neapolitan song, later adapted by
Rodolphe Kreutzer and others)
• Joseph Kreipl: S’Mailüfterl (song, 1853)
• Die Wacht am Rhein (German song which became
especially popular after 1870)
• Gustav Pick: Fiakerlied (Viennese song, composed
1885)
• Carl Lorens: Weana Chic und Weana Schan’ (Viennese
waltz song, published ca. 1889), Fig. 10.
• Carl Lorens: Menschen sind wir alle (Viennese song)
• Adolf Hirsch (pseudonym Adolfi): Herzensdieb
(Viennese song, 1901) 9.
Repeatedly we find the religious song “Großer Gott wir
loben dich.” In only one musical box did we find Franz
Schubert’s “Ave Maria.”
Art songs (Lieder) appear very rarely, we find:
• Franz Schubert: Die Forelle, D 550
• Franz Schubert: Das Ständchen, D 957
• Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Es ist bestimmt in
Gottes Rat, op. 47 no. 4.
• Béni Egressy: Szozat (this piece became an important
Hungarian song, regarded as “second” national
anthem).
Surprisingly, piano music and salon music shows up only
with a few items:
• Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wely: Die Klosterglocken
• Tekla Badarzewska: Gebet einer Jungfrau, op. 3
• Michał Kleofas Ogiński: Polonaise “Les Adieux a la
Patrie“
• Jean Louis Gobbaerts: Alla stella confidente. Caprice
sur une melodie de (Vizenco) Robaudi pour piano, op.
59
• Henri Wieniawski: Souvenir de Moscou op.6
Concluding remarks
Although it is known that an export of movements had
occurred in the first decades – music box maker Gustav
Řebiček made a comment about it – we did not come upon
any early musical box playing music specifically designed
for a clientele outside of the Austrian monarchy. It isn’t until
a rather late movement made by August Bartel in Vienna (he
9 Friedrich Hofmeister, Literarisch-musikalischer Monatsbericht,
Nr. 5, Leipzig, Mai 1901, 362.
was active from 1865 onwards) that we find a musical program
consisting of eight pieces, a waltz by Johann Strauss
jun. (“Telegramme,” op. 318), and seven tunes which were
popular with the public in the English-speaking world:
• “Yes! Let me like a soldier fall,” a song from the opera
“Maritana” by William Vincent Wallace;
• “Silver threads among the gold,” a song by Hart Pease
Danks, popular in the late 19th century;
• “My pretty Jane,” a popular song by Henry R. Bishop;
• “Sweethearts Waltz, suite de valses on Arthur Sullivans
popular song,” by Charles d’Albert;
• “Les gardes de la reine,” waltz by Daniel Godfrey;
• “The March of the Men of Harlech,” traditional song
and military march;
• “Auld lang syne,” traditional folk song.
Bartel’s musical box most probably comes from the early
1870s and presents a true picture of the favored music of
the time. The year of issue of three of the musical pieces
makes this evident: Godfrey’s waltz “Les gardes de la reine”
was published 1865, the Strauss waltz op. 318 was composed
in 1867 and Charles d’Albert’s “Sweethearts Waltz”
probably comes from the 1870s.
In addition to Bartel’s musical box, there exists one further
source related to a particular musical program. During
the “International Exhibition of Arts and Manufacturers”
that was held in Dublin in 1865 we find a musical box from
Vienna featuring a downright “international” program. The
exhibition’s catalogue reports that Josef Olbrich presented
a musical box playing Irish, Scottish, English, German and
Italian melodies. It is a remarkable piece of information
referring to such a varied repertoire. Unfortunately for
researchers, it does not give any details on the tunes10.
Other movements or sources pointing towards such a kind
of repertoire have not yet been discovered.
In closing, I would like to mention a musical box which
plays a very special musical program. From the firm of
Gustav Řebíček in Prague comes a musical box (current
no. 45904, music no. 3947), playing four melodies. It was
made especially for Viktor Erlanger, who took over in 1872
the construction of the railway going from Györ to Neufeld
(a small village near the border of the Kingdom of Hungary
then). The program is exceptional: all the tunes are said to
be of Viktor Erlanger’s own composition.
10 Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and manufactures,
1865. Official Catalogue, Fourth Edition, Dublin 1865, p. 59; Henry
Parkinson, Peter Lund Simmonds (ed.): The illustrated record and
descriptive catalogue of the Dublin International Exhibition of 1865.
London 1866, p. 394. A report on that appeared in: Neues Fremden
Blatt, Nr. 65, Wien 18. Juli 1865 p.14, und Nr. 66, Wien 19. Juli 1865,
p. 13-14.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 31
Prague, Czech Republic,
Mar. 5–8, 2020
In search of mechanical Prague, Czech Republic,
Mar. 5–8, 2020
In search of mechanical By Michael Clark
Photos by Michael and Felicity Clark
Felicity and I choose our weekend
breaks based on the availability of
flights that feature a less than 2.5
hour flight time from our local airport,
which is a 12 minute taxi ride from our
home. In November 2019 we looked
at where the local airline, Jet2, was
flying and the only place they were
going that we had not visited before
was Prague. We, therefore, booked
a three-night break, departing early
Thursday morning and returning late
Sunday night, giving two whole days
and two long part days to explore.
We arrived mid-day local time at
our hotel after an easy bus and metro
journey from the airport. A joint ticket
cost us only about $1.50 (£1.25). The
hotel room was available early so we
dropped our luggage and made for
some lunch at a café over the street,
bizarrely themed on London, and then
walked for less than 30 minutes to the
heart of the city. Large central squares,
theatres and markets abound. Tram
lines go off in all directions and as we
found later, they were an incredibly
32 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
The author at the Astronomical Clock
mechanical music
The author at the Astronomical Clock
mechanical music
The castle overlooking the beautiful city of Prague. in Prague to hear 17 chimes at 5 p.m.
cheap and efficient way of travelling enjoyed the historic tales and beautiinstruments.
We caught the metro and
all over the city. ful buildings in this famous part of the a bus to Letenské Náměstí and walked
On Friday we took a tour of a castle city. 10 minutes to the site. It looked very
and cathedral, high up on the hill. We Saturday we had earmarked to tour imposing and on entering we were
found an online walking tour that the National Technical Museum, which given a map of the premises on four
included a minibus ride up to the top, according to the MBSI Directory of floors, but there was no mention of
so we required only to be guided down Members, Museums and Dealers, the music. On enquiring, the reception
the hill back to the river. Our guide museum’s own website and also the staff didn’t appear to understand my
was exceptionally good and with word of several people I know, was question but a security guard standing
fine weather and a chilly breeze, we the location of mechanical musical nearby came over and told us the
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 33
Inside the National Technical Museum main gallery with Jan Kašpar’s plane that made the first Czech long-distance flight on
May 13, 1911, flying for 92 minutes and travelling 121 Km.
musical section was located in its
own museum, some way from where
we were, but easily accessible by a
different tram route.
We made the most of being at the
National Technical Museum, which
houses many examples of planes, cars,
and Jawa bikes, mostly of Czech origin,
as well as a small railway section
(there is a separate museum of the
railways as well as another on public
transport, elsewhere in the city). What
struck me about the displays was the
great amount of information provided
on the signage, and a very interesting
link to the historic tough times the
Czech Republic had at the hands
of neighbouring countries. (This
museum is well worth a visit for those
with historical and heritage transport
interests too). Felicity found both the
cast iron exhibits section as well as
the replica mine very interesting too.
That evening we enjoyed a local speciality
at one of the city’s Black Light
Theatres. This show, like most concerts
and shows in the city, appeared
to be scheduled for not much longer
than one hour, which suited us well.
It was a mixture of clever black light
theatre broken up with sketches by
two mime artist comedians and we
found it very entertaining.
The Czech Museum of Music Building on Karmelitská, near the Charles Bridge.
Having missed the mark in our
music museum search on Saturday we
set out again on Sunday to find it. Two
further trams got us right outside a
building on the other side of the river
that was quite close to the castle and
the famous Charles Bridge. The music
museum is in a converted church, once
belonging to a Dominican monastery.
It comprises several floors of rooms,
with balconies around a central concert
area. On the second floor balcony
could be seen a fairground organ
at one end, but the museum uses a
tour route through several temporary
exhibitions on the ground floor before
climbing the stairs (or riding a lift) to
the upper floors. The first exhibition
was called “Import, Export, Rock ‘n’
Roll” and told the story of rock and
roll from the advent of worldwide
pop music around 1960 and how it
was received in the Czech Republic.
Although with radio and other mediums
transmitting this music genre
round the world, the Czech authorities
tried to suppress it and many unofficial
ways of listening to and obtaining
recordings of, this kind of music were
devised. The authorities also tried to
export the home products and this
exhibition tells the story well, labelled
like the rest of the museum, in Czech
and English.
34 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
This “peaked harp” from the 18th century has a cylinder A banjo-playing automaton and a phonograph, both encased
hidden in the base that controls brass blades connected to in glass, were part of the displays in the Czech music museum.
hammers that hit the string to cause the tune to be played. More instruments were said to be in storage.
The museum shows examples of
many Czech produced instruments,
keyboard, wind and string, all in various
themed rooms and many in large
glass cases. There are headphones
and a carry round guidance system
but regrettably that does not make it
come to life as one would hope.
There were two fairground organs
on show, a Gebrüder Bruder model
built in the second half of 19th
century in Waldkirch and a Fritz
Wrede early 20th century instrument,
built in Hannover-Kleefeld. There is
also a room almost at the end of the
exhibition trail, that contains a Jan
Štycha Orchestrion, Joseph Kameník
Reed Barrel Organ, a late 19th century
Edison Phonograph model Standard,
an A Olbrich (Vienna) Picture with
Music Box (Town) made in the first
half of 19th century, a 19th century Polyphon,
Leipzig c 1890-1914 and a banjo
playing figure for which I regrettably
failed to note the details. The museum
website indicated there are many
other instruments in the collection
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 35
A Fritz Wrede orchestrion, built in the early 20th century, on display in the music museum.
A Gebrüder Bruder fairground organ, built in Waldkirch, Germany, in the second half of 19th century.
held in storage.
Altogether, we found it to be a very
interesting place with some unusual
exhibits. There appear to be either
one or two further floors still not
accessible to the public but, hopefully
someday, will be opened up so as to
enlarge the exhibition.
After this visit, we took another tram,
had another ice cream and travelled
by metro and bus back to the airport
and home. We were fortunate with the
timing of our trip, as had we booked
our trip and arrived one week later we
would have found the Czech Republic
borders closed to visitors due to the
pandemic caused by COVID-19.
The address of the National Museum
– Czech Museum of Music is: Karmelitská
2, 118 00 Praha 1. T: +420 224
497 777 E: c_muzeum_hudby@nm.cz
Tram 12, 15, 20, 22 and 23 stop
Hellichova (right outside) or Metro A
station Malostranská (slight walk)
The address of the National Technical
Museum is: Národní technické
Museum, Kostelní 42, 170 78 Praha 7.
T: +420 220 399 111 e: info@ntm.cz
Bus 180 or 207; Tram 12, 25 or 26
Letenské náměstí.
36 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Sam Clark
A fanciful imagining from the mind of Charles Wilson
Sam Clark was a lucky man. He was
also a wealthy man. He came from a
modest but comfortable background,
worked hard, and found that he had
an uncanny talent for investing in the
right things at the right times.
He also had the good fortune to have
met and wedded the beautiful Catherine.
She was smart, loving and witty.
They both shared many passions, but
most of all, the love of music in general,
and a particular appreciation of
classical pipe organs.
They traveled to listen to all of the
world’s great organs, but had not found
the perfect instrument. Some had poor
acoustics, some lacked power in the
lower registers, some were not voiced
well, some were poorly maintained.
They resolved to create the perfect
instrument. Specialists designed an
auditorium with impeccable acoustics
and built an attached living quarters
for Sam and Catherine. They moved
in to observe the construction of the
organ and its venue.
As the years passed, Catherine
developed severe health problems.
