MECHANICAL MUSIC
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 68, No. 5 September/October 2022
MBSI NEWS
5 PresidentÕs Message 7 EditorÕs Notes 8 Outreach Corner
57 In Memoriam
Features
13 Nickel Notes by Matt Jaro
17 In a hand organ factory in New York
20 Damering a music box
29 Reed Organs and Mechanical Music
39 The real story of the English Barrel Organ
On the Cover
This is the Reuge ÒAntoine FavreÓ musical box. It was made in 1996 as the bicentennial to Antoine Favre who is credited for inventing the musical box. Limited edition of 99 pieces. Photo by Lowell Boehland.
43 A 639 year concert on an automated organ
Chapter Reports
46 Southern California 50 National Capital 54 Golden Gate
MBSI has replanted 188 trees so far as part of the Print ReLeaf program.
Corrections
An article titled ÒModel B Steinway Duo-Art, and a Royal Connection?Ó that appeared in Mechanical Music Vol. 68 No. 2, March-April 2022 was written by Steve Greatrex. Our apologies for incorrectly attributing that article to a different author.
In an article by Harold Peter titled ÒOne portable Phonograph begets anotherÓ in Mechanical Music Vol. 68 No. 3 May/June 2022 the price of records sold in the 1920s should have been six pence. Also the name of an album maker should have been Mimosa. We regret the errors.
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 The article will not be published with significant changes without the authorÕs approval. All articles are considered to be the authorÕs 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 Direc.tory 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 2022. The Musical Box Society Inter.national, 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
MBSI, PO Box 10196, Springfield, MO 65808-0196
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 auto.matically-played machine that produces melodic sound including discs and cylinder music boxes that pluck a steel comb; orchestrions and organs that engage many instru.ments at once using vacuum and air pressure; player and reproducing pianos that use variable vacuum to strike piano wires; phonographs; 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, Muse.ums, and Dealers.
The only requirements for membership are an interest in automatic music machines and the desire to share infor.mation about them. And youÕll 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
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By David Corkrum
MBSI President
Recently, while I was making a new disc for a customer, I started to think about how far the human race has come, technology wise. Nowadays, almost everyone I know has at least a personal computer or laptop and a cell phone. If I look back to the time when I was a lot younger, you know, 10 years old, I was lucky that my family had a one-party telephone line and a 12-inch black and white TV. It has been 63 years and I now have a 48-inch color monitor (TV) with surround sound as in the theaters, a regular (almost) phone, a cell phone, laptop and desk.top computer and a car where I can talk on the phone while driving and listen to music delivered via satellite. Our technology has come such a long way in a very short amount of time.
My own home dates from the early 20th century and contains objects that date back to the 19th century. In 200 years, we have gone from wind-up engines to gas powered to electrical to solar-powered. It is truly amazing and yet we still love the wind-up machines we have in our homes. Most of the instruments I own are either crank- or spring-powered. Many of you have electrically-powered instruments that are as much as 100 years old or are reproductions of instruments that are that old.
It just astonishes me how far we have come, and heaven only knows where we will be in the next 200 years. Sadly, we wonÕt be around to see what technology has come up with, but I am sure that our mechanical instruments will still be around in the hands of their new caretakers and providing beautiful music for their listening enjoyment. Continue to take care of these instruments and pass them on to those who will appreciate their beauty, craftsmanship, and the great music they present. We want them to be played and enjoyed, not languish.ing in some museum or storage room.
And for your information, the instru.ment I am standing in front of is not from my collection but that of Mark and Christel Yaffe. The instruments they have collecteda are really top level and I thank them for allowing me to show this one here.
LetÕs keep the music playing
Have you solved a problem while repairing, restoring or maintaining a mechanical music box?
Cylinder boxes, disc boxes, band organs, orchestrions and nickelodeons each have their own special needs.
Share your restoration or maintenance tips with other mechanical music enthusiasts.
Email editor@mbsi.org, call (253) 228-1634
or mail to: Mechanical Music 130 Coral Court Pismo Beach, CA 93449
By Russell Kasselman
MBSI Editor/Publisher
If this issue arrived in your mailbox slightly later than you might have expected I apologize. I was unable to escape COVID and spent a week under the weather with a bad cough and a variety of other symptoms just as it was time to start putting this magazine together.
Fully recovered now, I am hard at work preparing for the next issue of our Directory of Members, Museums and Dealers that will mail out some.time after the conclusion of the MBSI Annual Meeting in San Mateo, CA. The directory will include the latest versions of the bylaws as well as the most recent winners of the awards presented at the meeting.
I encourage you now to get on the MBSI website and double check that your address, phone and email details are up to date so that anyone trying to reach you about mechanical music will be able to get in touch.
Several people have commented
ADVERTISING
that the last directory had listings beginning with first names instead of last names and that some listings were not in the correct order. I am working to correct these issues and I appreci.ate your patience as we make changes to the website where all the contact information is stored. By improving the online directory, we will also make the printed version of the directory better.
If you are an advertiser who regu.larly uses the directory to make sure people have your business informa.tion in front of them, please make sure to contact me to renew your advertise.ment contract as soon as you are able. I will be sending out emails and calling all previous advertisers in the coming weeks to obtain advertising files but I appreciate anyone who takes the initiative to get their materials to me in advance. My contact information is at right if you donÕt have it.
In closing, I want to thank all the authors who contributed to this issue. This magazine relies on all MBSI members sharing their expertise and
MAILING ADDRESS
MBSI Editorial / Advertising 130 Coral Court Pismo Beach, CA 93449
EMAIL ADDRESS
editor@mbsi.org
PHONE
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experiences in order to thrive. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
EDITORIAL
Advertisements for the November/December 2022 issue
Articles and photos for the November/December 2022 of Mechanical Music need to be submitted by Oct. 1, 2022.
issue of Mechanical Music should be submitted by Sept. Advertisements for the January/February 2023 issue of
25, 2022. Mechanical Music need to be submitted by Dec. 1, 2022.
Articles and photos for the January/February 2023 issue of Mechanical Music should be submitted by Nov. 25, 2022.
Making a keepsake music box
By Wayne Myers
Southeast Chapter Chair
The Special Exhibits Committee held its ninth annual Musical Box Makers Camp at The Villages, FL, recently. This event brings together residents and their visiting grandchil.dren to learn about and make their own music boxes using kits provided by the MBSI committee.
This article describes the program and gives how-to information so that other chapters might hold their own music box making events.
IÕll start by saying that every MBSI chapter has designed and constructed table favors for our annual conven.tions. Each table favor follows a clever theme and incorporates all the same types of materials we used in our most recent Musical Box Makers Camp, so it is clear to me that no chapter lacks the experience and/or skill sets needed to put together an outreach project like this. The only real chal.lenge is to keep the music box simple enough that it can be assembled by children, typically 8-12 years old. Both grandparents and parents can create music boxes alongside the children so everyone can compare ideas while also learning how a cylinder box makes music. In this way, we have the chance to expose our hobby to multiple generations.
Materials
First you will need a mechanism. Photo 1 shows a standard mecha.nism. These can be ordered online from various sources. Tune choices, however, have been limited more recently. What may have been avail.able in the past may not be available today. So, if your event is meant to have a theme, it is best to do a web search or create your theme around any available tunes. One source that we often use is: National Artcraft Co.
–
ItÕs use a
fits of a
a
able
Photo 1: A standard music box mechanism available hole in the floor of the box. from many online retailers.
Photo 2: Double-stick foam pad with hole cut for winding key access later in the process.
Once it is secure against the box floor, you can instruct them to remove the protective film from the top of the double-backed sticky pad and install the mechanism in place by applying downward pressure to ensure the mechanism wonÕt move around inside the box. Next, ask them to install the winding key and decorate the outside of their box. We always have our team members walking around the room to assist and answer questions.
Keys
There are several sizes of shaft lengths for the windup keys that are available on the market. There are short, medium and long lengths (see photo 3). Depending on the size of the box you have chosen and the key posi.tion (either side, back, or bottom), the key length needs to take into account any clearances from nearby surfaces. For example, If you have chosen to put the winding key at the bottom of the box, you will probably want to use a short key length and then you will need to make some sort of space between the bottom of the box and the surface it rests on. This can be achieved by gluing small wooden balls on each of the four bottom corners of the box to lift it just enough to accommodate the key underneath. We have found that boxes with the feet pre-installed make the assembly easier for younger participants.
Boxes
Initially we went to craft shops and found a variety of different sized boxes, but we were limited by the fact that the stores often did not have a sufficient quantity of the boxes we needed. So, often we will choose two different styles of box, trying to make sure that each has a hinged lid with a clasp. In our experience, the simpler the box the better as it leaves more room for decorative ideas from your participants. For our last few events, we have found the place to shop for boxes is Amazon. The choices there are unlimited. The current box style we are using is available from DemiÕs Products, Inc as shown in photos 4 and 5. Photo 6 shows some of the styles we have used in our past events.
Decor
This is where your group can really go crazy with options. Materials for decorating the boxes are infinite. Color markers and glue sticks are essential. Cloth, foam, beads, ribbonsand many more items are available in any craft stores near you. We have found that small glue/paste tubes are easier to use and share by participants and they create little waste. We often put together packets in small baggies that are geared toward a boy or girl so that parents or grandparents can help to focus the child and begin decorat.ing instead of spending all their time choosing from too many materials.
Small safety scissors are necessary and should be kept by the chapter for future use or passed on to another chapter that might need some. Trash bags for cleaning up are sometimes provided by the host venue, but you may need to plan to bring your own and definitely plan for some time after the event to tidy up the space so you will be welcomed back by the venue.
Strip reader activity
Hole punches need to be available for this fun learning activity. All of these materials are readily available online. The readers (see photo 7) and punches can be reused by your chap.ter or passed on to others. The strips are for the children to keep after the have punched out a tune.
The Special Exhibits Committee has a line item in its budget to purchase materials like these in support of chapter outreach programs. If you are interested in pursuing a project of your own, simply contact a commit.tee member and find out how to get approval in advance to use Special Exhibit Committee funds.
Drilling and attaching
Prior to the event, it is best if you pre-drill a hole in the box for the key so that the mechanism can be wound. Once you determine the location for the hole, make a template and mark the spot on the box where you want to position the mechanism (see photo 8). It is best to keep one or two edges of the mechanism in contact with the inner walls of the box so that the mechanism does not rotate during winding. If that is not possible, however, the sticking pad may provide a strong enough attachment. I suggest drilling a small pilot hole to prevent splintering the box wood. The final size of the hole should be one-quarter inch in diameter. A round file is best for smoothing the hole. A scraper blade may be necessary as well to clear any splinters off the box surfaces.
Starting your event
We suggest a very simple presenta.tion at the beginning of your event. It helps to gain the attention and interest of the participants. We sometimes show an instructional YouTube video that explains how sound is transmit.ted from the mechanism to your ear and amplified by the wood of the box. There are many videos available on the internet. Try to find one that has clearly spoken audio and be sure to use external speakers and a large screen if they are available at your venue so that all your participants can get the information easily.