Many operations were performed,
but the decline continued. As the end
approached, Catherine told Sam, “I
am so very sorry I can’t be with you
to celebrate this great adventure, but
you must promise me to complete our
project.”
When Catherine finally departed,
Sam had a special urn made and
engraved with an image of her face
when she was in her prime. He placed
it on a table in their special theater
box for two overlooking their organ’s
keyboard. The box was constructed
so that the only person who could see
them was the organist. At the end of
every day he would sit and caress her
face and tell her of his day, and how
their organ was progressing.
Finally, the organ was ready. Sam
had the world’s greatest organists run
it through comprehensive tests with
the best music. Everyone was ecstatic
but Sam felt something was missing.
He issued a challenge to the finest
composers to create a composition
that would unleash the potential of
the instrument. One piece of absolute
genius finally emerged. The problem
was that the combination of the
emotions of the composition and
the purity of the instrument was so
powerful and moving that none of the
great organists could play the entire
piece without being overcome with
emotion. The only person capable of
performing the piece properly was the
composer.
Sam was finally ready to let the
public hear his masterpiece. Opening
night saw a full house at Catherine
Clark Hall. The performance began.
The first movement was a delightful
Garden of Eden, evoking visions of
happy children at play, butterflies in
a field, young love, and every other
pleasant experience imaginable. The
second movement started with a
somber note and descended into the
depths of despair, bringing to mind
the unbelievable inhumanities of the
past; all of the wars, brutalities and
intolerance.
The audience reacted with deep
sorrow and many tears. The final
movement was dedicated to the end of
tribalism and a triumphal celebration
of world wide brotherhood. By the
time the piece finished with its final
thunderous chord, the audience had
all risen to their feet and erupted in
ecstatic applause, tears of joy, and
exuberant cheers.
When Sam did not appear, his staff
rushed to the box, only to find he had
blissfully joined his Catherine, tightly
holding her urn with a contented smile
on his face.
Sacred Music On
Cylinder Musical Boxes
PART 4: Evangelical and Gospel Songs
By David Worrall
This part of the article concentrates
on the third group of sacred music as
identified in Part 1 of the series, evangelical
and gospel songs. As discussed
previously, these songs are described
as music set to words of metrical
composition in verse and with poetical
rhythm. Given that definition,
however, it might be asked, “What is
the difference between an evangelical
and gospel song and a hymn?” In his
book, “The History & Use of Hymns &
Hymn Tunes,” written at the beginning
of the 19th century, American Presbyterian
clergyman, Reverend David
Riddle Breed described the difference
as being that the words of a hymn are
addressed to God who is, thereby, the
object of veneration and worship. The
words of an evangelical song, on the
other hand, address the hearer who
is the object of exhortation, i.e. “to
be, or to do” in some form or other
in response to the message being
conveyed in the words of the song.4
Although this is a very good measure
by which to distinguish between many
hymns and evangelical songs, it can
by no means be treated as an absolute
measure. The old adage, “One size does
not necessarily fit all” certainly applies
here, particularly in modern hymnody
where, in today’s atmosphere of
heightened social awareness, many
hymns of mainstream churches are so
written as to address directly both the
singer(s) and the hearer(s), adjuring
them to react in response to the social
message or challenge contained in the
words.
In the context of this article, however,
such words and their music
either were, or came to be associated
particularly with the Christian Evangelical
movement that swept America
and Britain in the last quarter of the
19th century with the intent to evangelize
people, i.e. to win them over to the
Christian faith. Table 12 (pages 40-41)
lists the sacred airs found during the
research that fall into this group of
sacred music.
Some background to the items of
music in Table 12 follow, for it is due to
the evangelical campaigns of the late
19th century American Evangelists,
Sankey and Moody whose impact
was significant and extended beyond
their revival meetings to influence
the music to be found today on some
musical boxes.
Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
was born in Northfield, MA, he moved
to Boston, MA, in 1854 to work in an
uncle’s shoe store. Moody was required
to attend church as part of his apprenticeship
and in April 1855 became
thereby a convert to evangelical
Christianity and so laid the foundations
of his career as an evangelist.
Moving to Chicago, IL, he established
his own shoe sales business as well as
beginning his social and evangelical
work. By 1861 he had left the former
to concentrate on the latter. Although
a conscientious objector at the time of
the American Civil War, it was due to
his evangelistic involvement with the
Young Men’s Christian Association
(YMCA) that he paid nine visits to the
battlefront. He was present among
the Union soldiers after the battles of
Shiloh in April 1862, Stones River in
January 1863 and entered Richmond,
VA, the Confederate Capital with the
victorious troops of General Ulysses
Thoughts and
Background Notes
This series of articles was first
published in 2017-2018 in The
Music Box, the Journal of The Musical
Box Society of Great Britain. It
arose from research prompted by
the extracts from Mechanical Music
Digest (www.mmdigest.com). Originally,
it was intended to be short
and so published in one edition of
The Music Box. As the research progressed,
however, the scope gradually
increased to the extent that necessitated
publication in five parts over
five consecutive editions, the scope of
each part being explained in the text
of the article itself.
By its nature, such research
becomes outdated as new or additional
material is found on surviving
musical boxes that continue to come
to light. The article is therefor now
republished in Mechanical Music
with all changes necessitated by this
new material as of Sept. 30, 2019.
Throughout this article, the use
of the term “sacred” is used entirely
with reference to the Christian faith
and then in relation to the music
identified and referred to herein.
Parts 1, 2 and 3, published in
the previous editions of Mechanical
Music, gave the background to the
series, defined sacred music, gave
overall statistical details of its extent
on cylinder musical boxes and discussed
results from the analysis of
classical sacred music and hymns.
Part 4 of this series now discusses
the results obtained from the similar
analysis of the third group of sacred
music – evangelical and gospel songs.
38 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Dwight Lyman Moody (left) and Ira David Sankey (right).
S. Grant in April 1865.
Note. The Young Men’s Christian
Association (commonly known as
YMCA or simply the Y), was, and still
is, a worldwide organisation founded
in London, England, in 1844 and now
based in Geneva, Switzerland, dedicated
to putting Christian principles
into practice by developing a healthy
“body, mind, and spirit.”
Moody considered music a valuable
tool in his evangelistic work and when
he heard Ira Sankey sing at a YMCA
convention held in Indianapolis, IN,
in June 1870, he convinced Sankey to
give up a well-paid U.S. government
job to join him in the work of Christian
evangelism.
Ira D. (David) Sankey (1840-1908)
was born in Edinburgh, PA. An evangelic
convert at the age of 16, he served
in the American Civil War after which
he worked for the U.S. Internal Revenue
Service and also for the YMCA.
It was through his performances as a
gospel singer at YMCA conventions
that he and Moody met and began to
work together.
Fig 5: Tune Sheet from Paillard Serial No 87937, another 10-Air Musical Box made
circa 1890. The programme is entirely “Sankey and Moody” in content and the com-
poser’s names added where known by the original owner.
Moody and Sankey were active in supporting vocalist. Their impact was
the field of Christian evangelism, in profound, but as far as this article is
both the U.S. and Britain from the concerned it is the songs sung by San1870s
through the1890s. Moody would key at their meetings in his dramatic
preach and Sankey played the part of baritone voice that are of interest.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 39
Table 12: Evangelical and Gospel Songs.
Sacred Air Composer First Line No.
Safe In The Arms of Jesus Doane Safe In The Arms of Jesus 66
Hold The Fort Bliss Ho My Comrades 61
Sweet By and By Webster There’s A Land that is Fairer than Day 48
The Gate Ajar For Me Vail There is a Gate that Stands Ajar 39
The Great Physician Stockton The Great Physician Now is Near 37
Jesus of Nazareth Passeth By Perkins What Means This Eager Anxious Throng 34
Bury Thy Sorrow Bliss Go Bury Thy Sorrow 32
Tell Me The Old Old Storey Doane Tell Me The Old Old Storey 30
Knocking, Knocking Who Is There Root Knocking, Knocking Who Is There 26
Once For All Bliss Free From the Law, Oh Happy Condition 25
Jewels Root When He cometh, When He cometh 24
Oh Sing of His Mighty Love Bradbury O bliss of the purified, bliss of the free 20
Sweet Hour of Prayer Bradbury Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer that calls me
from a world of care
19
Shall We Gather At The River Lowry Shall we gather at the river 18
Almost Persuaded Bliss Almost persuaded now to believe 17
Only An Armour Bearer Bliss Only An Armour Bearer, Firmly I stand 13
The Prodigal Child Doane Come home, come home! You are weary at heart 13
There Were Ninety and Nine Sankey There were Ninety and Nine 13
Whiter Than Snow Fischer Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole 13
Ring The Bells Of Heaven Root Ring the bells of Heaven, there is joy today 12
There Is Life For A Look Taylor There is life for a look at the Crucified One 12
The Home Over There O’Kane Oh, Think of the Home over There 11
Even Me Bradbury Lord, I hear of Showers of Blessing 10
Substitution Sankey O Christ, what burdens bowed thy head 10
The Lifeboat Bliss Light in The Darkness [Pull for the Shore] 9
Scatter Seeds of Kindness Vail Let Us Gather Up The Sunbeams 8
That Will Be Heaven for Me McGranahan I Know Not The Hour 8
Stand Up For Jesus Hull Stand up for Jesus, Christian, stand! 7
The Lord Will Provide Phillips In Some Way or Other 7
Art Thou Weary Baker Art Thou Weary 7
Come To The Saviour Tune by either McGranahan
or Sankey with this 1st Line.
Come to the Saviour, make no delay 6
Daniel’s Band Bliss Dare To Be A Daniel 6
Waiting at the River We are Waiting at the River 6
Thy Will Be Done McGranahan My God, My Father, While I stray 5
What Shall The Harvest Be? Bliss Sowing the seed by the dawn-light fair 5
I Am Sweeping Through The Gate Phillips I am now a Child of God 3
Let The Lower Lights Be Burning Bliss Brightly beams our Father’s mercy 3
Room Among The Angels Beaverson There is Room Among The Angels 3
40 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Sacred Air Composer First Line No.
Work For The Night is Coming Mason Work For The Night is Coming 3
Only A Step to Jesus Doane Only A Step to Jesus 3
Eaton Square Fischer I Love to Tell The Story 2
Oh How He Loves Main One there is above all others 2
Saviour I Follow On Saviour I Follow On 2
Saviour, Like a Shepherd Lead Us Bradbury Saviour, Like a Shepherd Lead Us 2
The Beacon that lights me Home The Beacon that lights me Home 2
We’re Marching to Zion Lowry Come ye that love the Lord 2
What A Friend We Have in Jesus Converse What A Friend We Have in Jesus 2
Rest In The Lord Sankey Rest in The Lord 2
A Saviour Ever near A Saviour Ever near 1
Beautiful Land of Rest Emerson When we reach the land of rest 1
Behold Me Standing at the Door Knapp Behold me standing at the door 1
Come Ye Disconsolate Come ye Disconsolate 1
Hallelujah! What a Saviour Bliss Man of Sorrows! What a shame 1
I Know Whom I Have Believed McGranahan I know not why God’s wondrous Grace 1
In the Secret of His Presence Stebbins In the secret of His presence my soul delights to hide 1
In The Shadow of His Wings Excell In the shadow of His wings There is rest, sweet rest 1
It Passeth Knowledge Sankey It Passeth Knowledge 1
Joyfully, Joyfully Kirkpatrick Oh Joyfully, joyfully, onward we go 1
More To Follow Bliss Have you on the Lord believed! Still there’s more to follow; 1
My Prayer Bliss More Holiness Give Me, More strivings within 1
O Happy Day Unattributed O Happy day that fixed my choice on Thee 1
Oh to be Nothing Bliss Oh to be nothing, nothing 1
One There is Who Loves Thee Doane One there is who loves thee, waiting form thee still 1
Rest for the Weary Dadmun In the Christian’s home in glory 1
The Better Land The Better Land 1
The Gospel Bells Wesley-Martin The Gospel Bells are ringing 1
The Hem of His Garment Root She only touched the hem of His garment 1
The Hour of Prayer Gauntlett My God, is any hour so sweet 1
There’s A Light in the Valley Bliss Through the valley of shadow I must go 1
To God Be The Glory Doane To God be the Glory, great things He hath done 1
Will Jesus Find Us Doane When Jesus Comes 1
Wonderful Words of Life Bliss Sing them over again to me 1
Ye Must Be Born Again Stebbins A Ruler once came to Jesus by night 1
73 Evangelical & Gospel Songs Identified TOTAL INCIDENCE of USE 733
Unidentified Evangelical & Gospel Songs 14
TOTAL INCIDENCE of EVANGELICAL & GOSPEL SONGS 747
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 41
The Kibble Palace and botanical gardens in Glasgow, Scotland.
They became so popular in later Victorian
times that musical box makers
at work during that period either
felt confident enough or were easily
persuaded by requests received from
their sales outlets, to arrange and pin
complete programmes of them for
some of their cylinder musical boxes.
(See Fig. 5, Page 39.)
The first extended evangelical
campaign by Sankey and Moody in
Britain ran from 1872 to 1875 and a
second between the years 1881 to
1884. During both visits they travelled
widely, the meetings they held filling
the various venues to capacity, usually
between 2,000 and 4,000 people. One
exceptional meeting during their first
visit is on record, held in May 1874 in
the Kibble Palace in Glasgow Botanic
Gardens. By the time Sankey and
Moody arrived there were so many
people both inside and outside the
palace that Moody had to preach from
the back of a horse-drawn cab. Contemporary
estimates say 6,000 people
were inside the palace whilst between
15,000 and 30,000 were outside in the
gardens.
With such an impact from their
first visit to Britain it is not surprising
that Sankey and Moody tunes began
to appear on cylinder musical box
programmes destined for the British
market. A study of entries in The A
D Cunliffe Cylinder Musical Box Register
(The Register) at the time of this
writing shows that soon after the start
of their first campaign in Britain there
was an immediate response from
musical box makers to meet requests
from their British sales outlets. Nicole
Freres in particular was supplying
musical boxes with programmes of
evangelical songs associated with the
campaign. The results, in Table 12A
above, show that these commenced
with Serial No. 45397 of 1872 with
just two Sankey and Moody songs
inserted as Tunes 1 and 2 of an otherwise
very secular musical programme
(see Entry No. 1 in Table 12A). This
was quickly followed, however, by a
series of musical boxes, each pinned
to play one or other of three complete
musical programmes, of six, eight and
12 Sankey and Moody evangelical
songs, to each of which several boxes
were produced over the 1872-1873
period. The sequences and the gaps
in the serial numbers recorded give
cause for the reasonable supposition
that other boxes with these musical
programmes were produced at the
same time but they have either failed
to survive the years or have yet to be
found and recorded. Ami-Rivenc and
other makers were not far behind this
Nicole Freres lead.
The music concerned has been
described as having “popular, simple
melodies with rich harmonies and the
words with an evangelistic message,
often heavily overlaid with emotion.”
To those unfamiliar with the ethos
of the Christian faith and its beliefs,
however, much of the metaphor and
allegory in the verse would be at best
difficult to comprehend and at worst
meaningless.
Whilst Sankey himself wrote
several such hymns and songs and
composed and arranged music for
many more, much of the verse and
the music came from the pens of
other 19th century American Christian
evangelists. Collectively, their output
came to be referred to in many circles
by the sobriquet “Sankey and Moody
Hymns.” Brief notes follow on some of
42 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Table 12A: Nicole Freres Musical Boxes produced during 1872-1873*
Item Musical programme Type as Registered Gamme Serial Nos.
1 1. Hold the Fort. Sankey.
2. Bury thy Sorrow. Sankey.
3. We’ll sail away. Sultan Mocha. Cellier.
4. I love the Ocean. ditto.
5. Matamores. Girofle Girofla. Lecocq.
6. Conspirators Chorus. Dme. Angot. Lecocq.
7. Sur le Bleu Danube. Valse. Strauss.
8. King Pippin Polka. D’Albert.
8 air. Lever wind. 2987 45397
2 1. Safe in the arms of Jesus.
2. The gate ajar for me.
3. Jewels.
4. Knocking, Knocking; who is there?
5. Bury thy sorrows.
6. The Great Physician.
6 air. Hymn box. Lever wind. 2973 45460, 45499,
45504, 45560,
45945, 46071.
3 1. Safe in the arms of Jesus. Sankey.
2. The gate ajar for me. ditto.
3. Jewels. ditto.
4. Knocking. ditto.
5. Bury thy sorrow. ditto.
6. The Great Physician. ditto.
7. Clinging to the Cross. Ditto.
8. Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. Ditto.
8 air. Hymn box. Lever wind. 2972 45518, 45521,
45524, 45721,
45921, 45924.
4 1. Once for all. Sankey.
2. Substitution. Sankey.
3. Oh! Sing of his Mighty Love. ditto.
4. Almost persuaded. ditto.
5. Tell me the old old story.
6. The ninety and nine. ditto.
7. Hold the fort. Ditto.
8. Even me. Ditto.
8 air. Hymn box. Lever wind. 3028 45601, 45606,
45845, 45857,
45928, 45929,
45956, 45967,
46301.
5 1. Safe in the Arms of Jesus.
2. Once for all.
3. Shall we gather at the river?
4. The Great Physician.
5. The Prodigal Child.
6. Sweet Hour of Prayer.
7. Hold the Fort.
8. Jewels.
9. Tell me the old old story.
10. O sing of his mighty love.
11 .Bury thy sorrow.
12. The Gate Ajar for me.
12 air. Hymn box. Lever wind. 3047 45639
* The first years of the 1872-1875 Sankey and Moody campaign in Britain.
those whose works are most likely to
be found on cylinder musical boxes.
Philipp Bliss (1838-1875) an evangelist
of the Congregational Church in
Chicago, IL. A prolific writer of words
and music of evangelical hymns and
songs, including his very popular
“Hold The Fort.” (See Fig. 5 and Table
12.) Bliss was inspired to write both
the words and music of this song by
an incident in the American Civil War
where a beleaguered garrison of Union
troops were encouraged to stand their
ground when they saw in the distance
the white flag of the relieving column
and received the semaphore message
“Hold the Fort! I am coming. Sherman.”
Sankey himself records that
this particular song was used very frequently
in their meetings during their
1872-74 campaign in Great Britain
Frances (Fanny) Jane Crosby (Mrs.
Philipp Bliss, prolific songwriter.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 43
Frances Jane
van Alstyne,
1820-1915) of the
Methodist Episcopal
Church,
U.S., was another
prolific hymn
writer with more
than 2,000 titles
to her credit.
Blind from birth,
she became Sankey’s
friend and
music-making
partner. Examples of her work found
on musical boxes include “Rescue
the Perishing,” “I Am Thine, O Lord,”
“Near the Cross” and “Safe in the
Arms of Jesus.” (See Fig. 5 and Table
12 and also the notes against William
Doane below.)
Charles Crozat Converse (18191886),
an attorney and composer of
church songs, born in Warren, MA,
in 1855, studied music in Leipzig,
Germany, where he enjoyed the friendships
of Franz Liszt and Louis Spohr.
He set to music the words of Joseph
Scriven to become the extremely popular
hymn “What a Friend We Have in
Jesus.”
Over the years, the music of this
gospel song has reached well beyond
the bounds of its sacred beginnings for
it has since come to be used in much
more secular settings. Converse’s
tune was sung by the soldiers of the
First World War to the words “When
this ***!!! war is over, Oh how happy
I shall be”; and, much more recently
was featured in an advertisement for
Volkswagen cars in the 1980s set to the
words “Everybody’s changing places.
All must move and play the game.”
William Howard Doane (1832-1915)
was a composer, editor of hymn books,
businessman
and inventor.
He composed
more than 2,000
tunes, many for
the hymns and
gospel songs
written by Fanny
Crosby, including
“Rescue the
Perishing,” “I Am
Thine, O Lord,”
Frances Jane
Crosby
William Howard
Doane
Fig 6: Tune Sheet of PVF Serial No. 1079, a 10-air box showing the numbers added
by the original owner — in this case “Sacred Hymns & Solos” the 750-tune edition.
Fig 6A: Tune sheet of No. 33414 with tune title errors. Note also the “Sacred Songs
and Solos” number of some of the tunes inserted by the owner of the box.
“Near the Cross,” and “Safe in the
Arms of Jesus.” (See also Table 12.)
Thomas
Edward Perkins
(1831-1912) was
a composer,
vocalist, singing
school teacher
and author/
editor of many
books of sacred
and evangelical
music. Sankey
once told Perkins
Thomas Edward
Perkins
that Perkins’s musical setting of Etta
Campbell’s
words “Jesus of
Nazareth Passeth
By” was his (Sankey’s)
banner
song for eight
years. (See also
Table 12.)
Robert Lowry
D.D. (1826-1899)
was born in
Philadelphia,
PA. He served as
Robert Lowry,
D.D.
44 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Table 12B Corrected Titles for Serial No. 33414*
Tune No Corrected Full Title Tune No Corrected Full Title
1[69] Jesus Loves Me; This I know, 5[10] I Hear Thy Welcome Voice
2[612] Jerusalem, the Golden 6[35] Whiter Than Snow
3[20] Jesus of Nazareth Passeth By 7[25] Safe in The Arms of Jesus
4[1] Hold The Fort! 8[58] Washed in the Blood of The Lamb
* With “Sacred Songs and Solos” 1,200 tune edition numbers added in brackets.
a minister of religion, and became a
composer, hymn writer and editor of
hymns designed for use with younger
people. One of his most well-known
tunes is “Shall We gather at The River.”
(See Fig 5 and Table 12.) The words
and music for this song were spontaneously
composed to comfort those
suffering bereavement during a cholera
epidemic that swept Brooklyn, NY,
and attempted to answer the question,
“Shall we meet [them] again?” Lowry
records that, “… seated at the organ to
give vent to the pent up emotions, the
words and music of the hymn began to
flow, as if by inspiration.”
Sankey himself collaborated
with Philip Bliss and others, including
Fanny Crosby, to compile his most
enduring work, the popular “Sacred
Songs and Solos” (sometimes popularly
known as the “Sankey and Moody
Hymn Book”). It was published in the
United Kingdom by Morgan and Scott
at some point during the 1890s. There
were two editions, one containing
750 songs and another, larger edition,
containing 1,200 songs and standard
hymns. Both books can still be found
in use today. Secondhand copies are
sometimes available on the internet,
and according to some sources a
digital facsimile edition of the larger
original is planned.
A feature of some surviving tune
sheets on cylinder musical boxes
pinned with this type of music is
the set of numbers beside the tune
titles. (See Fig 6.) Another excellent
example can be found at Tune Sheet
117 in H.A.V. Bulleid’s work “Musical
Box Tune Sheets”2. The numbers are
written in a different hand and ink and
in both cases they refer to the number
of the song as it appears in a book in
the owner’s possession at the time,
the 750 tune edition of “Sacred Songs
and Solos.” The numbers would be
there for quick reference to enable the
owner to find the words and music to
either follow them or sing along as the
musical box played the tune. Modern
day collectors sometimes make similar
requests for the words to sing to
an item pinned on a hymn box in their
collection.
Those who provided the information
for the original tune sheets of these
musical boxes seem to have done so
in a rather haphazard manner, with
indiscriminate use of the title, the
first line of the first verse or the first
line of the chorus as well as the use
or non-use of the definite article. In
the case that the number not already
be on the tune sheet, some intuitive
thinking is often necessary in order
to find the song even when copies of
both editions of “Sacred Songs and
Solos” are readily on hand.
A somewhat extreme example of
this type of tune hunting challenge
can be illustrated using the tune
sheet from Junod (possibly Cuendet)
Serial No. 33414 playing an eight-air
programme on a comb of 66 teeth
with a zither and tune change feature.
This musical box came to light too
recently to be included the research
tables published with this article, but
on its tune sheet (see Fig. 6A), which
has been carefully written in beautiful
script, there are no less than 10 errors/
omissions of one sort or another.