Components
Before turning everyone loose on their projects, I recommend you have your participants hold their mechanism and describe to them the basic components they are looking at. Having a model that shows the various parts of a music box can be helpful. We often use a Reuge display (see photo 9) to help with this. You can make your own display by taking apart a music box mechanism, then gluing and labeling the parts on a cardboard mount that you can pass around for a hands-on feeling. This has proved popular at the events we have hosted so far.
Ask your participants if they can count the number of gears and point out the Ònever ending gear.Ó
Sound (Resonance)
Have your participants wind their mechanism and listen to it while hold.ing it in their hand. Then have them place the same wound-up mechanism on their wooden box lid and let it play. While they are amazed by the level of sound amplification, simply and briefly explain the concept of resonance. Ask if anyone learned something fun.
WhatÕs that tune
See if anyone can identify the tune in their kit. There are many options for very popular tunes that transverse generations. Select ones that best align with your group. Classics are a good choice. Photos 10 and 11 show several tunes on simple mechanisms mounted to a wood board that they can play including Christmas classics.
Strip readers
This is a fun filler activity. Some of the children will finish sooner than others and will be looking for some.thing else to do. Enter the strip reader. We have found that the kids enjoy punching out their name on a strip so they can hear what it sounds like when it is fed through the reader. You can imagine the responses. We allow our participants to keep all the strips they punch and we also give them information on acquiring their own reader and blank strips.
Consider combining your event with other existing events
The Villages Summer Camp is an annual week-long program with a wide variety of events, each charging a nominal fee to cover basic costs. Our event is just one small part of this larger group of events, but it has always been a sell-out from the onset. Most cities have recreation depart.ments or libraries or even churches that operate summer camps each year. Locate and contact the organizers of these events and ask if there is a way your group can conduct a music box making workshop. You might be surprised at the enthusiastic response you get.
Preparations
If you are considering putting on an event, you might guess (correctly) that it will take some planning and advance work by a group to make sure everything runs smoothly on the day of the actual happening. Consider making your prep sessions fun by having cookies and coffee and playing music boxes for each other while you work. Think of it like planning a mini convention in that someone should be in charge of coordinating with the venue, someone should be in charge of acquiring materials, someone needs to do the hole drilling, someone needs to make the presentation, etc. None of these jobs are difficult and if you share the work then everything can come together without any one person having to do too much.
Closing message to all our MBSI friends
We have been fortunate that our previous Southeast Chapter Chair, Jack Hostetler, has developed a relationship with The Villages and has kept that relationship on good terms for the past 10 years. He has coordinated several venues that have a wide draw for MBSI. Additionally, Mary Ellen Myers, Special Exhibits Committee chair, has maintained and cultivated contacts within Orlando Arts, among other organizations. As a docent, I have engaged the Orlando Science Center and coordinated events through them as needed. I am confident many of you have similar community involvements that that you could draw upon for the betterment of MBSI. So, go for it!
Outreach Corner was launched by Special Exhibits Chair Mary Ellen Myers in 2020 to share information about MBSI using show-and-tell demonstrations to generate interest in these remarkable instruments for the public at large and potential new members. Please look at these past issues of Mechanical Music for further information about possibilities for chapter opportunities to expand membership.
This is what ÒOutreachÓ is about. All of us need to find local outlets to keep Mechanical Music alive.
Nickel Notes
By Matthew Jaro
I often wondered what the exact business model was for Seeburg and other nickelodeon companies. For example, did they sell machines directly, or through showrooms only? Did they have salesmen employed by the company or just freelancing on commission? Did they have any type of distribution system? To find answers, I hit the old trade press for some research. I think I already knew that the companies employed agents, since I own a Seeburg K with a plate labeled ÒButte Piano Company, 116 E Broadway, Butte, Montana,Ó and my Seeburg H has a plate that says, ÒAutomatic Piano Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota,Ó but I really wanted to get a sense of the bigger picture.
Seeburg
In 1911, The Music Trade Review published a full-page spread entitled ÒThe J.P. Seeburg Piano Co., Chicago.Ó They say the following:
Dealers the country over are
rapidly awakening to the fact that A notice in the music trade press regard-opportunity for increased business ing the Automatic Player Co., an agency and enhanced profits is to be found in for the Seeburg Company. At right is an
advertisement promoting the value of
coin-controlled instruments.
becoming a Seeburg agency. Another
While a few retail piano houses
advertisment promoting Seeburg
here and there have in the past made a
agency appears on Page 14.
success in this line, they have been as a rule larger concerns who have been able to conduct a separate department of their business in charge of specially Many dealers quick to realize the trained experts. value of a Seeburg agency have built
Besides doing an immense local up a most profitable business on these retail business, Mr. Seeburg soon instruments, displaying the hand-commenced reaching after the whole-some art styles in their warerooms sale trade, going after the regular and in their windows, side by side piano trade as well as operators. with regular pianos of famous makes.
In 1914, a Seeburg ad, proclaimed:
A NEW YEARÕS POINTER Ð It is not a difficult thing to establish a coin-op.erated department. Let us discuss the matter with you. The Seeburg agency will help you make 1914 a year of increased prosperity.
In addition to dealers, Seeburg also had wholesale distributors:
The Butte Piano Company
Remember, I mentioned that my Seeburg K was sold by the Butte Piano Company. There is, however, scant information about that company. In 1917, this notice appeared:
The following quote from The
Montana Standard in 2002 also talks
about the Butte Piano Company.
Quite a few player pianos and other automated music machines found their way into Butte and the surrounding area from 1910 to 1925, during what John Ellingsen calls the Ògreat era of the player piano.Ó
Electricity and an ambitious company helped make that happen.
ÒThe mining West had electricity before the Midwest, and Butte was on the cutting edge,Ó said Ellingsen. ÒElectricity was in Walkerville before New York City.Ó
The Butte Piano Company sold Seeburgs and Violanos. Their store was located where the driveway for the Finlen Motor Inn is now located. Ellingsen said they were the largest dealers outside of Chicago.
ÒThey were very ambitious sales people,Ó he said.
Many of the machines survived
because of MontanaÕs lack of
humidity.
ÒMany were still operating when Charley Bovey found them,Ó Ellingsen said. ÒThe dry climate helped preserve them.Ó
The Automatic Piano Company
My Seeburg H has a name plate that reads, ÒAutomatic Piano Company, Minneapolis.Ó Again, information about this company is scant but there was this notice in 1928 in the Music Trades:
A.W. Pence, proprietor of the Automatic Piano Co., Minneapolis, writes: ÒAfter hearing a demonstra.tion of the Seeburg phonograph I must say there is positively nothing like it on the market. How many can I get right away? The possibilities are unlimited.Ó
In 1947, there was this announce.ment in the coin machine section of The Billboard Magazine:
Cecil Pence has given up his share in the Automatic Piano Company, Minneapolis, operated by him and his father, Archie. É. CecilÕs brother, Alvin, has taken over active manage.ment of Automatic Piano.
It is interesting that this company survived way into the 1940s and it was held in the same family. It would be my guess that they handled Seeburg jukeboxes also.
The Mills Novelty Company
The Mills Novelty Company, manufacturer of the Violano-Virtuoso machines, had both dealers and company-owned stores. The following appeared in a 1916 issue of Music Trade Review:
The Mills Novety Company., Chicago, has opened quarters in New York at 226 Fifth Avenue, where the Violano-Virtuoso manufactured by the company, is being featured.
Another 1916 article states:
The Steussy-Schulz Piano Co. has taken the agency for the Viola.no-Virtousos for Milwaukee and vincinity.
Another item about Steussy-Schulz shows that they handled a number of automatic instruments:
Operators Piano Company
Operators made Coinola instru.ments. They, too had a business model of finding dealers to distribute their products.
Operators had a wareroom to show their Coinola and Reproduco models to perspective dealers. They also participated in the National Music Show.
Marquette and Wurlitzer
These companies had the same business model as the ones we have already covered. Wurlitzer had branch offices as well as dealers. Would they compete with each other for the busi.ness, or would the companies respect the territories of their dealers and refer a sale to them? In WurlitzerÕs case, the branch offices mainly provided retail sales like straight or player pianos. Companies like Marquette used department store window displays to show player pianos destined for retail sales.
Peter Bacigalupi and Sons
One of the biggest dealers was Peter Bacigalupi and Sons of San Francisco. They dealt in straight pianos and auto.matic instruments until 1911 when they announced termination of the straight piano lines. The Music Trade Review writes:
It is the plan of the company, Mr.
Bacigalupi says, to close out the line of straight pianos, retaining for future business only the Cremona and North Tonawanda electric pianos and the Edison phonographs.
In 1912, however, they reversed themselves and started carrying straight pianos again. They were dealers in Regina music boxes, North Tonawanda and Wurlitzer band organs and orchestrions, Marquette (Cremona) machines and Q.R.S. music rolls. In 1923, Bacigalupi had 40,000 rolls in stock. In 1925, follow.ing the death of Peter, the heirs to his estate decided to close the business. Fred Dahlinger, Jr. wrote a very informative and well-researched arti.cle on Peter Bacigalupi for Carousel
Organ, Issue No. 42 Ð January, 2010.
As an aside to all of this, Lucien
Peter Bacigalupi, the blind son of Peter Bacigalupi died in poverty at a Chicago rooming house. He had sued his father for support but did not prevail.
Conclusion
It seems obvious to me, based on all the above information, that all automatic musical instrument companies shared the same business model. First, they would establish showrooms to try to interest dealers, then they would invite responsible owners of music stores to become distributors for a certain territory and eventually possibly sell instruments directly. It is also evident to me that the coin-operated business must have been large enough to support these types of networks. Most companies had corporate sales managers to coor.dinate all of these activities.
If any of our readers has more information on this subject, including pictures of name plates from their nickelodeons, I would appreciate hearing from you.
Email Matt Jaro at mjaro@verizon. net if you would like any information about style ÒAÓ, ÒGÓ, Ò4XÓ, ÒHÓ or ÒOÓ rolls. Also, comments and suggestions for this column will be appreciated.
Reprinted with permission of the author and The Automatic Musical Instrument CollectorsÕ Association (AMICA). Originally printed in the January/February, 2017 issue of The AMICA Bulletin.
IN A HAND-ORGAN FACTORY
WHERE AND HOW THE MUSIC MILLS ARE MADE SOME ACCOUNT OF THEIR MANUFACTURE AND IMPORTATION AND THE PEOPLE WHO BUY THEM PUTTING IN THE TUNES TRICKS OF THE TRADE
This article was originally published in The New York Times on January 15,1882. MBSI member Craig Smith submitted it as an item of interest for those who enjoy a hand-cranked organ.