Looking at these titles, I can assume
two things; first, that this box, pinned
with this selection of seven Sankey
and Moody evangelical songs and one
hymn must have been made to meet a
special request; and second, that the
poor Swiss script writer, unfamiliar
with both the English language and
Sankey and Moody songs, could only
do her (or his) best with the English
titles taken from what may have been
a poorly written and/or incorrect
letter in the first place sent in by the
British sales outlet.
The corrected and completed titles
for these evangelical songs are shown
in Table 12B with the necessary corrections
and completions shown in
bold.
Finally, a former owner of No. 33414
has inserted a second number by some
of the tune numbers. These relate to
the 750-tune edition of “Sacred Songs
and Solos,” in which all the titles on
this tune sheet may be found. I have
added their numbers in brackets after
the Tune Number in Table 12B.
Research has revealed that a
very few cylinder musical boxes
have been registered specifically as
“Moody and Sankey.” These were
made by Jaccard, Mojon Manger,
Nicole, Paillard and Weill and Harbourg.
On one of these, Weill
and Harbourg Serial No 1958, the tune
sheet has portraits of both Moody
and Sankey. The research indicated
however, that a higher number of
boxes of this type must exist. It also
revealed that the two most frequently
noted composers of such music were
Bliss and Doane as can be seen from
the information contained in Table 12.
Anecdotes associated with the
words or music of many of these evangelical
songs abound. The following
examples may serve to illustrate this
point:
“Shall We Gather at The River”
There is the apocryphal story of the
evangelical preacher who preached
long and earnestly against the demon
drink, enthusiastically declaring that
if he had his way it should all be
poured away into the river. At the end
of his preaching he announced to his
congregation, “Let us now sing our
closing hymn, No. 68 ‘Shall We Gather
at the River.’!” For what purpose they
were to “Gather at the River” is left
now to the imagination of the reader.
“There Were Ninety and Nine” The
story in the Bible of the shepherd
searching for his one lost sheep was
the basis of a poem written by Elizabeth
Clephane. The words appeared
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 45
in a Scottish weekly newspaper in
1874 and, on being spotted by Sankey
whilst travelling by train with Moody
from Glasgow to their next campaign
meeting in Edinburgh, they were
retained by him for later use. This
came sooner rather than later for
during the Edinburgh meeting that
evening, Moody asked for a song in
support of his preaching. Sankey
recalled the words of Clephane’s poem
and spontaneously composed the
music as he sang them to the meeting
in response to Moody’s request.
“The Gate Ajar For Me” A very
poignant story is associated with this
gospel song. A young girl, Maggie
Lindsay was seriously injured in a railway
accident whilst returning home
to Aberdeen from Edinburgh on 27th
January 1874. Due to a signalman’s
error, the express train in which she
was travelling collided with a goods
train that was shunting on the main
line at Bo’ness Junction near Linlithgow,
Scotland. She died two days later
from the injuries she had sustained.
Amongst the items recovered from the
wreckage was her hymn book, open
at the page of this song and stained
with her blood. Before she passed
away, she was heard repeatedly saying
words “Yes, for me, for me.” On being
told of this, Sankey was inspired to
write the words and music of another
gospel song “For Me! For Me!”, but
this does not appear to have attracted
sufficient attention to warrant being
pinned on any cylinder musical box
registered to date.
One final anecdote has come down
the years, copies of the 750-tune
edition of “Sacred Songs and Solos”
were sent to British troops serving in
the Boer War at the end on the 19th
century. It is on record that marching
soldiers when returning from any
fighting and passing others marching
forward to the fight, would shout
“Four-nine-four boys!” to which they
received the response “Four further
on!” This is in reference to the “Sacred
Songs and Solos” 750-tune edition.
Opening the book reveals that the title
of tune No. 494 is “God Be With You
Till We Meet Again” and four tunes
further on, No. 498, the first line of
which reads “A few more Marchings
Weary, then we’ll gather home.”
Credits and Further Reading.
1. Most of the statistical information in this
article has been obtained from the Arthur
D. Cunliffe Register of Cylinder Musical
Boxes [The Register] and is used with
the kind permission of the Registrar; it
illustrates how powerful and useful The
Register is now as a source of information
when writing articles of this nature. Those
readers who own cylinder musical boxes
who have not registered them with The
Registrar are encouraged to do so and
thereby extend the value of this powerful
research tool.
2. “Musical Box Tune Sheets” by H.A.V. Bulleid
and its four Supplements, published
2000 by MBSGB.
3. “The Musical Box” by AWJG Orde-Hume,
published in 1995 by Schiffer Publishing
Ltd. of Atglen, Pennsylvania U.S.A.
4. “Abide With Me – The World of Victorian
Hymns” by Ian Bradley Published in
1997 by SCM Press ISBN 0 334-02703-9;
quotations taken from “The History & Use
of Hymns & Hymn Tunes” by Breed, David
R – New York 1903.
5. The Internet Web Sites, “Hymnary.Org” &
“Wikipaedia” have been used to crosscheck
and verify tune titles and words
appearing on musical box tune sheets and
the brief biographic notes and anecdotes
on Evangelical & Gospel Songs and their
composers and author
WE WANT YOUR STORY!
Every mechanical musical instrument has a tale to tell. Share the history of people
who owned your instrument before you, or the story of its restoration, or just what
makes it an interesting piece. Send stories via email to editor@mbsi.org or
mail your story to Iron Dog Media, 130 Coral Court, Pismo Beach, CA 93449
46 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Persistence pays off
In 2018 I saw an antique clock and
music box with a glass dome listed in
an online auction catalog. The clock
was 19th century and sat on a separate
oval base that contained an Alibert
music box. It played two tunes and
the comb was made up of groups of
five teeth.
The auction house was located in
Marshalltown, IA, and the auction
consisted entirely of clocks. I decided
to bid on this item and did so online
The Hunt
Column Graphic by Mary Clegg
Story and Photos By Bob Smith
The clock as it appeared in the auction
catalog. The glass dome was broken
during shipping.
The subject of the author’s hunt, a golden clock with base containing an Alibert
music box, is now proudly displayed.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 47
The music box movement in the base of the clock that plays two tunes. The comb is made up of groups of five teeth.
via Live Auctioneers. Checking the
results after the auction ended, it
appeared I was the successful bidder
for the clock. Expecting to receive an
invoice via email the following day, I
was disappointed instead to receive
an email from the auction house saying
that my purchase was canceled.
When I inquired as to why, I was told
there was a clerical error and that they
had actually sold the lot to someone
else on site for $50 more than my bid.
That is when my hunt really began.
I had no way to confirm what had
actually happened with my Live Auctioneers
bid, but I was suspicious of
the situation and thought that maybe
the item had not been sold at all and
might reappear. Perhaps it was a premonition
but, sure enough, a month
later a clock resembling the one I had
bid on earlier showed up in a catalog
of a different auction house in Denver,
CO.
There was no question in my
mind that the clocks were the same,
especially when I compared the
descriptions and pictures of the clock
I thought I’d won to the clock now
being offered for sale in Denver. I
could only speculate about whether
the buyer, if there actually was one,
had decided to resell quickly to try to
make a profit, or whether the item did
not reach a reserve price the first time
and the seller was trying again.
At any rate, I again bid on the lot
and again was the highest bidder at a
slightly higher price, with my fingers
crossed. This time the sale stuck
and I had the lot shipped to me by a
pack and ship store. Sadly, the glass
dome was shattered in the shipping
and I had to discard it. The shipper
did reimburse me for it. The music
box had a problem with the winding
mechanism. It is wound by pulling
on a cord and the wheel that the cord
wraps around had come loose. Dave
Beck was able to fix this for me. The
music box is wound from one end by
pulling on the string and it is turned
on and off and the tune changed via
levers on the other end.
I have no idea whether these three
pieces – the clock, music box base and
dome -were originally a set or just a
marriage. There is no hole in the top
of the oval rosewood base where a
cord would go through to actuate the
music box nor is there any device on
the clock mechanism for that purpose.
But why would a clock base contain a
music box that can be operated only
manually from levers on the side? If
anyone has any thoughts on that issue
I would like to hear them. I decided
not to replace the glass dome since
although you can get them from an
online website, I think it might be difficult
to get the exact size and shape
needed.
48 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
The Queen,
the Sultan
and the Musical Organ Clock
By Dr. Robert Penna
In September 1579, Queen Elizabeth
I of England received a letter. It was like
no other diplomatic correspondence
she had ever seen. Wrapped in a satin
bag and fastened with a silver capsule,
it was an object of great beauty. The
letter itself was written on a large
piece of parchment emblazoned with
an elaborate calligraphic monogram
and dusted with gold powder. Thus,
begins the story of the manufacture
and delivery of an elaborate barrel
organ clock unlike any the world had
ever seen before.
Written six months earlier, the
letter was sent by the Ottoman Sultan
Murad III in response to a request
from an English merchant named
William Harborne. Harborne wanted
commercial privileges for his country
that would be superior to any that had
thus far been awarded to other Christian
nations by the Ottoman Empire.1
The letter arrived near the end of
a decade in which Elizabeth’s island
nation had suffered greatly from a lack
of international trade due to the fact
that she had been excommunicated
by the Pope in 1570. Many European
markets continued to be closed to her
Protestant merchants as Catholic monarchs,
fearful of angering the Pope,
directed their business interests away
from the “accursed” kingdom. Elizabeth
sought desperately to establish
strong new ties to the Muslim world
and its resources by sending emissaries
to lands ruled by the followers of
Mohammed. Her representatives went
to the courts of the Shah of Iran, the
King of Morocco and the Sultan of
Turkey. As stated by Jerry Brotton,
One of the famous portraits of Elizabeth I from about 1600. Called the “Rainbow
Portrait,” it shows the Queen in oriental fabrics and jewels fashionable at the time.
1 Brotton, Jerry. The Sultan and the Queen,
“Introduction,” Viking Press, 2016.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 49
A diagram of the organ clock with a description of its features and functions.
“This marked the beginning of an
extraordinary alignment with Muslim
powers and of economic and political
exchanges with the Islamic world of a
depth not again experienced until the
modern age.”2
Although English merchants had
been trading in Muslim lands such
as Morocco and Syria for decades,
communication with the supreme
leader of the Ottoman Empire brought
thousands of opportunities never previously
available. Elizabethan England
became obsessed with all things from
the Orient. Imports of such commodities
as spices, sugar, carpets, silks,
currants and sweet wines were suddenly
available. Interest in the Orient
soon overwhelmed everyone. Books
2 Brotton, ibid.
and plays on the Muslim world soon
became the rage and new words such
as candy, sugar, crimson, indigo, tulip,
turquoise, turban and zero entered
the language. The wealthy demanded
oriental furnishings and oriental rugs
became prized possessions. According
to Malcolm, the Elizabethan view
of Islam went “from fear and fierce
disapproval to fascination, admiration
and envy.”3
Both Elizabeth and the sultan had a
common enemy in Spain and saw the
advantages to be gained from establishing
peaceful relations. Flowery
compliments continued back and forth
as gifts were exchanged. “Numerous
3 Malcolm, Noel. “Useful Enemies: Islam
and the Ottoman Empire in Western Political
Thought, 1450-1750. Oxford University Press,
2019.
envoys and letters were exchanged
between Elizabeth I and Sultan Murad
III. In one correspondence, Murad
entertained the notion that Islam and
Protestantism had ‘much more in
common than either did with Roman
Catholicism, as both rejected the
worship of idols,’ and argued for an
alliance between England and the
Ottoman Empire. To the dismay of
Catholic Europe, England exported
tin and lead (for cannon-casting) and
ammunition, and Elizabeth seriously
discussed joint military operations
with Murad during the outbreak of
war with Spain in 1585.”4
When Murad died in 1595, his son
Mehmed III ascended the throne. In
4 “Murad III,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Murad_III
50 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
1599, the fourth year of Mehmed III’s
reign, Elizabeth sent a convoy of gifts
to the Ottoman court. In that convoy,
according to Brian and Joy Loomes,
in their article “Collecting Antique
Clocks,” would be a most impressive
gift, an organ with a clock and automata,
to contain 300 ounces of pure silver
and 45 diamonds, emeralds and rubies
around the figure of Queen Elizabeth,
which would surmount the whole.
It was to be capable of playing for a
period of up to six hours. The clock
was commissioned by Elizabeth, but
it was most likely suggested and paid
for by a group of London merchants
who had formed the Levant Company.
These merchants were equally keen
to get on the sultan’s good side in the
cause of trade. The organ clock was
reportedly not to cost more than £550.5
Adjusted for inflation, the cost of the
clock would be approximately £94,406
in 2017 British pounds, or approximately
$123,343 U.S. dollars. To give a
sense of the value of the gift, with £550
in 1590 you could have purchased 66
horses, or 295 cows, or paid a skilled
tradesman for 11,000 days of work.6
Miriam Bibby, in her article “Thomas
Dallam’s visit to the Sultan of Turkey”
published on historic-uk.com,
describes the clock as, “a large jewel-
studded clockwork organ that was
assembled on the slope of the Royal
Private Garden by a team of engineers
including Thomas Dallam. The organ
took many weeks to complete and
featured dancing sculptures such as
a flock of blackbirds that sung and
shook their wings at the end of the
music. Also among the English gifts
was a ceremonial coach, accompanied
by a letter from the Queen to Mehmed’s
mother, Safiye Sultan. These gifts were
intended to cement relations between
the two countries.” 7
Biran Oram, in an article titled
5 Loomes, Brian & Loomes, Joy. Antique
Clocks Collecting, “Robert Harvey, Maker of
the First Lantern Clocks in Great Britain”
https://www.brianloomes.com/collecting/harvey/
index.html
6 Currency conversions and purchasing
power estimated by https://nationalarchives.
gov.uk/currency-converter
7 “Mehmed III,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Mehmed_III
“Master Thomas Dallam, Organ
Builder” published in the Musical Box
Society of Great Britain’s magazine
The Music Box, provides us with
details from the original contract to
build the clock organ. The piece was
originally to be 12 feet high, but was
later increased to be 16 feet. The extra
height was likely to increase the travel
of weights needed for movement of
the machine and thus reduce their
heaviness. The width of the organ
clock was to be five and a half feet,
while the depth was figured at four
and a half feet.
Although the original design had a
rooster topping the instrument, it was
changed to a holly bush with singing
Sultan Mehmed III of the Ottoman empire who received the organ clock gift from
Queen Elizabeth.
thrushes. The instrument was to stand
on five brass lions each some six
inches in height. The carved oak case
was gilded and painted accordingly. An
exposed keyboard of 51 notes (probably
chromatic and starting at G), had a
scale likely similar to a medium-sized
fairground organ. Although no weight
is provided for this instrument, it is
estimated that the weight was in the
neighborhood of two tons.8
At the top, of course, was the
carving of Queen Elizabeth with eight
animated courtiers and an embossed
8 Oram, Brian. “Master Thomas Dallam,
Organ Builder,” The Music Box, Music Box
Society of Great Britain, Vol. 11, No. 2, Summer
1983.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 51
copy of a royal coat of arms. Alongside
were stationed two trumpeters
who would raise their horns and blow
notes at the appropriate times.
The organ was fitted with three bellows
and the pipework was to include
“One Open Principal unison recorder,
one Octave Principal, one Flute (pitch
unstated), a shaking stop (Tremulant),
drum and nightingale. The latter was
not unusual on German organs of the
period, and some still remain but are
seldom used. A bowl had to be frequently
filled with water to a specific
level to obtain the flutter, but they
were not popular in English organs,
perhaps due to the delegated choirboy
being lax in his duties; over-filling
blew water all over the organ!”9 The
contract required the barrel to have
five tunes, which would play for six
hours continuously. No extra barrels
were requested.
Two men were charged with the
construction of this grand instrument.
Randolf Bull was the Queen’s clock
maker and was obviously involved
with the design and installation of this
portion of the project. Bull engaged
a young man named Thomas Dallam
to undertake the completion of the
mechanical organ. Fortunately for us,
Dallam’s personal diary has survived
and this article will deal with him
presently.
Although the clock may seem of
secondary importance to this article,
we need to understand its intricacies
in order to appreciate the overall
attraction of the piece. According to
the contract, the clock had to include
nine elements:
• First: The clock would show the
true course of the sun, the age of
the moon with reigning planets
daily.
• Second: An armed man was to
strike a bell at the quarter hour.
• Third: A second armed man was
to strike a much larger bell on the
hour
• Fourth: A cock would crow and
flutter his wings – this was later
changed to a thrush in a holly
bush
9 Oram, ibid
• Fifth: The clock should drive a
second barrel to run a carillon.
• Sixth: Eight carved personages
would each in turn make
abeyance to the Queen, while the
Queen’s statue acknowledged
them with a movement of her
sceptered hand.
• Seventh: Two trumpeters would
lift their silver horns to their
mouths and play
• Eighth: The mouth would open
and the eyes would turn on the
head of the queen’s statue
• Ninth: An hourglass in the hand
of an angel would turn. This last
element was only mentioned in
the contract and was likely not
in the finished product as it was
determined it may have been
taken as a symbol of the Christian
faith.
Dallam, who would be the chief
builder for the organ clock, was born
in the small village of Dallam located
near Warrington, Lancashire. Born
around 1570, little is known of his
early life, except that he was apprenticed
to a member of the Blacksmiths’
Company, later attaining the status of
liveryman.10 Yet, he was the one commissioned
not only to build the organ
but also to accompany it to Constantinople
and oversee its installation.
Amazingly, the diary of his journey
and adventures have survived and is
available in print and as a recording.
Entitled, “Dallam’s Travels with an
Organ to the Grand Signieur, 15991600,”
it can be heard free of charge
at LibriVox: Acoustical Liberation of
Books in the Public Domain at: https://
tinyurl.com/dallamstravels.
Dallam oversaw the stowing of
the organ in the hold of a 300 ton
heavily-armed merchantman named
the Hector, captained by Richard
Parsons.11 It had been chartered on
behalf of the merchants of the Levant
Company. Dallam writes that he
prepared for the trip by purchasing
fine expensive new clothes. Then
10 “Thomas Dallam: English Organ Maker,”
Encyclopedia Britannica https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Thomas_Dallam
11 Loomes, B. & Loomes, J., op.cit.
on Feb. 13, 1598, accompanied by
two journeymen, he set off on his
great adventure. Imagine the joy and
wonder of this young man as he set
out aboard a sailing ship to a bizarre
foreign land.
In his diary, Dallam describes
how the ship became lost in a fog in
the English Channel and then was
attacked by pirate ships from Dunkirk.
After repelling the pirates, the Hector
proceeded to Algiers harbor, arriving
on Mar. 27. There a near misadventure
nearly destroyed the entire mission.
The sultan of Morocco had heard the
ship was carrying a musical gift to
the Ottoman sultan and insisted on
seeing it. In fact, he threatened to hold
Captain Parsons until it was brought
to him for inspection. Fortunately,
Dallam convinced Sultan Ahmad
al-Mansur that such a viewing was not
possible and the ship was once again
allowed to set sail.
Dallam’s diary continues with
additional stories of locations and the
people he meets. Most interestingly,
he demonstrates the joy and wonder
of his travels. The descriptions, even
after 400 years, show us his good
nature and sincerity and provide us
with a real look at early 17th century
travel.
When Dallam and his precious cargo
finally arrived in Constantinople, he
was taken to the home of the English
ambassador, Mr. Wyllyam Aldridge.
Aldridge already had a structure built
for the assembly of the mechanical
organ clock behind his residence. As
the packing cases were stored in the
bottom of the ship’s hold, Dallam and
Aldridge had to wait four days until it
was their turn to be unloaded. You can
only imagine Dallam’s shock when the
cases were opened and he found that
all the glue lines had come apart and
many of the pipes were “bruised and
broken.”12
Thinking the instrument was beyond
repair, Aldridge offered Dallam £11
to put it back together and make it
work. Dallam records in his diary that
Aldridge actually considered selling
the parts for scrap thinking the whole
machine ruined.
12 Bibby, op.cit.
52 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
A map of 17th century Constantinople showing both sides of the Bosporus. This overwhelming sight is what Dallam and his
contemporaries would have found upon arrival. Image courtesy University of Chicago.
Dallam, however, worked feverishly
for several months. Much of his original
work had to be recreated and even
new glue would have to be reduced
from the hooves of bulls or cows. By
Sept. 11, however, the instrument was
ready to be brought to the palace of
the Ottoman sultan. Dallam felt it had
been restored to its original standards.
On Sept. 25, Dallam and several
English workers went to the palace to
prepare the clock organ to play for the
sultan. There was much at stake, as
“the Sultan’s displeasure might mean
an execution, particularly his. Dallam
was told that, being a Christian, he
would not be allowed to set eyes on
the Sultan himself, nor would he
receive any sort of reward. But Dallam
told the ambassador: ‘he needed not
to doubt that there should be any fault
either in me or in my work, for he had
seen the trial of my care and skill in
making that perfect and good which
was thought to be incurable, and in
some things better than it was when
Her Majesty saw it in the Banqueting
House at Whitehall’.”13
Dallam’s original words with spell
ings are reproduced below:
“The Grand Sinyor, being seated
in his Chair of estate, commanded
silence. All being quiett, and no noyes
at all, the presente began to salute
the Grand Sinyor; for when I lefte it
I did alow a quarter of an hour for
his cominge thither. First the clocke
strouke 22; than the chime of 16 bells
went of, and played a song of 4 partes.
That beinge done, two personagis
which stood upon to corners of the
seconde storie, houldinge two silver
trumpets in theire handes, did lifte
them to theire heads, and sounded a
tantarra. Than the muzicke went of,
and the orgon played a song of 5 parts
twyse over. In the tope of the orgon,
being 16 foute hie, did stand a holly
bushe full of blacke birds and thrushis,
which at the end of the musick did
singe and shake theire wynges. Divers
other motions there was which the
Grand Sinyor wondered at.”
Certainly impressed, the sultan
wished to hear the organ clock again
and expected it to play every hour.
Dallam stood outside the throne
room, remaining close to the door in
order to be able to hear the organ and
gauge the sultan’s reaction. When the
sultan’s secretary inquired when the
instrument would play again, Dallam
explained that it was programed to
play only four times in 24 hours. Yet,
Dallam explained that if he pressed
a button it would replay. His diary
explains, “Yf it would please him,
that when the clocke strouk he would
tuche a little pin with his finger, which
before I had sewed him, it would goo
at any time.”14
This impressed the Sultan even further.
Sitting close to the clock organ,
the sultan asked if it could be played
manually and ordered someone to
do so. Dallam was ordered into the
sultan’s presence. In great fear he
bowed, turned his back to the sultan,
placed his cape on the floor, and
proceeded to play the organ via the
13 Bibby, op.cit. 14 Oram, op.cit.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 53
keyboard. The sultan was so intrigued
by the music, he stood alongside and
watched Dallam’s every move. After
about two hours, Dallam was allowed
to cover the organ keys and was able
to leave. He was, however, given 45
golden sequins (about £20) for his
service by the sultan’s secretary – an
unheard of reward for a Christian.
Dallam was called to make adjustments
to the clock organ over the next
few months. Although asked to stay in
the sultan’s service and even offered
two of the sultan’s concubines or
any two virgins of his choice, Dallam
desired to return to England. On Nov.
28, Dallam left Constantinople on a
Turkish ship reaching his homeland
without mishap.15
The great organ clock and Thomas
Dallam hold an important place in
world history. The warm relations
between England and the Ottomans
led to a favorable trade agreement
that gave English merchants priority
in the Ottoman region. It also sent a
veiled threat to the Spanish that a
combined military force was possible.
When Mehmed personally inspected
the heavily-armed Hector that brought
his clock organ, he was impressed and
it led him to build up his maritime fleet
over the next few years. Although the
Anglo-Ottoman alliance would never
be consummated, the gift and the
possibilities it engendered, impacted
world affairs.