There has been a great ÒboomÓ in the hand-organ business in this City within the last six months; and, however the public may feel about it, the few deal.ers in that instrument of bad repute are rubbing their hands with satisfac.tion, much as the coal-dealers are said to do on a very frosty morning. There is no other city in America where hand-organs can be bought, and the state of the business in New-York is, therefore, the state of the business in the whole country. But because there is unusual activity just now it is not to be supposed that immense factories are turning out instruments by the hundred and shipping them all over the United States, like our piano-makers. That would be a very great mistake. The fact is, facilities for making hand-organs in America are so exceedingly limited that an order for 20 instruments, all to be finished within three months, would astonish the manufacturers. For nearly a score of years the number of organs of the barrel type made in New-York averaged from 75 to 100 a year, but last year, owing to the increase in the business, more than 150 were made. Most residents of New-York have noticed a great increase in the number of organ-grinders within the last few months. In the busy avenues, hardly a corner but has its organ-grinder on pleasant days. And the grindersÕ penny boxes are always pretty well supplied with small coins, though they are too smart to leave very much money lying in the box, where the public can see it. To learn something about the ins and outs of this mysterious business, a Times reporter called a short time ago at a hand-organ factory, and in a very unmusical and dusty atmosphere, had a conversation with one of its managers. The factory, which until within a short time was the only one in America, is in the lower part of the City; and it might easily be passed a hundred times without its modest signs attracting any attention. It is up several flights of stairs and when reached it is not imposing. One large room, without too many windows, comprises the whole of it; and there are not enough workmen in the place to lift one of the larger sizes or stationary organs, such as have come into use in larger beer saloons. But the men were all busy when the reporter called, and the manager was several times interrupted by customers in the course of our brief conversation. The customers, though, were not of the most profitable kind. They nearly all had organs undergoing repairs or changing their tunes.
ÒI have no objection to telling you anything you want to know about the business,Ó said the manager, Òfor, though people generally know little about it, it is only because they do not take the trouble to inquire. There are no secrets in it, any more than there are in the piano or parlor-organ busi.ness; indeed not as much, for some of the piano-makers have processes of their own which they keep to themselves. We have no secrets at all, and no patents. One man is as free to make a hand-organ as another, if he knows how. The technical skill required for putting the tunes in an organ is a sufficient protection to the business without any legal safeguards. There are only three men in America who can mark an organ barrel for the tunes, and I doubt whether there are 50 men in the world who can do it. So you see it is something of a monopoly without any patents. There is very little competition in the business anywhere; in this country there is none. There is a house in the City that imports hand-organs from Europe, and at one other place here they are made. We sell at the same prices and all have a fair business, without making sudden fortunes. Last year was the best year we have ever seen for the business in New-York.
ÒIt may seem strange to you,Ó the hand organ man continued, Òthat there should be a sudden increase in our business in any particular year. It is easily explained. In the first place, you must have noticed that a large majority of the organ-grinders are Italians. Italy is the home of the hand-organ and an Italian out of work takes almost as kindly to turning the handle as he does to eating macaroni. Among the emigrants who arrived within the last year were a great many Italians, who all have to gather, in some way, enough money to keep them alive. Some of them are not able to work, and others are not willing. A large percentage of those who do not work take to grinding organs. This is one cause of the increase in business.
An Italian in the organ business does not generally expect to earn enough money himself, but sends his wife out also, he taking one organ and she another, the children being divided between them. In this way they some.times pick up a good deal of money. The other cause is the unusually mild winter. The Italians do not like cold weather, and generally keep in the house as much as possible in the Winter months. But this year there have been so many warm days there has been a great demand for organs. These two things taken together have given the hand-organ business a lift.Ó
ÒYes,Ó the organ man went on, in reply to a question, Òthe organs you see in the streets are generally rented, and do not belong to the people who play them. There are five or six large places in the City where any number of organs can be rented, besides a number of smaller places, where only one or two organs are kept for hire. There is one place in Mott-street and two in Mulberry-street, both within a block of Police Headquarters. There is another in Crosby-street, and still another, the largest place of the kind, in Bleecker-street. In the Bleeck.er-street place 15 to 18 organs are kept, and on a fair day they are gener.ally all in use. No, the people who keep these places do not buy their organs from us. They are generally old organ-grinders themselves, and know about what an instrument is worth. They watch their chances till they find a man with an organ who is in need of money and lend him $10 or $15, taking his instrument for security. Nine times out of ten the borrower is not able to repay the loan, and the capitalist keeps the organ. When he gets enough instruments to start in business he rents them out by the day. The rent he gets depends very much upon the organ and the number and character of the tunes it plays. The customer has something to do with it, too. For instance, if a man has possession of a good corner, where he can take in $2 and $3 a day, he has to pay higher rent for an organ than a man who goes wherever he can find a chance. An organ in good condition playing 10 popular tunes will sometimes rent for as much as $1 a day. From this the rent comes down as low as 10 cents a day. A regular professional organ-grinder who is known can generally rent an instrument without any trouble. But a new hand who is not known has to give security for the safe return of the instrument. Women have a fancy for sick organs, and they generally rent for about 25 cents a day.Ó
ÒSick organs?Ó
ÒThat is some of the slang of the trade. The squeaky little music-boxes you often see melancholy looking women playing on the corners we call sick organs. They are not out of tune, or even worn out, as they seem to be, but are often quite new. They are made with die-away tunes to excite sympathy. A woman with one of these sick organs, a half-starved baby, and a sorrowful countenance is sure to make a good living. But these things are all outside of our part of the business. We have nothing to do with them, of course. We make the organs only to order and for cash, and there our part of the business ends.
ÒHow many organs are there in the City? It is impossible to say. We have made nearly 2,000 here in this factory, but they go all over the country, though they were nearly all made for New-York men. The organ-grinders have regular routes, many of them just like a theatrical company. But there is this difference, instead of going East and West, they travel North and South, so as to be in the North in the Summer and the South in the Winter.
They do all their traveling on foot, of course, so it is slow work. But they play all along the road whenever they come to a house, and are sure of making their traveling expenses at least. It has been so warm this Winter that a great many of the travelers have not started southward, but take their chances in the City. What an organ-grinder can make in the City streets is just as uncertain as what a merchant can make. He may take in $5 in a single day if he has a good place and strikes a streak of luck. On the other hand, he may not get half a dollar, work as hard as he will.
ÒI tell you,Ó said the enthusiastic organ-maker, Òthe hand-organ is the worst maligned musical instrument in the world. Because there are a great many bad ones, all hand organs are declared a nuisance. The instrument can be made with as fine a tone as the best piano. Drum away on a piano for 25 or 30 years and what would be left of the tune? But hand-organs last longer than that, often without any repairs. I have put new tunes in organs that were made in Florence 40 years beforeÐand that were still in good order. That is one of the drawbacks of the business. Organs last too long. Listen to this one and then tell me whether you think there is any music in a hand-organ.Ó
The organ-maker, as he spoke, adjusted the stops of a new instru.ment that had apparently just been completed, and turned the handle. The result was as sweet music almost as could have been extracted from a piano.
ÒThat is not an unusually fine instru.ment, he continued, Òthough it is a good one; and it just shows that there is as much music in an organ as in any instrument when it is properly made and in good order. That was made to order, like all our organs, and is worth $150. It plays 10 tunes, and it is good for at least 80 yearsÕ steady use, with occasional changes of tunes. We do a great deal of tune-changing. Two or three popular airs will coax out more pennies than a dozen stale tunes. The tunes are very easily changed when you know how to do it. Do you know anything about the construction of a hand-organ?Ó
The reporter was compelled to confess that, beyond a general idea of a pair of bellows with a cold being hidden somewhere inside the case, he knew very little of organ anatomy.
ÒA hand-organ,Ó the guide continued, Òis just like any church organ, with a few points of difference. It has bellows and pipes and keys. When you want to play on a church organ you depress the keys; when you play a hand-organ you elevate them. You use your fingers on the keys of the big organ; but these little brass pins are the fingers that operate the hand-organ. Here is one of the cylinders for an ordinary sized organ. It is 15 inches long and 5 inches in diameter. It is, you see, first covered with a sheet of clean, stiff paper, and then is stuck full of little brass pins. Some of them, you will notice, are no more than tiny brass pegs, while other are nearly half an inch long, with a pin at each end, thus |__|. The barrel is put in the organ and connected with the crank. When it is turned, the brass pins are brought against the keys, and the keys are raised. If it is one of the small ones, it raises the key only for an instant, and makes a short note. If it is one of the half-inch ones, it makes a long note. It is very simple, you see, when it is explained. When the cylin.der is marked for the tunes, it is easy enough to drive in the pins, as you say; but it is not an easy matter to mark the tunes on the cylinder. I have the honor (as well as the profit, if there is any) of being one of the three men in America who can mark an organ barrel for the tunes. The gentleman who imports organs from Italy is another; and there is one more. I will show you how it is done. But you must promise me that you wonÕt go off and make a hand-or.gan as soon as I show you how!Ó
The promise was given without mental reservation.
ÒWhen the barrel is properly prepared for marking,Ó he explained, Òby being smoothly covered with a piece of tough paper, I hang it in position in the organ directly under the keys. Suppose I want to mark it for ÔThe Mulligan Guards.Õ A man with a steady hand turns the crank and I play the tune on the keys, pushing each key down upon the cylinder instead of raising it up. They do not, of course, make any sound, but they make a slight impression upon the paper wherever the key strikes. By long practice a tune can be played mutely in this way as well as if the player heard the sounds.
When it is all marked off I take out the cylinder, and go carefully over all the indentations with a pen, and there is the tune. When the tunes are all marked, a skillful workman puts in the pegs, as you call them, and the barrel is completed. Every organ plays from seven to ten tunes. This one here plays nine. You see these little grooves at the end of the cylinder? When the grinder wants to change the tune he lifts a spring that keeps the cylinder in place and shoves it along a groove. Each groove controls one of the tunes. A man can put in about three tunes a day.Ó
ÒThe cost? It all depends. Do you see that big fellow in the corner? That is a saloon organ, and belongs in Hous.ton-street. They got tired of the old tunes and want a new set. I made that organ five years ago and got $2,200 for it. Prices have come down about 10 percent since then and I could make the same organ now for a trifle less than $2,000. It is just as good today as when it was made. In the ordinary barrel-organs we charge $4 a tune for putting in new tunes. And we have had a great deal of changing to do in the last year, getting rid of the ÔPinaforeÕ airs. There was a great run on them at one time, but they are no use now and have to come out. A common organ weighs about 25 pounds, and is worth, to make, from $100 to $135, according to the number of tunes it plays. A parlor organ, with from 25 to 46 keys, costs from $150 to $200. What we call a Ôside show organ,Õ to imitate a brass band, has 60 keys, 35 brass trumpets, large and small drums, and triangles, and generally plays nine tunes. It is worth $2,500.Ó
There was one of these Òside-show organsÓ in the shop waiting to be repaired, and he started it up and kept it going till it was about time for the neighbors to come in and complain of the racket.