Returning to England, Dallam
15 Oram, op.cit.
A portrait of Queen Elizabeth done after conquering the Spanish Armada, note her
hand on the globe as a symbol of her ruling the world.
married and his first son Robert was
born in 1602. In 1605, he was commissioned
to build an organ for King’s
College Chapel, Cambridge. In 1613,
he was commissioned to build double
organs for Worcester Cathedral
and in 1617 for the Chapel Royal at
Holyrood House, Edinburgh. From
1624 to 1627, he collaborated with his
son Robert on an organ for Durham
Cathedral. Dallam’s second son, Ralph
and his daughter’s son, Rene Harris
also followed Thomas Dallam in his
trade. The family was likely the most
important organ makers in 17th century
England.16
Unfortunately, the musical clock
organ that is the subject of this article
was destroyed by the succeeding
Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I.
16 Fuller, Mary C. “Thomas Dallam,” Travel
Knowledge: European “Discoveries” in the
Early Modern Period, edited by I. Kamps and
J. Singh, Palgrave Macmillan, 2001.
WE WANT YOUR STORY!
Every mechanical musical instrument has a tale to tell. Share the history of people
who owned your instrument before you, or the story of its restoration, or just what
makes it an interesting piece. Send stories via email to editor@mbsi.org or
mail your story to Iron Dog Media, 130 Coral Court, Pismo Beach, CA 93449
54 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
In Memoriam In Memoriam
Cecil George Cooper, 1948-2020
Cecil George Cooper (generally known as George Cooper)
was born in 1948 in Springfield, CO, and lived a life full
of art, music, creativity, and craftsmanship until it was cut
short by his sudden death from a heart attack as he slept
on Jan. 31, 2020.
While in high school George began repairing player
pianos. He studied music and organ at the University of
Colorado. He was drafted into the Army and served from
1970 to 1973 as a medic during the Vietnam War. When his
military service ended, George started a business in Wichita,
KS, making roll frames and parts for player pianos.
George and his then-wife, Jill Tatum Cooper, made organ
parts which George sold through his company Mechanical
Music. The Stinson Band Organ Company depended heavily
on George and Jill for items needed in the construction
of the band organs which Don Stinson was producing from
1965 to 2019. After Don retired from the organ business,
George purchased many of the design molds which Don
owned with the idea of continuing their manufacture, a
plan cut short by George’s sudden death.
Living in Wichita and being an organ man, it was natural
for George to become friends with Gordon Ramsey, the
man at Joyland Amusement Park (built by the Ottaway
family and later owned by Stanley Nelson) who maintained
Joyland Louie, the park’s famous Wurlitzer 160 (“Mammoth”)
band organ, installed in 1947 by Jess Gibbs.
Jill and George divorced in June 1989 when George was
living with his partner Mark Bassett. George met Mark when
he taught Mark country and ballroom dancing. Because
of their many shared interests including art, writing, and
music, it was natural that a partnership developed, starting
with collaboration on Mark’s 1985 Ph.D dissertation at the
University of Missouri.
Eventually Mark and George settled in Lakewood, OH,
and from 1997 to 2019 George worked for the Holtkamp
Condolences
MBSI has also learned the following members have
recently passed away
• Boz Bulovic of LaGrange Park, IL
• Steve Smith of Harwood, MD
• Marilyn Hawks, wife of William Hawks of Decatur, IL
Our most sincere condolences are extended to their
families and friends.
George Cooper and Mark Travis Bassett.
Organ Company in Cleveland, OH, as a pipe organ technician,
where he was also one of Holtkamp’s three main
pipe voicers until his retirement in 2019, shortly following
Mark’s own retirement from full-time teaching at the Cleveland
Institute of Art.
Finally, after sharing lives together since the mid-1980s,
Mark and George eloped from their home in Cleveland for
a brief trip to Niagara Falls, NY, where they were married
on Dec. 26, 2013. They continued to share mutual interests
and enthusiasms, with great plans for a satisfying post-retirement
life until fate intervened, requiring George to
leave behind as part of his estate his precious organ, “Spirit
of San Diego,” which was built by Charlie Porter.
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 55
The Musical Box Society of Great Britain announces the publication of two new books
Published in September 2018
The Musical Box Society of Great Britain announces the publication of two new books
Published in September 2018
100pp Hard Back ISO A4 format [8.27” × 11.70”; Profusely illustrated in
Supplement to
colour throughout with Additional Illustrations of Models, 89 Additional Lid
The Disc Musical Box Pictures Additions to Lists of Models, Patents, Tune Lists & Serial Numbers;
Compiled and Edited by Combined Index of Images in the original book and its Supplement.
Kevin McElhone
Originally published in 2012 and still available The Disc Musical Box
ISBN 978-0-9557869-6-9
is a compendium of information about Disc Musical Boxes, their Makers and
their Music; profusely illustrated in colour throughout with Illustrations of
each Disk Musical Box Model, and with Catalogue Scans, Lists of Models,
Patents & Tune Lists.
Supplement to
The Organette Book
Compiled and Edited by
Kevin McElhone
ISBN 978-0-9557869-5-2
100pp Hard Back ISO A4 format [8.27” × 11.70”; Profusely illustrated in
colour throughout;Additional Illustrations of Models; Additions to Lists of
Patents, Tune Lists & Tuning Scales; A New Section on Trade Cards;
Combined Index of Images in the original book and its Supplement.
The Organette Book is a compendium of information about Organettes,
their Makers and their Music. Originally published in 2000 but now out of
print although second-hand copies are occasionally available in online
auctions.
************************************************************************************************************************
For all MBSGB Publications, please refer to the Musical Box Society of Great Britain website for further details including latest
availability, discounted prices and information on how to order. -www.mbsgb.org.uk
56 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
Ben’s Player Piano Service
Repair and restoration of air powered mechanical music
devices of all description.
Player pianos
Reproduing pianos
Dance organs
Fairground organs
Nickelodeon pianos
Original historically
Correct techniques
And materials used
Throughout in the
Rebuilding process.
Benjamin R Gottfried
464 Dugan Road, Richfield Springs NY 13439
Bensplayerservice.com 315-858-2164
WWW.REEDERPIANOS.COM • 517-886-9447
Specializing in the Restora on and Retail of Fine Pianos
Available Reproducing Pianos:
Chickering •Marshall & Wendall •George Steck
Mason & Hamlin •Knabe •Aeolian
»QRS & AMPICO MUSIC ROLLS«
“Where Fine Pianos
Are Reborn”
Fine Art & Antique Consignments
The highest level of customer service plus private,
professional and confidential transactions.
120 Court Street, Geneseo, NY 14454 cottoneauctions.com51-key organ made by Jan van Eijk & Znn in 2001. Four large,
leather-covered bellows with a 15-foot stack of book music
(about 100 tunes). 3000 more tunes available. Ready to
entertain at 8 feet 6 inches high, 12 feet wide and 4 feet deep.
113 wood flute, bourdon and violin pipes, bass drum, snare
drum and wood block. Carved wood front with five mechanical
figures. Hand-painted facade in tribute to the Dutch Masters.
https://dutchstreetorgan.shutterfly.com
PHILIP JAMISON (610) 696-8449 or mortier9@gmail.com
$28,000
Ben’s Player Piano Service
Repair and restoration of air powered mechanical music
devices of all description.
Player pianos
Reproduing pianos
Dance organs
Fairground organs
Nickelodeon pianos
Original historically
Correct techniques
And materials used
Throughout in the
Rebuilding process.
Benjamin R Gottfried
464 Dugan Road, Richfield Springs NY 13439
Bensplayerservice.com 315-858-2164
WWW.REEDERPIANOS.COM • 517-886-9447
Specializing in the Restora on and Retail of Fine Pianos
Available Reproducing Pianos:
Chickering •Marshall & Wendall •George Steck
Mason & Hamlin •Knabe •Aeolian
»QRS & AMPICO MUSIC ROLLS«
“Where Fine Pianos
Are Reborn”
Fine Art & Antique Consignments
The highest level of customer service plus private,
professional and confidential transactions.
120 Court Street, Geneseo, NY 14454 cottoneauctions.com51-key organ made by Jan van Eijk & Znn in 2001. Four large,
leather-covered bellows with a 15-foot stack of book music
(about 100 tunes). 3000 more tunes available. Ready to
entertain at 8 feet 6 inches high, 12 feet wide and 4 feet deep.
113 wood flute, bourdon and violin pipes, bass drum, snare
drum and wood block. Carved wood front with five mechanical
figures. Hand-painted facade in tribute to the Dutch Masters.
https://dutchstreetorgan.shutterfly.com
PHILIP JAMISON (610) 696-8449 or mortier9@gmail.com
$28,000
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 57
COIN-OP & ADVERTISING
SAVE THE DATE
OCTOBER 29 & 30, 2020
Our Fall Auction is shaping up to
be a spectacular event featuring the
COIN-OP & ADVERTISING
SAVE THE DATE
OCTOBER 29 & 30, 2020
Our Fall Auction is shaping up to
be a spectacular event featuring the
last, and the best, of Mel Getlan’s
2000 N. READING ROAD | DENVER, PA 17517
877-968-8880 | INFO@MORPHYAUCTIONS.COM
50-year coin-op collection.
M O RP HYAUCTI O NS.C O M
Summer Scorcher
Ideas!
Enjoy your
new at-home
time
listening to more
music
for
your
disc
boxes!
I have over 9000 discs in
stock for various brands and
sizes of machines! Email me
what you need and I’ll send a
list of what’s in stock.
Curl
up
in
front of the air
conditioner
with a music
box
book!
…McElhone’s Disc Musical Box
…Disc Musical Box Supplement
…Organette Book Supplement
…a new book about the history
of Baud Freres in Switzerland
Over
100 gently used books:
…The Encyclopedia of
Automatic Musical Instruments
…many books on Automata,
band organs, orchestrions,
pianos and phonographs
…repair books by Webb; MBSI
Silver Anniversary and others
…and lots more…send for
listing!
Expand yourcollection!
I’m always buying and selling!
Someitems in stock:
…Four Greisbaum whistlers
…Singing bird cages
…20 ¾” Criterion Upright double
comb with disc storage in base.
Fully restored, with 12 discs.
…Two 18” Mira consoles! To my
ear, the best of the disc boxes with
its super rich bass sound. One is in
a decal case; one a ‘Hepplewhite’
banded case. 12 discs, refinished
cases.
…Organettes! A Musette, an
Organina, a Chautauqua and
some cob organs!
…Snuff boxes; Reuge 3/72 note in
inlaid cases…and MORE!
Call/email me and let me know
what you’re looking for!
Nancy Fratti
Music BoxesPO Box400–Canastota NY13032315-684-9977musicbox@frontiernet.netwww.nancyfrattimusicboxes.com
Stanton’s FALL MUSIC MACHINE AUCTION
To be held in the Barry Expo Center, on the Barry County Fairgrounds at 1350 N. M-37 Highway, Hastings, Michigan
– go 4-1/2 miles northwest of Hastings on M-37 to the sale site OR approx. 20 miles southeast of Grand Rapids on
Beltline/M-37 to the auction location on:
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, November 19, 20 & 21, 2020
Thursday Sale begins at 1:00 P.M. following the Complimentary Luncheon
Friday & Saturday’s Sessions begin at 9:00 A.M.