ÒWe make a great many mechanical figures, too,Ó be continued. ÒWe have to do something else to piece out the income a little, for there is not much money in making hand-organs. A good workman cannot be hired for less than $3 a day, and it would take one man fully 20 days to make an organ. Mate.rials are pretty high, and we have to make a good many organs to make a living. If an organ-maker comes out at the end of the year with as much profit as he could have made in wages as a journeyman, he is doing well. A man makes a mistake when he learns this trade. If I had it to do over I should get a good organ and go traveling. TheyÕre the fellows that make money out of the business-the grinders. It comes in in small sums, but it is for sure. Some of the grinders are very comfortably off. Even if they make no more than a dollar a day they save money, for they spend nothing. Of course, you know how they live, like rats. They start out after breakfast, and their dinner is often a half a loaf of dry bread. Fifteen cents a day would keep one of them in luxury. They get in a good deal of bad money, but nearly always manage to get rid of it. I have had men come in here to get their organs pull a greasy bag out of their pocket, and count out $40 or $50 in little stuff-not a coin in the whole lot larger than a five-cent piece. That doesnÕt often happen, but it does sometimes. Well, now you know pretty much all there is to learn about the organ business. If you write anything about it, try to put in a good word for the hand-organ, for thereÕs more music in it than anybody would believe!Ó
Shop Notes
Dampering a music box comb
By Joseph E. Roesch
In an interesting autobiographical sketch in Hobbies in 1938 (reprinted by MBS in 1967), Louis Gustave Jaccard recounts the different phases of his apprenticeship in Sainte Croix during the late 1870s: it was only in the last phase of his three-year training that Jaccard learned the art of dampering. If even the old Swiss masters regarded dampering as one of the last graces to be acquired by an apprentice, it is small wonder that much apprehension surrounds the topic in the minds of modern music-box repair.ers. Perhaps, however, a little too much apprehension surrounds the topic-to be sure, dampering is arduous, but it is not some arcane alchemic ritual carried out with spells and incantations in the dark of the moon. Less romantically, dampering merely requires a sound understanding of some basic theory and a great deal of patience and practice. While it would certainly be unreasonable to expect abso.lute perfection from oneÕs first attempts at dampering, the mechanically competent amateur who approaches the task with seriousness and patience will not fail to achieve at least some marked improve.ment in the quality of music produced by the comb. The more natural dexterity you have to begin with and the more practice, the more rapid and satisfying will be your progress.
The techniques of dampering have been described several times in literature of former and more recent years. See, for example C.H. JacotÕs How To Repair Music Boxes (New York, 1890: reprinted by Bomand Music Box Company); Glenn HeckertÕs repair section of Roy MosoriakÕs The Curious History of Music Boxes (Chicago, 1973); Ruth BornandÕs article, ÒDampering the Swiss Music Box,Ó (MBSI Bulletin, Vol. 14, No. 4, Page 106). Among more recent treatments, I find most thorough that offered by Graham Webb in his Cylinder Musical Box Handbook (London, 1968). The feather dampering of the treble teeth is nowhere so thoroughly covered as in Frank MetzgerÕs article Dampering Miniature Boxes,Ó (MBSI Bulletin, Vol. 17, No. 4, Page 163).
Some Theory and Geometry
Perhaps almost everyone knows that dampers are those funny little curved wires (Figure 1) under the tips of the teeth of a music-box comb. Depending upon the strength (thickness) of the teeth, the dampers will run (starting at the bass end) anywhere from halfway to two-thirds or perhaps even three-quarters of the length of the comb. Of the remaining teeth not designed to take wire dampers, some (how many varies from comb to comb) require dampers of individual barbs from a chicken feather. Finally, the extreme treble teeth (again, how many varies) require no dampers because their vibra.tions are so brief in duration.
To understand how a wire damper works, you need only consider what happens when your music box is playing:
This article was originally published in Mechanical Music Vol. 53, No. 5, September/October 2007. It is being reprinted here for the benefit of members who have joined the society since that time. Graphic elements have been enhanced and enlarged as much as possible in this reprinting to improve comprehension of the material.
when a comb tooth is lifted and released by a pin in the revolving cylinder, that tooth is set into motion or vibration; the longer and heavier teeth (representing the lower tones of the scale) vibrate through a longer arc and for a more extended time than do the shorter and lighter teeth (representing the higher tones of the scale). Now, if another pin in the revolv.ing cylinder comes into contact with a tooth which is still vibrating, the metal-to.metal contact of pin and tooth produces a disagreeable grating noise. You can get a very good sense of this effect by placing
half of a flexible six-inch steel rule over
the edge of a table: by twanging the rule and then rapidly stopping its vibration
with your fingernail, you will see and
hear exactly what happens when a cylin.der pin contacts a vibrating comb tooth. The purpose of the wire damper is to provide a buffer or cushion between the vibrating tooth and advancing cylinder pin; because the wire has some stiffness, it offers resistance to the pin (thus braking the vibration of the tooth), but because the wire has some spring and give, it will also recede before the advancing pin (thus eliminating the noise of abrupt metal-to-metal contact). If the damper wire is of the proper strength, and if it has the proper shape, it will succeed in stopping completely the vibration of the tooth immediately before the advancing cylinder pin comes into full contact with the tooth.
If we could catch the action of the damper with camera and strobe light, we would see something like the sequence represented by Figure 2. In step 1, we see the initial contact between pin and damper wire: at this point, the wire is being pushed both upward and backward. In step 2, the pin has advanced further along the wire and is now pushing the wire fully backward, toward the block or anvil which holds the wire. In step 3, the wire has receded backward and upward so far as to contact the underside of the tooth tip: at this point, the motion of the tooth has been completely stopped, and the pin is ready to lift the tooth and sound the next note. After the pin releases the tooth, the wire will spring back to its original position (step 4), allowing the tooth to continue to vibrate without inter.ference until the next pin in the revolving cylinder begins the dampering sequence all over again.
So much for the description of how the damper functions; now, letÕs consider the factors which determine the shape of the curve that should be given to the wire. Anyone who has dampered more than one comb knows that not all dampers have the same shape: those of one comb might have a shape somewhat like the letter ÔDÕ, with the wire running from anvil to tip in a line only moderately curved; other combs might have dampers with curves more nearly approaching semi-circular form. These differences in curve are not at all arbitraryÑrather they are determined by the angle or pitch at which the comb is set to the cylinder. As a general rule, and the greatest pitch of 21 degrees on the combs of earlier boxes lie flatter than a Paillard comb of the late 1890s. As those of later boxes. I just took protractor Figures 3, 4, and 5 show, these variations measurements of six combs of different in comb pitch will dictate variations in periods: I found the lowest pitch of 10 the curves of the damper wires. Figure 3 degrees on a comb of the 1850 period shows a comb of low (10-degree) pitch: at this angle, the wire must have a fairly pronounced curve in order to be caught by the cylinder pin early enough for effective dampering to take place. If the wire doesnÕt have adequate curve, either the dampering will not be effective, or the wire will be compressed (and so ruined) between the pin and the tooth. Figure 4 shows a comb of high (20-degree) pitch: at this angle, the wire must have less curve; if it is too rounded, the pin will catch the wire right on its curve and force it straight up against the underside of the tooth. This action, of course, will squash the damper and also (because the wire canÕt properly recede before the pin) produce a grating sound quite as loud as that produced when there is no damper present at all. In Figure 5, we see a comb of median pitch (15-degrees): at this angle, the proper curve of the wire is somewhere between the curves shown in Figures 3 and 4. The reader need not infer from all this technical discussion that the shaping of the curves is a matter of extreme precision with absolutely no margin for variation, but she or he should realize that there are some situations which will require some experimentation. If you realize that the curve of the wire is dictated by the pitch of the comb, you will not make the time-consuming mistake of giving a fully round curve to the wires
of a high-pitch comb or a too-flat curve
to the wires of a comb with low pitch. In most cases, of course, you will be damp.ering a comb which has at least a few of the original dampers intact; naturally, you will take your model of shape from these. It does sometimes happen, though, that none of the original dampers are present. In that situation, I take the pitch of the comb into consideration and shape four or
five wires in the curve that I feel matches
the comb pitch. These experimental wires are tested by playing and perfected until I
feel confident in proceeding with the rest
of the comb.
One final factor which affects the operation of the dampers is the depthing of the comb to the cylinder. If the depth is quite shallow (as may be the case with early mechanisms), the wires must have more curve in order to present themselves to the cylinder pins early enough to achieve full dampering. If the depthing is quite deep (more likely in very late boxes), the wires must have less curve to avoid being squashed between pin and tooth. The question of depthing really becomes problematical when you have altered the original setting of the comb. LetÕs suppose that the tips were severely enough worn to require a rather vigorous honing: now, of course, the comb will barely be in contact with the pins. What do you do? Probably what most people do: you shim up the back of the comb with one or more thicknesses of writing paper. This practice is all well and good in that it achieves the desired deeper engagement of pins and teeth, but it also alters the pitch of the comb and consequently may alter the curve which should be given to the wires. For this reason, I do not shim a comb any more than a maximum of two pieces of medium weight typing paper. If more depthing than this is required, I prefer to ease the dowel pins and gently tap the comb forward. If you do, then, have to alter the depthing, remember that too shallow a re-setting may negate the operation of the dampers, too deep a resetting may damage them, and excessive shimming from the rear may so alter the pitch that even dampers with the proper original shape may not function properly.
The Required Tools
It is not realistic to attempt the re-damp.ering of a comb without the proper tools. Most of the required tools can be secured from clock supply houses; a few have to be made by hand. Figure 6 shows some of the required tools. Other required tools not shown in the photo include a platform for holding the comb during dampering. I use a piece of 1 x 6 board about 15 inches long; the front edge of the board is elevated by a strip of half-inch.thick wood, which gives the platform a convenient pitch. A lever-bar for pushing out damper pins from behind, is shown in Figure 10.
The hammer, the pliers, the nippers, the micrometer, the India slip, and the two ordinary tweezers can be ordered from supply houses. The damper wire and taper pins are available from different dealers. The dampering tweezers and the trimming jig-both absolutely necessary for good damperingÑmust be made by hand (Figure 7). Figure 8 (Page 24) is a closeup of the dampering tweezer tips: the tips are filed up from any pair of good tweezers with sufficient width at the tips. The recess filed away behind the tips is about 5/16 of an inch; the acting surfaces of the tips themselves are polished smooth and slightly rounding in cross-section. Many authorities recommend the use of another type of tweezer made of mating male and female hemispherical sections. I am sure that this type works well, but I have never found the simpler style that I use wanting in any respect; they have the further advantage of functioning as tiny right-angle pliers for bending and manipulating the wire to bring it into perfect alignment with the tip of the tooth. The trimming jig (Figure 9 on Page
24) is made from a piece of brass plate one-eighth of an inch thick, 11/2 inches wide, and three inches long. Along one edge of the jig is a lip which rises two mm from the plate and which is .018 of an inch thick; this edge was produced by soft-soldering a thin piece of brass to the edge of the plate and then milling or
filing the height and thickness of the lip
to uniformity. As described below, the jig is used to cut all the new damper wires to exactly the same length, so that their curves will be uniform. The thickness of
.018 is, I find, right for about 90 percent
of the combs I encounter; I have a slightly
Figure 6: Bottom Row (L. to R.): End-cutting nippers; small snipe-nosed pliers (smooth jaws); small side-cut nippers; small
square-end pliers (serrated jaws); oil-stone slip (India stone). Top row: Swiss staking hammer; card of damper wire; small micrometer in hundredths of a millimeter; ordinary tweezers (cos.metic tweezers); just to right of micrometer are some taper pins from which new damper pins are cut.
The flat plate with raised edge below the micrometer is a trimming jig; to the right of the jig is a pair of special tweezers used to shape the wire; to the right of the tweezers is a small flat-end punch made from an ordinary 8-d nail. To the right of the punch is a pair of fine-tipped tweezers.
thinner and a slightly thicker jig (.016 and .020, respectively) for combs on which the distance between damper anvil and end of tip is slightly less or more than usual. I recommend making only the one jig (.018) until need dictates the manufac.ture of another size.
The Procedure
After all this preamble, we now get down to the nitty-gritty. It is assumed that all other work on the comb (tip and tooth replacement, honing, and cleaning) has already been performed. The feathering of the treble teeth-not described in this article because it is so well covered in on the wooden platform described earlier. to hold it in place against the pressure MetzgerÕs earlier-cited article-may be left The tips should be just behind the edge of exerted when the damper pins are tapped for last. Here are the steps in their proper the platform; if they overhang the edge, back into their holes. order of execution. you may break a point. Drive three or four 2. Remove the pins which secure the
1. Place the comb (tuning weights up) small brads at the back edge of the comb old wire. I start at the bass end, but thatÕs simply a matter of individual preference. I recommend that each pin be removed and replaced individually to avoid mixing up the pins and affecting the pitch of the teeth, which were originally tuned after pin and damper wire were in place. The pins are often very stubborn and some.times show as little as 1/32 protruding from the damper anvil. That isnÕt much to get hold of with the pliers, so you want to try to get the pin on the first attempt-oth.erwise, the pin may become so burred as to be impossible to grasp. On combs which have some small space between the tuning weight and the damper anvil, you should use the lever shown in Figure
10: apply pressure with the lever until you hear a little metallic snap, which indicates that the pin is free in the hole; now, you may easily withdraw the pin with the small snipe-nosed pliers.
If there is no space between tuning weight and anvil, you must rely on the pliers alone: try the snipe-nosed pliers first, but if the pin wonÕt budge, donÕt burr it. If the snipe-nosed pliers wonÕt draw out the pin, try the small square-end pliers with the rough jaws: get a good hold, squeeze tightly, and draw straight out on the pliers. If the pin still wonÕt budge, try a few drops of penetrating solvent like ÔPenetrolÕ or ÔLiquid WrenchÕ: apply the solvent and slightly vibrate the tooth; after allowing the solvent to work for a few minutes, try again with the pliers. If the penetrating solvent doesnÕt work, and if you have by now mutilated the pin with the pliers, you have no recourse but to drill out the old pin. This is a delicate operation, but it is sometimes the only way. If you have to drill, you must first cut the protruding pin flush with the anvil and center punch it, otherwise the drill will drift off the pin. With the comb firmly bedded on the wooden platform mentioned earlier, I use a light hammer and a very sharp beveled chisel adapted from a small wood carverÕs chisel, the cutting end filed to a width of about 0.0125 inches. Because the pressure is downward, a slip or too heavy a hammer blow could result in a broken tip, so caution and a light touch are required. If you are uneasy doing this, you can also use a very small burr in a flexible shaft to cut the pin flush with the anvil: use a slow speed and keep the tooth firmly pressed against the wooden platform (tuning
weights up). Use a small twist drill in a holes. Typically, I find the right drill in pin vise or flexible shaft (at a very low the #66-76 range. You canÕt find drills
speed) to drill out the pin. The drill should that small in a hardware store, but you be slightly smaller than the hole so that it can order them from supply houses such will not wedge and break in the hole; you as MSC (Manhattan Supply Company). can size it against one of the other damper ItÕs best to order in lots of a dozen since they break easily. If the drill gets dull, you can touch up the cutting lips with a small
Arkansas stone slip. A cutting fluid such
as ÒTapfreeÓ or even just a drop of light
oil speeds the operation and floats out the
swarf. Keep drilling until you know you are all the way through the pin. If there is still a shell of brass in the hole, use a tiny clockmakerÕs cutting broach to remove it: wedge the broach in the shell, turn the broach a slight amount and withdraw the broach and shell together.
3. After the pin is removed, set it aside (still gripped in the jaws of the pliers). Remove the old wire from the hole: some.times it comes out with the pin; sometimes you can grasp it with the tips of the very fine tweezers; sometimes you can vibrate it out of the hole by holding the tips down.ward and plucking the tooth. Holding the small piece of original wire in the fine tweezers, measure its thickness (strength) with the small micrometer. The microm.eter I use is graduated in hundredths of a millimeter, as is the damper wire that I use. It is very important to replace the old wire with new wire of the same thickness. The more heavily leaded teeth require a fairly stiff wire, while the teeth with small or no tuning weights require a thin wire. Often, you will come out fine by using the original wire as your guide, but the guide becomes less reliable if you find evidence (e.g., two pieces of wire of different strengths in one hole) that the comb has been redampered in the past. Damper wire of varying strengths has not always been available during the last 80 years, especially during wartimes; conse.quently, you may find that the comb has been redampered with some inappropriate wire (watch hairspring wire is the chief offender). The comb of an average box (one, say, with a cylinder of 11-13 inches) will run through about six thicknesses of wire. If you find that the wires of your comb are all of the same strength, or if you find unreasonably heavy wire (.09 or .10 mm) being used on the upper and middle teeth or unreasonably light wire (.06 or .07mm) being used on the bass teeth, you can be pretty sure that the comb was inappropriately dampered in the past. To follow the original wire strengths in this type of situation would only result in disappointment. When you encounter this problem, only an experienced sense of the proper strength for each tooth can help you. I will put myself on the line by offering as a guide the following graduation of strengths of the dampers of
a comb which I have just finished. The
comb in question was a good example of the problem under consideration here: all the teeth had been dampered with a wire of one strength (approximately .09 mm), which was too light for the very bass teeth and too heavy for the teeth of the middle and upper parts of the comb. The comb has 57 musical teeth (it is the comb of a drum-and-bell box), 39 of which are provided with damper anvils. After the usual amount of experimentation, I achieved satisfactory dampering with the following gradation. The tolerances in parentheses (when given) indicate lighter or heavier strengths which might be required for teeth in the same position on another comb of approximately the same size:
Bass Tooth: .11 mm(± .01)
Second Tooth: .10 mm(± .01)
Next four Teeth: .09 mm (± .01)
Next 11 Teeth: .08mm
Next 10 Teeth: .07mm
Next 12 Teeth: .06mm
I think this gradation is fairly typical for a comb of the size in question, but please remember that it is offered as a guide only: some experimentation will still be necessary. It is also a good idea to scribe the forward face of the tuning weight with the number of the wire you have chosen: this gives you a reference if you find it necessary to use a lighter or heavier wire later. When you have to re-establish the gradation of a particular comb, it is a good
idea to redamper only the first tooth in
each group of teeth having tuning weights of the same height: play the box with only these experimental dampers in place and watch and listen to these dampers. When you have established the right weight for
the first tooth in each group of teeth with
the same sized tuning weights, you can
proceed with more confidence.
4. Having solved the question of strength gradation, we can proceed to the insertion of the new wire and the replac.ing of the damper pin. The comb is on the platform (tuning weights up), and the pin of the tooth you are dampering is in the jaws of the snipe-nosed pliers. If the old pin has dropped from the pliers or has shifted, re-secure it in the jaws, making sure that the little flat on the pin (caused by the wedging of the original wire in the hole) is uppermost in the jaws. If you have mutilated the old pin, make a new one from the smaller end of one of the taper pins mentioned earlier in the description of ÒThe Tools Required.Ó A new pin can, of course, be made by filing any small piece of brass wire to an appropriate taper. To avoid altering the pitch of the tooth, make the new pin the same length as the original adjacent ones. With the old or new pin in the pliers, then, and the pliers resting on the bench near to hand, insert the end of a length of damper wire of the predetermined strength into the hole of the damper anvil. On teeth with tuning weights, push the wire through the hole until a sixteenth or so of an inch shows at the rear of the anvil: this protruding tail acts as a brace to hold the wire in tension as it is arced back over the tooth to allow for the inserting of the pin. Curve the wire back over the tooth in the arc represented
in Figure 11: this will bring the flat of the
wire snugly up against the top of the hole in the anvil. With the left hand holding the wire in this arc (these directions are for a right-handed person), pick up the pliers holding the pin and insert the pin into the hole; push with the pliers only enough to hold the wire moderately tightly: you will use the small punch to tap the pin
all the way home. Before doing that final
tapping, however, it is wise to bring the wire back down over the tip to check its alignment with the tip. Much time will be saved by making sure of the alignment at this point. When the alignment is exact, re-curve the wire as shown in Figure 11 and tap the pin securely home with the small punch and the light staking hammer. The pin should drive in straight to secure a uniform wedging action: if it doesnÕt,
the flat on the pin has probably shifted, or
perhaps there is still a small piece of the original wire in the hole. The pin should be tight, but it need not be driven home
with a vengeance; two firm taps with the hammer should suffice. When the new
wire is securely pinned, bring the wire back down over the top and snip it off with the end cutters, leaving an eighth or three-sixteenths of an inch protruding beyond the tip. Later you will use the trimming jig to give a uniform length to all the wires. Repeat this procedure until you have re-wired every tooth that needs a new damper.
5. With all the new wires in place and cut to approximate length, we now use the trimming jig. The flat plate of the jig rests on the top surface of the comb (the top as you view the comb in normal position), and the raised edge of the jig bears snugly against the points of the comb teeth, the new wires protruding beyond the raised lip of the jig. Holding the jig and comb together firmly in one hand, cut off the wires with the end-cutting nippers. Hold the nippers squarely and snugly against the outer face of the lip of the jig. I advise cutting the wires one at a time: if you try to cut several at a time (especially wires of different thicknesses), you may well burr the ends of the wires excessively. The cutters, however sharp, will always leave some slight peak. After all the wires have been cut with the help of the jig, the peaks on the ends of the wires must be removed with the India slip. The peak will interfere with the smooth sliding of the wire along the surface of the point, and its removal is important. The ends of the wires may
be lightly honed to flushness with the slip,
using the jig as a guide. The wires are best stroked lightly in a vertical direction to avoid possible bending.
6. With all the wires honed, you can proceed with the actual formation of the curves. The first step is to bend each wire upward from the pin at an angle which I would judge to be approximately 60 to 70 degrees; if the wire is bent up absolutely vertical, it will fracture right at the hole and break off after only a short playing time. The bending is accomplished thus: with the dampering tweezers, grasp the wire right at the juncture of wire, pin, and hole; the top point of the tweezers bears against the anvil face (thus acting as a rounded fulcrum between wire and anvil), and the bottom point of the tweezers wedges lightly between the top of the pin and the under surface of the wire. Now, roll the wrist backward over the top of the anvil until the wire stands at the angle suggested. The rolling action imparts a small curve to the wire rather than an outright bend, thus avoiding possible stress at the point of the curve. Roll your wrist straight back over the top of the anvil to keep the alignment of the wire and the tip of the tooth straight. The result should be like that shown in Figure
12. Proceed in this fashion right up the comb until all the wires have the proper angle. In actual practice, I thus angle only
the heavier wires; I find that wires of the
.06- and .07-mm strength can be given the proper shape without this preparatory operation. To play it safe, however, you should angle all the wires if this is your
first dampering endeavor.