AUCTIONEERS & REALTORSSTANTON’SStanton’s Auctioneers,
Appraisers, & Realtors
144 S. Main, P.O. Box 146
Vermontville, MI 49096
Phone: (517) 726-0181
Fax: (517) 726-0060
E-mail: stantonsauctions@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.stantons-auctions.com
Steven E. Stanton
(517) 331-8150 cellular
(517) 852-0627 evening
E-mail – stevenEstanton@gmail.com
Michael C. Bleisch
(517) 231-0868 cellular
E-mail – mcbleisch@gmail.com
An excellent event with collections
from the Loyd Davis Estate (Session
1), the Robert Kolba Collection of
Arizona, Bogantz Estate of North
Carolina, Buehler Estate, Ohio
and lots more. The sale includes
Edison Ideal, Columbia K, Edison
Home Banner type with Polyphon
attachment, Tournaphone floor
model Paper roll organ; other roller
organs; Rare Regina Console music
box, Reginaphone lion’s head model
and other Regina, Symphonion,
Polyphon, & Stella examples; Edison
Operas, 3 Regina Hexaphones
(various models), Victor “fighting
dogs”, music boxes, phonographs,
coin-ops, lots and lots of parts,
reproducers, Zon-o-phone A (glass
side), Circassian walnut Victor XVI,
plan on attending our Fall Event.
Watch our website for pictures and
additional information. Another
fantastic offering.
We are still accepting additional collections and machines for this event, call us early
to get your items listed and properly advertised.
Call Steve Stanton, 517-331-8150 • Email – stevenEstanton@gmail.com
Stanton’s FALL MUSIC MACHINE AUCTION
To be held in the Barry Expo Center, on the Barry County Fairgrounds at 1350 N. M-37 Highway, Hastings, Michigan
– go 4-1/2 miles northwest of Hastings on M-37 to the sale site OR approx. 20 miles southeast of Grand Rapids on
Beltline/M-37 to the auction location on:
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, November 19, 20 & 21, 2020
Thursday Sale begins at 1:00 P.M. following the Complimentary Luncheon
Friday & Saturday’s Sessions begin at 9:00 A.M.
AUCTIONEERS & REALTORSSTANTON’SStanton’s Auctioneers,
Appraisers, & Realtors
144 S. Main, P.O. Box 146
Vermontville, MI 49096
Phone: (517) 726-0181
Fax: (517) 726-0060
E-mail: stantonsauctions@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.stantons-auctions.com
Steven E. Stanton
(517) 331-8150 cellular
(517) 852-0627 evening
E-mail – stevenEstanton@gmail.com
Michael C. Bleisch
(517) 231-0868 cellular
E-mail – mcbleisch@gmail.com
An excellent event with collections
from the Loyd Davis Estate (Session
1), the Robert Kolba Collection of
Arizona, Bogantz Estate of North
Carolina, Buehler Estate, Ohio
and lots more. The sale includes
Edison Ideal, Columbia K, Edison
Home Banner type with Polyphon
attachment, Tournaphone floor
model Paper roll organ; other roller
organs; Rare Regina Console music
box, Reginaphone lion’s head model
and other Regina, Symphonion,
Polyphon, & Stella examples; Edison
Operas, 3 Regina Hexaphones
(various models), Victor “fighting
dogs”, music boxes, phonographs,
coin-ops, lots and lots of parts,
reproducers, Zon-o-phone A (glass
side), Circassian walnut Victor XVI,
plan on attending our Fall Event.
Watch our website for pictures and
additional information. Another
fantastic offering.
We are still accepting additional collections and machines for this event, call us early
to get your items listed and properly advertised.
Call Steve Stanton, 517-331-8150 • Email – stevenEstanton@gmail.com
FOR SALE
your copy today for $99 plus S/H. MECHANI
THE MART
CAL MUSIC PRESS-M, 70 Wild Ammonoosuc
Display Advertising Dimensions and Costs
Dimensions 1 issue 3 issues* 6 issues*
Back Cover 8.75” x 11.25” $600 $540 $510
Inside Covers 8.75” x 11.25” $450 $405 $383
Full Page 7.25” x 9.75” $290 $261 $246
Half Page 7.25” x 4.5” $160 $144 $136
Quarter Page 3.5” x 4.5” $90 $81 $77
Eighth Page 3.5” x 2.125” $50 $45 $43
Add a 10% surcharge to the prices shown above if you are not a member of MBSI.
*Display Discounts shown above are calculated as follows:
3 consecutive ads 10% Discount
6 consecutive ads 15% Discount
CLASSIFIED ADS
• 47¢ per word
• ALL CAPS, italicized and bold
words: 60¢ each.
• Minimum Charge: $11 per ad.
• Limit: One ad in each category
• Format: See ads for style
• Restrictions: Ads are strictly
limited to mechanical musical
instruments and related items and
services
• MBSI member’s name must
appear in ad
• Non-members may advertise at the
rates listed plus a 10% surcharge
PLEASE NOTE:
The first two words (or more
at your choice) and the member’s
name will be printed in all caps/bold
and charged at 60¢ per word.
Mechanical Music
Mechanical Music is mailed to all
members at the beginning of every
odd month — January, March, May,
July, September and November.
MBSI Advertising Statement
It is to be hereby understood
that the placing of advertisements
by members of the Society in this
publication does not constitute nor
shall be deemed to constitute any
endorsement or approval of the business
practices of advertisers. The
Musical Box Society International
accepts no liability in connection
with any business dealings between
members and such advertisers.
It is to be further understood that
members are to rely on their own
investigation and opinion regarding
the reputation and integrity of
advertisers in conducting such business
dealings with said advertisers.
RESTORED MUSICAL BOXES Offering a
variety of antique musical boxes, discs,
orphan cylinders, reproducing piano rolls &
out of print books about mechanical music.
BILL WINEBURGH 973-927-0484 Web:
antiquemusicbox.us
THE GOLDEN AGE of AUTOMATIC MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS By ART REBLITZ.
Award-winning classic that brings historical,
musical, and technical information to life
with hundreds of large, vivid color photos.
We guarantee you’ll find it to be one of the
most interesting, inspiring, informative books
you have in your library–or your money back.
Everyone has been delighted, and some
readers have ordered several copies. Get
Rd., Woodsville, NH 03785. (603) 747-2636.
http://www.mechanicalmusicpress.com
SCHINDLER CRANK STREET ORGAN – 16
note/endless roll type + extra music to
punch -cart included. Great for beginners
or for kids to crank. Motivated seller (health).
Contact JOHN KEIM, (330) 669-2348 or at
jekwb8bkt@aol.com
VINTAGE SWISS MUSIC MOVEMENTS. NOS.
In A/C storage over 45 years; 12 note, 18 note
most original wrap. 10/$25, 100/$200.+
shipping. Also Brass Reuge 30 note priced
separately. Location 11787. BILL ZUK, 941321-
1790, wmezuk@gmail.com.
ALL ADS MUST BE PREPAID
We accept VISA/MC and Paypal.
ADVERTISING DEADLINES:
The 1st day of each even month:
Feb., Apr., Jun, Aug., Oct. and Dec.
Display ads may be submitted
camera-ready, as PDF files, or with
text and instructions. File submission
guidelines available on request.
Errors attributable to Mechanical
Music, and of a significant nature, will
be corrected in the following issue
without charge, upon notification.
SUBMIT ADS TO:
MBSI Ads
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
(253) 228-1634
Email: editor@mbsi.org
62 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
MARVELS OF MECHANICAL MUSIC – MBSI
Video. Fascinating and beautifully-made
film which explains the origins of automatic
musical instruments, how they are collected
and preserved today, and their historic
importance, MBSI members and collections
are featured. $20 USD. Free shipping in the
continental U.S. Additional postage charges
apply for other locations. Purchase now at
www.mbsi.org
WANTED
WURLITZER LX. Also wanting 151/2-inch
Regina Style 216 or 217 bell music box.
Contact: DON KROENLEIN, (217) 620-8650
fbac@one-eleven.net
SERVICES
Display Advertisers
REPRODUCTION POLYPHON discs; Catalogs
available for 19 5/8”, 22 1/8”, and 24 1/2”.
DAVID CORKRUM 5826 Roberts Ave, Oakland,
CA 94605-1156, 510-569-3110,
www.polyphonmusic.com
SAVE $’s on REUGE & THORENS MUSIC
BOX REPAIR & RESTORATION – MBSI
MEMBERS RECEIVE WHOLESALE PRICING.
40 + Years experience servicing all makes
& models of cylinder and disc music boxes,
bird boxes, bird cages, musical watches, Anri
musical figurines, et al. All work guaranteed.
We’re the only REUGE FACTORY AUTHORIZED
Parts & Repair Service Center for all of North
America. Contact: DON CAINE -The Music
Box Repair Center Unlimited, 24703 Pennsylvania
Ave., Lomita, CA 90717-1516. Phone:
(310) 534-1557 Email: MBRCU@AOL.COM.
On the Web: www.musicboxrepaircenter.com
2 Renaissance Antiques
55 Bob Caletti – Music Box
Restorations
56 Mechanical Organ & Clock Works
56 Musical Box Society of Great
Britain
57 Philip Jamison Dutch Street
Organ
57 Ben’s Player Piano Service
57 Cottone Auctions
57 Reeder Pianos
58 Morphy Auctions
59 Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd.
60 Nancy Fratti Music Boxes
61 Stanton’s Auctioneers & Realtors
67 Marty Persky
68 Auction Team Breker
Advertise in The Mart
Have some spare parts or extra rolls taking up the space where you should be
installing your next acquisition? Ready to trade up, but need to sell one of your
current pieces first? Get the word out to other collectors by advertising in The
Mart, an effective advertising tool at an inexpensive price.
Fill out the form below and mail to MBSI at 130 Coral Court, Pismo Beach, CA
93449. Call (253) 228-1634 with questions.
Name Phone
Text of ad
Add a photo to your ad!
You know the old saying, “A photo
is worth 1,000 words!” Well, it’s
only $30 per issue to add a photo
to your classified advertisement in
the Mart. That’s a lot less than 1,000
words would cost. A photo makes
your ad stand out on the page and
quickly draws a reader’s interest in
the item. Email your advertisement
with photo to editor@mbsi.org or
call (253) 228-1634 for more details.
Have you tried the MBSI online
classifieds? It’s quick and easy to
place your ad. Pay with Paypal and
see your ad on the website AND in
the journal. Go to www.mbsi.org
and click on the Classifieds link to
get started today.
Each One
Reach One
New Member
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 63
OFFICERS, TRUSTEES & COMMITTEES of the
MUSICAL BOX SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL®
OFFICERS
President
Tom Kuehn
4 Williams Woods
Mahtomedi, MN 55115
kuehn001@umn.edu
Vice President
David Corkrum
5826 Roberts Avenue
Oakland, CA 94605
musikwerke@att.net
Recording Secretary
Linda Birkitt
PO Box 541
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693
scarletpimpernel28@yahoo.com
Treasurer
Edward Kozak
3615 North Campbell Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
kozak@seldenfox.com
TRUSTEES
Bob Caletti
Ed Cooley
Dave Corkrum
Sally Craig
Wayne Finger
Matt Jaro
Tom Kuehn
Mary Ellen Myers
Clay Witt
MBSI FUNDS
COMMITTEES
Audit
Edward Cooley, Chair, Trustee
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
Matt Jaro, Trustee
Endowment Committee
Edward Kozak, Treasurer, Chair
Edward Cooley, Trustee
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
B Bronson
Wayne Wolf
Executive Committee
Tom Kuehn, Chair, President
David Corkrum, Vice President
Clay Witt, Immediate Past Pres.
Sally Craig, Trustee
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
Finance Committee
Edward Kozak, Chair, Treasurer
Wayne Wolf, Vice Chair
David Corkrum, Vice President
Edward Cooley, Trustee
Peter Both
Marketing Committee
Bob Smith, Chair
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
Judy Caletti
Meetings Committee
Matt Jaro, Chair, Trustee
Judy Caletti
Tom Chase
Cotton Morlock
Mary Pollock
Rich Poppe
Membership Committee
Chair, TBD
Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee,
Southeast
Linda Birkitt, Southern California
Gary Goldsmith, Snowbelt
Christine Hopwood, Golden Gate
Julie Morlock, Southeast
Rob Pollock, Mid-America
Dan Wilson, Piedmont
Gerald Yorioka, Northwest Int’l
TBD, East Coast
TBD, Great Lakes
TBD, National Capital
TBD, Sunbelt
Museum Committee
Sally Craig, Chair, Trustee
Glenn Crater, National Capital
Ken Envall, Southern California
Julian Grace, Sunbelt
Matt Jaro, National Capital
Richard Simpson, East Coast
Museum Sub-Committees
Ohio Operations
Emery Prior
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES
Publications Back Issues:
Jacque Beeman
Regina Certificates:
B Bronson
MBSI Pins and Seals:
Jacque Beeman
Librarian:
Jerry Maler
Historian:
Bob Yates
Nominating Committee
Dan Wilson, Chair
Clay Witt, Immediate Past Pres.