After all wires stand at the angle shown in Figure 12, proceed to impart the proper curve to each wire. At this point, youÕre pretty much on your own: only practice can perfect the operation which I will now attempt to describe. With the tweezers, again grasp the wire at the same point where you earlier formed the angle shown in Figure 12. Turn back a few pages and again study the curves shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5; to produce the desired curve, you draw the tweezer over the wire in the arc that you want the wire to assume. The proper motion is upward from the pin and then downward in a curve toward the tip. I find the arc easier to produce by holding the comb in my left hand: as my right hand describes an arc with the tweezers, my left is moving the comb through a corresponding but reverse arc. It should be clarified that the tweezers are held somewhat lightly with the upper tweezer point slightly in advance of the lower point. In effect, then, the downward pressure of the upper tweezer point bends the wire over the rounded fulcrum of the lower point; because the tweezers are in constant motion over the wire, the series of small individual bends flows together
into one smooth curve. If the wire does not assume the desired
curve with the first pass of the tweezers,
donÕt attempt to bend the wire into a curve-rather, repeat the drawing motion until the wire responds correctly. Once you have the curve correct, check the space between the end of the wire and the underside of the tip: it should be about 0.015 of an inch. If the space is too great, the wire will slip off the cylinder pin before it is pushed up against the underside of the tip of the tooth (thus losing most of its dampering action); if the wire is too close or touches, the tooth will rasp as it falls off the cylinder pin. To increase this space, grasp the wire back near the damper pin and gently roll the tweezers back and up toward the top of the damper anvil; to decrease this space, gently press down on the wire at this same point near the damper pin. The distance between the end of the wire and the end of the tooth point is also critical: it should be about 0.015 of an inch. If the wire is too far back from the tip, it will not catch the cylinder pin. When this latter action occurs, the wire will be so bent as to be useless: donÕt try to reshape it-just replace
it. As a general rule, I find that a damper
works best when it is as close to the end of the tooth tip as it can be without the danger of its being pulled over the tip by the cylinder pin. A way of testing this critical setting before the comb is actually played is represented in Figure 13. Hold the comb in the left hand, tuning weight down; put one tip of the dampering twee.zers on the top surface of the comb point and the other tweezer tip beneath the damper wire: angle the tweezers upward to bring the lower tweezer to tip into a position analogous to that of an advanc.ing pin in the revolving cylinder. When the tweezers are gently compressed, the lower tweezer point moves through an arc which simulates the arc of the cylinder pin as it advances along the damper wire. Watch the action closely: if the wire is too close to the point, the tweezers will carry it over the tip of the tooth; if the setting is correct, the wire will recede upward and backward in the desired manner. If the wire is too close to the tip, tighten the curve by stroking the wire with the tweezers along the section of the curve indicated in Figure 14. This action will bring the end of the wire away from the tooth tip but also closer to the under surface of the tip; if it is now too close to the underside of the tooth, bring it up a little by grasping the wire with the tweezers at the pin and rolling the wrist back and up toward the top of the damper anvil. If the end of the wire is too far back from the end of the tooth tip, stroke with the tweezers along the portion of the curve indicated in Figure 15: this opens the curve a little and moves the end of the wire outward toward the tip. This action also moves the wire upward from the underside of the tooth; if the gap between wire and underside of the tooth is now too great, gently compress the wire at the pin, which will move the end of the wire downward toward the underside of the tooth tip. After all wires are satisfactory,
give a final check to the alignment of wire
and tooth tip: look at the tooth points and dampers end-on and from above; if some are slightly out of line, move them left or right with gentle manipulations of the wire at the pin.
Testing And Trouble Shooting
We are now ready to put the comb in place and test the results of all our hard work. Secure the comb by means of every other screw only, as you will almost certainly have to remove it several times to make adjustments. Once in a great while, I have enjoyed complete success on the first shot; more typically, quite a bit of time must still be spent in making corrections and adjustments. With the comb in place and properly depthed, let the box play. No fair cheating by opening the governor vane to make the box play abnormally slowly: if the dampers wonÕt do their job at normal playing speeds, they simply are not to be regarded as satisfactory. A perfectly dampered box will even be noiseless when the tempo is accelerated beyond the normal. As the box is playing, listen and look for the noisy dampers. I use a small Tensor light slanted across the comb at an angle: this allows me to see what the dampers are doing. Mark the ineffective teeth with a felt-tip marker.
Having determined which dampers are inoperative or on]y partially effective, it remains to determine the cause of the problem. There are many reasons why a damper will stubbornly refuse to give satisfaction, but if you have had the patience to read and follow the advice of this article this far, such adjustments as you have to make will probably be minor only. On the following page is as complete a check list as I can think of for trouble-shooting damper malfunction:
1.
Problem: Cylinder pin contacts wire only immediately before pin contacts tooth tip. Cause: Inadequate curve in damper wire Remedy: Re-curve wire more fully as in Figure 3 or 5.
2.
Problem: Cylinder pin catches damper wire on its curve or so early as to drive end of wire straight up against underside of tooth. Cause: Curve is too fully round. Remedy: Re-shape wire with less curve as in Figure 4.
3.
Problem: Cylinder pin drags wire over tooth tip. Cause: End of wire is too close to tooth tip. Remedy: Retract end of wire as described earlier.
4.
Problem: Damper wire falls off cylinder pin before pin contacts underside of tooth tip. Cause: Space between end of wire and underside of tooth is too great. Remedy: Decrease gap in manner described earlier.
5.
Problem: Tooth rasps or squeaks just after falling off cylinder pin. Cause: End of wire is in contact with or too close to underside of tooth. Remedy: Increase gap in manner described earlier.
6.
Problem: Damper wire is pushed sideways by cylinder pin rather than straight back toward damper anvil. Cause: If this happens only occasionally, check for cylinder pins bent slightly sideways. If it happens regularly, the end of the wire may have been cut obliquely rather than squarely, or the wire may be slightly twisted out of parallel. Remedy: Straighten bent cylinder pins. Replace wire and cut end absolutely square. Gently twist wire at damper pin to bring flat of wire perfectly parallel to flat of tooth underside.
7.
Problem: Even though all curves and settings are correct, tooth rasps or squeaks when cylinder pin contacts damper wire Cause: Wire is too heavy. Remedy: Check strength and compare with adjacent teeth. Replace wire with lighter strength.
8.
Problem: Even though cure and setting are correct, tooth rasps or squeaks just as cylinder pin contacts underside of tooth. Cause: Wire is too light. Remedy: Check strength and compare with adjacent teeth. Replace wire with heavier strength
9.
Problem: Damper wire fails to spring back to original curve after being released by cylinder pin. Cause: Wire has been weakened or fractured at some point (probably at the hole) and will soon fall off. Remedy: Replace wire.
Using this check list, you should be able to spot the cause of malfunction in the dampers which you marked earlier. Having made a notation of the type of correction required, remove the comb and make the necessary adjustment. Keep at the adjusting and checking until the results are completely satisfactory. If you have done all the preparatory work care.fully, you will have greatly reduced the amount of time required for adjustment.
If you have been less than careful in the preliminary stages, you may well spend as much time in adjusting as you did in putting in and curving the new wires.
A few final words: absolutely perfect dampering presupposes very precise registration of the cylinder; the pins must contact the tips dead center if the dampers are to recede smoothly and in a straight line toward the anvil. Also, the cylinder pins should be very carefully gone over: even a slightly-bent pin can cause a rasp. Finally, after all is satisfactory, donÕt forget to give the pins just a touch of oil: as the cylinder revolves touch an oil-smeared glass plate to the very tops of the pins; the pins will distribute the oil to the dampers and comb tips.
Photo Credits: Robert Gates Illustration Credits: Helen Fitch
Reed Organs and Mechanical Music
A Lifetime Passion
By George Kurz
My father, Herbert T. Kurz, may not have been a man of many words, but he was a man with highly developed levels of focus and determination. A member of the Ògreatest generationÓ who piloted B-24 bombers in the Pacific Theater during World War II, he returned home to work as an electrical engineer. He was also a dedicated tinkerer. In his lifetime, he restored more than 100 antique reed pump organs plus many antique clocks, cylinder and disc music boxes, singing birds, and other automated mechanical music related items, such as piano player mechanisms and a player piano. Eventually, he built his own pipe organ and arranged it to be automated with a piano player unit. As an engineer, myself, and having grown up learning from him in his workshop, I shared a love for these machines and found joy working together to restore them to sometimes better than new condition.
Before he passed away in 2018 at age 98 (10 days shy of his 99th birthday), he and I found ourselves in a situation many of you might be able to relate to. Between my father and I, we owned 27 reed organs and the automated pipe organ. My fatherÕs home held 21 of the organs and my home had eight. In addition, our collection included a floor-model Symphonion with 25-inch diameter discs, a couple of grandfa.ther clocks and several other clocks and cylinder and disc music boxes that had not only monetary value, but emotional value to me. When I
A console and treble rank of pipes built by Herbert Kurz.
stepped back and considered it all, I had to face the truth that my home simply wasnÕt large enough to contain everything. So, together, my father and I began formulating a solution that we felt would honor our years of work on these instruments and also satisfy our desire to put these organs into the hands of new caretakers who would treasure them and keep them in good condition until another worthy owner of the next generation could be found. We decided I would be the one to give them away after he was gone.
I definitely didnÕt want to give them just willy-nilly to anyone off the street, but I did want to give them to anyone I felt would truly care for them in their homes where they could be played, touched and enjoyed as they should be. So far, I have given away 15 organs and I still have 12 to go, including the automated pipe organ. IÕve made my offer of free organs in the Reed Organ Society Quarterly, and IÕm doing the same here, hoping some of you, my fellow members of MBSI, might find yourself ready to explore a new avenue of musical enjoyment.
I feel I should tell you a bit more about my dad so that if you do find yourself interested in adopting an organ, you will know a bit about the hands that helped bring it to life.
Herbert was born in 1920 in a second-generation immigrant German family in New Jersey. His grandfather had been a leatherworker in Germany (which was an amusing connection we later recognized as we worked together on the leather parts in an organ). Before the Pearl Harbor attack, he was attending Lehigh University. He left school early to volunteer for Air Cadet training. Eventually, he qualified as a First Pilot for heavy bombers and flew B-24s, accumulating more than a thousand combat hours in the South and Central Pacific. Returning home, he worked as an electrical engineer and married Claire Pilger in 1946.
Shortly after our family moved to Athens, TN, from Florida, Dad bought his first reed pump organ (an Adler built in Louisville, KY). He had learned to play the violin as a boy and continued during his service overseas Ð but no one in our family had ever played an organ or any other keyboard instrument. This was new ground for all of us. When he brought it home, he said he bought it Òfor the woodÓ (Ha!). Naturally, he decided he wanted to learn how it worked and we disassembled it down to the pitmans below the keyboard. Fooling around with it, I accidently jammed one of the pallet valves and caused a cypher (a valve stuck open) which meant we all endured a rather loud constant note each time the organ had any air pumped into it. (Our first attempt at organ repair was a personal disaster!)
It was summer vacation, and my mother and I worried all day about what would happen when dad got home after work. She made a really fine meal. Nothing was said about the organ. Then after dinner, dad got up, looked at me and said, ÒOk, now weÕre going to take that thing apart and find out what makes it tick!Ó Those words set the course for our family for the next 55 years. A month after our first organ, he found another; then within three months, we had five organs. The next summer on a trip near Cherry Valley, NY, we drove by ÒDoc MorseÕs Organ and Book Museum.Ó Doc Morse was anxious to sell his collection (a harbinger of our future) and dad bought nine more instruments. We were restoring and refinishing them as fast as we could. As we rebuilt them and gained expertise and access to materials, we felt like the finished product may have actually been better than the day they were originally built. Our goal with each reed organ was to pump it up and then stop pumping and hit a note, and if the note would play for a full minute we knew we had done our job right.
Somehow, my mother managed to fit 21 reed organs plus the pipe organ into our home and make them an attractive theme. Dad also taught himself to play the organ based on a system in his mind that was related to playing the violin. I never could understand it.
Herbert just kept working on any problem he faced over and over until he found a solution. I think for him, his mind just worked that way. He never let a problem rest until he found a way through. During his last five years, while we spent time documenting his experiences during the war so we could send them to the National Archives, he told me about the last plane that he piloted. It was a bad mission. The plane was shot up and I attribute their reaching their airbase to dadÕs skill, but he reminded me everyone on the aircraft had a job and had they not done their jobs he could not have done his. Sometimes he even referred to himself as just the bus driver while the rest of the crew worked to keep the plane in the air. On the approach to the airbase, the crew was able to crank the landing gear down but they had lost the brakes. The airbase was on an island, so when you ran out of island you ran out of runway, and the plane went out in the coral. Even then it wasnÕt a total loss, but the commanding officer wouldnÕt tolerate having a plane out in the coral so he ordered it towed back, and when they did, they tore off one of the gas tanks. He told me he would still dream about that crash, wondering if there was something more he could have done. Here he was in his 90s and still occasionally wondering if there was something else he could have done to save the plane.
Ever since I can remember, I had always been his little helper in his workshop, cleaning up, holding tools, etc. My earliest life memory was sitting on top of his workbench when I was about two years old, playing with little pieces of wood while he worked. Men of that generation grew up with tools. My grandfathers both had lathes in their basement. My dad grew up knowing how to work with a wide variety of tools to fix almost anything. When I grew up and took shop class in high school, they had tools, but for the most part they were not teaching young men how to run a lathe or a milling machine or things like that, but my dad had learned it growing up from his dad and I learned from him. I always enjoyed working with him in the shop, but my role was always subordinate, the apprentice. When we began to work on organs, however, I realized we began working together as partners. I was about 18 at the time we started. Also, the organs really became a passion for our family. My mother wrote a lot of letters (this was the 1960s and 70s Ð well before the internet) to research organ companies and also to try and trace people whose names we found in the organs on letters or scraps that had fallen between keys or other parts of the case, or names written inside the organ.
In 1969 I went into the Army and spent 19 months in Vietnam. When I returned, I was stationed in the Army Operations Center at the Pentagon, and connected with a Reserve Military Intelligence Detachment just before discharge. That small unit (four officers and eight enlisted men) was deployed to Germany for a two-week annual reserve training with HQ-USAEUR in 1972. During our off-duty time, I scavenged through antique stores in Heidelberg and found a Symphonion music box with 13 10.-inch discs. That was the beginning of mechanical music for our family. Drawing on our experience with clocks and engineer.ing common-sense, we restored the Symphonion. It was in fair condition to start, so it was a good instrument for learning procedures and the general mechanics of the music box. Our next project, a cylinder machine with six tunes in a beautiful case was a much different situation. We finally concluded that the middle wheel (the gear driving the endless screw of the governor) was worn beyond repair and had to be replaced. That was well beyond our capabilities and we turned to a gear maker for a replacement at a cost close to the price of the instru.ment. That was an expensive lesson that we did not repeat. Some machines we acquired later had broken teeth on the comb or broken tips. Over time, we acquired abrasive discs for cutting and repairing these defects.
We also bought a couple of books; ÒThe Disc Music Box HandbookÓ by Graham Webb and ÒClockwork MusicÓ by Dr. Arthur WJG Ord Hume. We kind of cook-booked our way through the texts. We found that a lot of the restoration can be sorted out with some common sense, but if you read these materials, then you didnÕt have to spend time reinventing the wheel for certain tasks.
For me, I loved everything about restoring the organs and music boxes. There was just something magic about a music box, a notion that in a way a cylinder or disc box is kind of like a time machine. Unlike a record, the music box, if itÕs tuned back to its original tuning and restored to its best condition, you can hear the music exactly the way it was originally created for that instrument using the same metal and wood that was touched and heard by someone else 100 years before.
In the 1970s I found a Celestina roller organ. This hand-cranked instrument had a somewhat sophisticated system of pneumatic relays to operate the pallet valves for the reeds. Our reed organ skills came in handy on a minia.ture scale for that restoration. A more challenging application arose when we were contacted about a project to repair a singing bird unit. The leather on the miniature double-acting pump.ing bellows and the reserve bellows was crumbling and could not hold air. Rather than using new leather or zephyr skin, we experimented with a nylon material called Bilon which was very light and was coated on both sides. This non-traditional solution lasted well and was easy to work.
In his 80s, Herb was offered the bass cabinet of a Seeburg Style S pipe organ orchestra. He studied the unit and decided to build his own console and keyboard to operate the pipes. He also built three more ranks of smaller wooden pipes. In the process he built and tested different types of blowers to obtain the proper pressure and volume of air flow for each rank of pipes and for the pneumatic controls. Finally, he adapted an antique piano player to fit over the keyboard and automate the music.
He could just do that. He under.stood that you had different pressures and volumes and things. I donÕt know that he sat down and calculated it, but he created a pressure gauge so that he could measure what the pressure was and what it took to blow a pipe and what a little blower would do compared to what a larger one would do. Even the last time I was at his shop he was still working on things. He had about six blowers and fan assemblies that he built to accomplish certain things. Some tested fine but others were still not doing what he wanted and he was working on the problem.
He kept a record of everything that he worked on. I still have the book where he listed everything he repaired, including even the smallest or simplest clocks.
At one point he began to experiment with making gears. I had found an original Columbus clock from the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, and he decided he wanted to make a similar clock. He had a model makerÕs lathe and built a cutter and an indexing arrangement for the head stock. He studied books on gear design and built several models of gears for testing his work. Never satisfied to simply replicate anotherÕs work, he added in some of his own design ideas and one of the results is shown here.
My mother passed away in 2006, but Herbert continued to live in their home until four weeks before he died. He was still able to drive until he went to the hospital. When he was 97, a person remarked to him about what a long trip (3. hours) it was for him to drive himself to visit us in Nashville,
Above right, a test gear stand built by Herbert, and below right, a replica Columbus Clock he built after seeing one and deciding he needed one too.
One of the reed organs that is currently available for free from the collection of Herbert Kurz.
TN. He just gave a blank look and replied, ÒWell, that is not much Ð it took me 15 hours to fly my bomber from Hamilton Field to Oahu!Ó It was the just the kind of person he was.
I was with my father almost contin.uously his last five weeks and as we talked it became clear that our real love for the collection came from working on the repairs and resto.ration. There was a great satisfaction to complete a project, then to have it in our home and enjoy it and the memory of working on it Ð especially when it was a joint project. Of course, we knew that each item had monetary value, but the real value to us was in the enjoyment from the project work. We always thought of ourselves as the temporary custodians during our lifetimes and it was important to us to preserve these parts of our heritage for the future.
Athens, TN, is a town of about 15,000 people and Herbert was somewhat well known there. After he passed away, I contacted everyone he knew asking them if they would like one of his organs. I was quite surprised when a couple neighbors took organs. One of them was the organist who played at the church my dad attended and she had some family members who were also interested in having some instruments. Then, there was a friend of his who had an aviation company at the local airport who took a couple of them. This friend had just bought a rather grand old house out in the country and he thought they would really add to the character of the house. Then the organist at the church my mother attended took a couple, one for himself and one for a school where he taught. The attorney that handled my dadÕs will was also inter.ested. I stumbled into a guy who is a music producer in Nashville, TN, who wound up getting the player piano for himself and an organ for his family in Colorado. He has the player piano in his office and IÕve heard some of the music from the piano on videos he has produced so that was a neat thing.
Twelve organs remain, some in Athens and some in Nashville. The brands include Adler, Story & Clark (piano case), Story & Clark (organ case), Schoninger (set of 30 bells), Mason & Hamlin, Kurz, Loring & Blake (flat top), Estey (childÕs organ), Minschel-Estey (built as an electric organ with electrostatic pickup reeds), Orgatron with pedal ranks (electro.static pickup and separate Wurlitzer speaker cabinet), and Weaver. There is also the small, automated pipe organ built around a Seeburg bass chest for a fotoplayer and three additional wooden pipe ranks. The unit has many 35-key rolls and a piano player to drive the keyboard.
If, after reading my story, you still find yourself interested in adopting one, I would very much like to hear from you. You can reach me by email at George.kurz@comcast.net or phone at 615-714-6120.
A little about me: I am 74 and still practicing part-time as a licensed civil (environmental and hydraulic) engineer. I am a nationally recognized specialist in restoring deteriorated and leaking sanitary sewage collection systems. I have not worked on organs for a while but still restore clocks.
Fortunately, my wife Iva and I are still in good health and can enjoy our lives near Nashville. Sometimes, I wonder to myself if I would have so casually collected the organs I restored Ð if I had really thought it through in my early years Ð and real.ized that it may be a big problem (for
me or my heirs) to handle or dispose of such a collection. In particular, today it seems that most people do not care or value these instruments and sounds of the past. That makes me sad, but I can only hope that some of this heritage may yet be preserved for the future and that there may be a few people in succeeding generations who will enjoy these instruments.
In addition to his flight records, there is a wonderful collection of photos from HerbertÕs various missions in the Pacific. You can find most of his memoirs on his website, www.b-24-thegreenhornet.net
Pride and Prejudice
The True Story of the Origin of the English Portable Barrel Piano
By Robert F. Penna, Ph.D.