Bob Caletti, Golden Gate, Trustee
Sally Craig, National Capital,
Trustee
Judy Caletti, Golden Gate
Judy Miller, Southeast
Rick Swaney, Northwest Int’l
Bill Wineburgh, East Coast
Publications Committee
Bob Caletti, Chair, Trustee
Steve Boehck
Dave Corkrum, Vice President
Christian Eric
Kathleen Eric
Terry Smythe
Publications
Sub-Committee
Website Committee
Rick Swaney, Chair
Julian Grace
B Bronson
Don Henry
Knowles Little, Web Secretary
Special Exhibits Committee
Chair Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee,
Southeast,
David Corkrum, Golden Gate
Robert Ebert, Mid-America
Jack Hostetler, Southeast
Judy Miller, Piedmont
Wayne Myers, Southeast
Rick Swaney, Northwest Int’l
MBSI Editorial Office:
Iron Dog Media
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
editor@mbsi.org
Members can donate to these funds at any time.
Send donations to: General Fund (unrestricted)
MBSI Administrator, Endowment Fund (promotes the purposes of MBSI, restricted)
PO Box 10196, Ralph Heintz Publications Fund (special literary projects)
Springfield, MO 65808-0196. Museum Fund (supports museum operations)
All manuscripts will be subject to editorial review. Committee and the Editorial Staff. are considered to be the author’s personal opinion.
Articles submitted for publication may be edited The article will not be published with significant The author may be asked to substantiate his/her
or rejected at the discretion of the Publications changes without the author’s approval. All articles statements.
64 MECHANICAL MUSIC September/October 2020
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Date Event Location Sponsor
Sept. 25–28, 2020 Second Annual Global Piano Roll meeting Switzerland
Aug. 30-Sept. 4, 2021 MBSI Annual Meeting Ft. Myers, FL Southeast Chapter
When will your chapter meet next? Holding a “virtual meeting?” Let us know!
Send in your information by Oct. 1, 2020 for the November/December issue.
Please send dates for the Calendar of Events to Russell Kasselman (editor@mbsi.org)
CONTACTS
Administrator Jacque Beeman handles back issues (if available) $6;
damaged or issues not received, address changes, MBSI Directory
listing changes, credit card charge questions, book orders, status of your
membership, membership renewal, membership application, and MBSI
Membership Brochures.
P.O. Box 10196
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax (417) 886-8839
jbeeman.mbsi@att.net
CHAPTERS
East Coast
Chair: Elise Low
(203) 457-9888
Dues $10 to Roger Wiegand
281 Concord Road
Wayland, MA 01778
or pay via PayPal, send to
treasurereccmbsi@gmail.com
Golden Gate
Chair: Jonathan Hoyt
jenjenhoyt@yahoo.com
Dues $5 to Dave Corkrum
5826 Roberts Ave.
Oakland, CA 94605
Japan
Chair Pro Tem: Sachiya Sasaki
Vice Chair Pro Tem: Naoki Shibata
Lake Michigan
Chair: Aaron Muller
(847) 962-2330
Dues $5 to James Huffer
7930 N. Kildare
Skokie, Illinois 60076
Mid-America
Chair: Rob Pollock
(937) 508-4984
Dues $10 to Harold Wade
4616 Boneta Road
Medina, OH 44256
National Capital
Chair: Matthew Jaro
(301) 482-2008
Dues $5 to Florie Hirsch
8917 Wooden Bridge Road
Potomac, MD 20854
Northwest International
Chair: Rick Swaney
(425) 836-3586
Dues $7.50/person to Kathy Baer
8210 Comox Road
Blaine, WA 98230
Piedmont
Temp Chair: Dan Wilson
(919) 740-6579
musicboxmac@mac.com
Dues $10 to Dan Wilson
4804 Latimer Road
Raleigh, NC. 276099
Traveling MBSI Display
Bill Endlein
21547 NW 154th Pl.
High Springs, FL 32643-4519
Phone (386) 454-8359
sembsi@yahoo.com
Regina Certificates: Cost $5.
B Bronson
Box 154
Dundee, MI 48131
Phone (734) 529-2087
art@d-pcomm.net
Advertising for Mechanical Music
Russell Kasselman
Iron Dog Media
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
Phone (253) 228-1634
editor@mbsi.org
CHAPTERS
Snowbelt
Chair: Tracy Tolzmann
(651) 674-5149
Dues $10 to Gary Goldsmith
17160 – 245th Avenue
Big Lake, MN 55309
Southeast
Chair: Jack Hostetler
(352) 633-1942
Dues $5 to Clay Witt
820 Del Rio Way Unit 203
Merritt Island, FL 32953
Museum Donations
Sally Craig,
2720 Old Orchard Road
Lancaster, PA 17601
Phone (717) 295-9188
rosebud441@juno.com
MBSI website
Rick Swaney,
4302 209th Avenue NE
Sammamish, WA 98074
Phone (425) 836-3586
r_swaney@msn.com
Web Secretary
Knowles Little
9109 Scott Dr.
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone (301) 762-6253
kglittle@verizon.net
Southern California
Chair: Robin Biggins
(310) 377-1472
Dues $10 to Diane Lloyd
1201 Edgeview Drive
Cowan Hgts, CA 92705
Sunbelt
Chair: Ray Dickey
(713) 467-0349
Dues $10 to Diane Caudill
4585 Felder Road
Washington, TX 77880
Copyright 2020 the Musical Box Society International, all rights reserved. Permission to reproduce by any means, in whole or in part, must be obtained in writing
from the MBSI Executive Committee and the Editor. Mechanical Music is published in the even months. ISSN 1045-795X
September/October 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 65
HALF PAGE
HORIZONTAL
7.25” x 4.5”
QUARTER
PAGE
3.5” x 4.5”
EIGHTH
PAGE
3.5” x 2.125”
Mechanical Music
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 63, No. 3 May/June 2017
Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 63, No. 1 January/February 2017
DISPLAY ADVERTISING DIMENSIONS & PER ISSUE COSTS
Dimensions 1 issue 2-3 issues 4-6 issues
Back Cover 8.75” x 11.25” $600 $540 $510
Inside Covers 8.75” x 11.25” $450 $405 $383
Full Page 7.25” x 9.75” $290 $261 $247
Half Page 7.25” x 4.5” $160 $144 $136
Quarter Page 3.5” x 4.5” $90 $81 $77
Eighth Page 3.5” x 2.125” $50 $45 $43
Non-members pay a 10% surcharge on the above rates
Display Discounts shown above are calculated as follows:
3 consecutive ads 10% Discount
6 consecutive ads 15% Discount
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(0.5” bleed)
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ISSUE NAME ADS DUE DELIVERED ON
January/February December 1 January 1
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Mechanical Music is printed on 70 lb gloss
paper, with a 100 lb gloss cover, saddle-
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Mechanical Music is mailed to more
than 1,500 members of the Musical
Box Society International six (6) times
per year.
PRINTING & ARTWORK SPECIFICATIONS
CIRCULATION
ALL ADS MUST
BE PREPAID
The Musical Box Society International
accepts VISA, Mastercard and online
payments via PayPal.
Contact MBSI Publisher Russell Kasselman at (253) 228-1634 or editor@mbsi.org
CLASSIFIED ADS
• 47¢ per word
• ALL CAPS, italicized and
bold words: 60¢ each.
• Minimum Charge: $11.
• Limit: One ad in each
category
• Format: See ads for style
• Restrictions: Ads are strictly
limited to mechanical musical
instruments and related
items and services
Mechanical Music at its Best
Instrument Brokering & Locating / Appraisals / Inspections / Free Consultation
Mechmusic.com
Welte 4 Concert Violina Orchestra Hupfeld Helios II/25 Popper Felix
Wurlitzer CX with Bells Violano Virtuoso Seeburg KT Special
Jaeger Brommer
42’er Violinopan 20’er Automaton
45’er Niemuth
Bacigalupo Visit: Mechmusic.com Mills Bowfront Violano
Call Marty Persky at 847-675-6144 or Email: Marty@Mechmusic.com
for further information on these and other fine instruments.
Clown conjuror with linking rings
by Roullet et Decamps, c. 1900
Estimate: 3.500 – 4.500 /
$4,100 – 5,300
Marquise automaton
by Leopold Lambert, c. 1885
Estimate: 2.500 – 3.500 /
$2,950 – 4,100
Barrel organ by
Cocchi, Bacigalupo
& Graffigna, c. 1895
Estimate:
12.000 – 15.000 /
$14,100 – 17,700
Longcase clock with
carillon and moon Phase
by J. Friedrich Stehen, c. 1800
Estimate: 12.000 – 15.000 /
$14,100 – 17,700
Interchangeable
forte-piano musical secretaire
by George Baker, c. 1890
Estimate: 10.000 – 15.000 /
$11,800 – 17,700
Black Forest
automaton shelf clock, c. 1890
Estimate: 4.000 – 5.000 /
$4,700 – 5,900
Swiss station musical
box with dancing dolls, drum and bells, c. 1890
Estimate: 16.000 – 18.000 /
$18,850 – 21,200
Monkey artist musical
automaton with clock, c. 1885
Estimate: 5.000 – 6.000 /
$5,900 – 7,100
Viennese musical clock
Estimate:
800 – 1.200 /
$950 – 1,400
“Fidelio” musical hall
clock, c. 1895 and later
Estimate: 10.000 – 14.000 /
$11,800 – 16,500
French mantel clock with
marine automaton, c. 1850
Estimate: 800 – 1.200 /
$950 – 1,400
World’s leading Specialty Auction
»Mechanical Music«
»Science & Technology«
»Photographica & Film«
»Office Antiques«
Next Sale:
30/31 October 2020
…and many more !
Free consignment shipping to Germany – if delivered or sent to our location
in Garden City Park, NY 11040 (10 miles east of JFK Airport)
Free shipping for any major consignment from the U.K.! You just pack – we do the rest!
For more information and large colour photographs of some more of the upcoming Highlights
please visit our website at: www.Breker.com / New Highlights and youtube.com/auctionteambreker
Fully-illustrated bilingual (Engl.-German) COLOUR Catalogue available against prepayment only:
Euro 28.– (Europe) or elsewhere Euro 37.– (approx. US$ 44.– / Overseas)
(Bank draft, cash or by Credit Card with CVV and expiry date: MasterCard/Visa/AmEx)
☛ Consignments for Future Auctions Always Welcome! ☛
– The Specialists in »Technical Antiques« –
P. O. Box 50 11 19, 50971 Koeln/Germany · Tel.: +49 / 2236 / 38 43 40 · Fax: +49 / 2236 / 38 43 430
Otto-Hahn-Str. 10, 50997 Koeln (Godorf)/Germany
e-mail: Auction@Breker.com · www.breker.com · Business Hours: Tue – Fri 9 am – 5 pm
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT OUR INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES:
Japan: Murakami Taizou, Tel./Fax (06) 68 45 86 28 * murakami@ops.dti.ne.jp · China: Jiang Feng, Tel. 138 620 620 75 * jiangfengde@gmail.com
Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore: Alex Shih-Chieh Lin, (HK), Tel. (+852) 94 90 41 13 * alexsclin@gmail.com
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Russia: Maksim Suravegin, Tel. +7 903 558 02 50 * Maksim-ATB.ru@gmx.net
U.S.A.: Andrew Truman, Tel. (207) 485 8343 * AndrewAuctionTeamBreker@gmail.com · Australia & New Zealand: P. Bardenheier, (NZ), Tel./Fax (+64) (0)9 817 72 68 * dbarden@orcon.net.nz
☛ Closing date: 1st September 2020 ☛