ÒWhen the piano man arrives before your door there instantly gathers from the thin air a crowd of children, and when the music begins, off they go, up and down the smooth pavement, dancing to the music,Ó a Washington bureau reporter of the Saint Paul, Minn., Globe wrote in the spring of 1892.1
Yet, an opposite opinion of the joy caused by street pianos was recorded in an edition of The Speaker on May 21, 1892. The author claims, ÒIf West-End residents close their windows and would fain, if they could, close their ears, at the first chirrup that announces the arrival of the street piano.Ó2
Often confused with a barrel organ, the barrel piano (also called a Òroller pianoÓ or Òstreet pianoÓ) is a fore.runner of the modern player piano. Unlike the pneumatic player piano, a barrel piano is usually powered by turning a hand crank and controlled by a pinned cylinder which resembles a biscuit roller. The hammer velocity is constant in a barrel piano; the only operator control is the cranking speed, which determines the music speed.3
Usually carried on oneÕs back, or mounted on wheels, and sometimes placed upon a cart, barrel pianos were popular with street musicians, who sought novel instruments that were highly portable. Basically, a portable player piano, the street version played prefab popular tunes, such as polkas, quadrilles, waltzes and show songs. One important feature of the street piano Òwas its loud tone to be heard above street sounds.Ó4
Yet in England in the second half of the 19th century, the barrel organ was outlawed while the barrel piano was permitted. Why? Both mechanical instruments were very similar. Both used a pinned cylinder to record tunes. Both employed similar mechanisms. Both plied the streets garnering coins. And both were played by turning a crank. Obviously, there were underly.ing reasons for the banishment of one and the acceptance of the other. To get at the truth, we must explore the history of the time.
In 1863, an English Member of Parliament named Thomas Bass led a crusade against street musicians and grinder instruments. Supported by editorials in The Times of England and Punch magazine, the movement led to the establishment of the Act for the Better Regulation of Street Music in the Metropolitan Police District (July 1864) which restricted the play.ing of barrel organs. No mention was made of barrel pianos. Bass and his supportersÕ primary target were the itinerant Italian immigrants and their instruments which were primarily barrel organs. Bass and his supporters believed that the street barrel piano was the invention and product of an English family from Bristol named Hicks. Because they believed the barrel piano to be of English origin, they did not want to eliminate its presence from the streets of London.
It is reasonable to assume that the driving force for this enactment was the prejudice against Italian immi.grants. Convinced that if one took away the barrel organ, which was the primary means of employment for many Italian immigrants, they would be dissuaded from settling in London. It was this bigotry which doomed the barrel organ in the city. In contrast, because of the erroneous belief that the barrel pianoÕs origins came from England, the street piano was allowed to survive and thrive.
Recent research has shown that the street piano was actually first developed in Italy, not in England. In 2009, Antonio Latanza published his findings in Il Piano a Cilindro which provides documentation that the earliest accounts of street pianos derive from an Italian origin. He cites surviving examples of the instrument. One of the earliest is dated to around 1810 and was manufactured by Pietro Volonte of Como, Italy. According to Latanza, Òthe piano is contained in a much simpler and plainer case than the later, so-called Hicks style pianos, but it is demonstrably the same basic design.Ó Other examples that predate HicksÕs work are also cited in Latan.zaÕs book.5
The earliest surviving examples of street barrel pianos manufactured by Hickes of Bristol come from the 1830s. There were three generations of Hicks involved in the building of musical instruments. Peter Hicks, the first generation of instrument builders, died before 1812. His two sons, John and Joseph, were involved in building musical instruments as recorded in Oct. 12, 1812, in the Register Book of Burgesses in Bristol as Òmusical instrument makers.Ó From 1816 through 1831, Joseph HicksÕs name appears in BristolÕs trade directories as Òinstrument maker or organ builder.Ó According to Nicholas Nourse, ÒThe entry remained the same for 15 yearsÑ15 years without the mention of a piano. Joseph Hicks of Bristol was, first and foremost, an organ builder, not the maker – or inventor of the street barrel piano.Ó6
The first evidence of the Hicks familyÕs involvement in piano making comes from 1832 when Joseph Hicks is registered in the MathewÕs Bristol trade directory as a piano maker and tuner. According to the research carried out by Nourse, the earliest date attributable to a Hicks street piano is sometime in the 1830s. Certainly, well before the model manufactured by Volonte in Como in 1810.
Nourse writes that research, Òindi.cates that BristolÕs (and BritainÕs) first portable street pianos were not made
Left and right sides of an unrestored barrel piano, identified only as a cased roller barrel piano in the George Hicks style.
in the early years of the nineteenth century but in the late 1830s and early 1840s.Ó It is most likely that they copied barrel pianos brought to England by Italian immigrants and modified the exterior of the cases with their own artistic style.7
The Hicks family began to leave Bristol in the mid 1840s. Joseph Hicks senior died in 1844. His son George moved to the Clerkenwell district of London (17 Chapel Street) shortly after. A few years later, John Hicks junior was discovered to be working in Clerkenwell where the 1861 British Census lists him as a ÒBarrel Organ & Piano Maker.Ó The question arises as to why members of the Hicks family would leave their prosperous business location in Bristol and resettle in a depressed area in London.
The Clerkenwell district was well known as the major location of Italian immigrant instrument grinders. One source claims that by 1850, nearly 2,000 Italian immigrants had settled in London alone. These Italian immigrant organ grinders lived in the most appalling conditions. Clerkenwell had become a poor run-down neighborhood. Many of the wooden tumble-down buildings had been turned into basic boarding houses, most of which were squalid and unhygienic with no running water. Miserable, damp, overcrowded, rife with disease, infested with rats, the unwary immigrant became a virtual slave to unscrupulous padrones (bosses).8
The answer to why the Hicks family moved seems to be that they wanted to be nearer to their clientele (i.e., Italian immigrants) who would use their products. Nourse writes, ÒThe Hicks familyÕs sudden departure from Bristol seems certain to be related to the senior JosephÕs demise. The importance of Clerkenwell to the itinerant Italian street musician is clear and, from HicksÕs point of view, it was the obvious place to go.Ó Also at that time, several competitors (Taylor and also Distin) began making barrel
Top and back sides of an unrestored barrel piano, identified only as a cased roller barrel piano in the George Hicks style.
pianos in Bristol perhaps shrinking the HicksÕ share of the market.9
The Hicks familyÕs involvement in street barrel pianos did not last long after their departure from Bristol. A few English firms continued to make street instruments but by the end of the century, the trade was Òexclusively carried on in London, entirely in the hands of Italians.Ó10
FOOTNOTES
1.
Weeks, L. ÒStrange Stories Surrounding Street Pianos,Ó NPR History Department, July 8, 2015. https://www.npr.org/sec.tions/npr-history-dept/2015/07/08/420837852/strange-sto.ries-surrounding-street-pianos
2.
Definition of Street Piano, Merriam-Webster. https://www. merriam-webster.com/dictionary/street%20piano
3.
Rhodes, R. ÒPlayer Pianos, Part I: Introduction & Manual-ly-Powered Pianos, Ó Player-Care, http://www.player-care.com/ explains.html
4.
ÒBarrel Piano,Ó Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar.rel_piano
5.
Latanza, Antonio. Il Piano a Cilandro, Aracne: Rome, Italy 2009.
6.
Nourse, Nicholas. ÒMusical Migrations: The Origins of the Por.table Street Barrel Organ.Ó The Galpin Society Journal, vol. 67, 2014, page 53.
7.
Nourse. op. cit., page 54
8.
Penna, Robert. ÒJoy and Suffering: The Organ Grinders of London and Manchester,Ó The Music Box, Musical Box Society of Great Britain. Autumn 2020.
9.
Nourse. op. cit., page 56
10.
Nourse. op. cit., page 57
Automated organ plays 639 year concert
By Russell Kasselman
Can an automated organ stay in tune and continuously play for hundreds of years without human interaction? The John Cage As Slow As Possible project in Halberstadt, Germany, aims to find out.
The organ started playing a composition by John Cage on
Sept. 5, 2000, and is projected to finish playing the last note
sometime in the year 2640. The 639-year duration was chosen because the start date for the perfomance was 639 years after the
first church organ was built by Nicolas Faber.
CageÕs score is eight pages long and organists who have played it by hand spent as long as 24 straight hours playing each note as slowly as possible. Cage turned 89 years old on the day the organ played its first note and waited 17 months for the first tone change. Each note plays continuously until the next is sounded. Hundreds of people showed up to hear a note change in 2020.
As collectors of instruments that are often more than 100 years old, we are all well aware that an instrument built more than a century before can be restored and tuned back to its original sound. We can hear the same notes that the makers heard on the day that the disc or cylinder box left its place of manufacture. We can imagine our ancestors gathered in their living room with oil lamps burning as they listened to compositions from Bach or Brahms, marveling at the innovation of having music in their home without a person manipulating the instrument.
The As Slow As Possible project, however, takes the concept of a long-lasting instrument to the next level as many genera.tions will have passed by the time the organ is done playing this one piece of music.
Halberstadt is a town of 43,800 inhabitants (in 2015) in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, and the capital of the district of Harz. The concert is being performed in St. Burchardi, one of the oldest churches of the city. Built around 1050, it once functioned as a convent. It was partially destroyed in the Thirty YearsÕ War (1618-1648). Rebuilt in 1711, it was used as a barn, hovel, distillery and a sty.
The projectÕs website states:
ÒSome visitors only see a whimsical indoor cemetery with music due to the dated donor plaques installed in the church. Others discover traces of more than 639 years of history on the walls, recognize the graphic notation of the few tones in the sound sculpture and hear a highly difficult and iridescent sound in the room. Some have the feeling of experiencing a piece of eternity. The leisure and gentle serenity with which many listeners absorb the inimitable sounds often has some.thing meditative about it.Ó
According to the projectÕs website, if the church is still stand.ing and the organ still playing on Sept. 4, 2640, when the last on visitors who come to view the organ and listen to the notes. note is projected to finish, the structure will have experienced a
peaceful period in human history longer than any other. ÒIn addition, most visitors are fascinated by the philo-Another section of the projectÕs website discusses the impact sophical-optimistic approach to time and the future. In a
present where many people rush from appointment to appointment until they are exhausted, i.e. there is literally no time, a project is started whose duration roughly corresponds to the total construction time of Cologne Cathedral. Sounds that last for months or years convey a sense of timelessness or that time has stopped. The continuum of time and history seems to have been blown open without any clocks being shot at. With Walter Benjamin, one could speak of a present that is not in transition, but in which time stands still and has come to a standstill.Ó
The next tone change is scheduled to happen Feb. 5, 2024. A chart of all tones and the dates they are anticipated to play is on Page 45.
The organ was built specifically for the
performance. It is in the churchÕs right transept, with the bellows in the left tran.sept powered by an electric wind turbine that was intended for a much larger organ. Acrylic glass encases it to reduce the volume.
The project is supported by a private foundation, which is equipped with minimal capital and is managed purely on a voluntary basis, and it lives primarily from the willingness of Cage enthusiasts, private sponsors and the many visitors to donate.If you wish to visit the church and hear the organ yourself, the address is:
Burchardikirche Am Kloster 1 38820 Halberstadt, Germany
The phone to contact project organizers is: +49(0)3941.621620, or email is info@aslsp.org.
The organizationÕs website is at aslsp.org and it features the current.ly-playing tone.
Impulse Action Notes Date Chord length
1 Begin none Sept. 5, 2001
2 Sound G , B, G445 Feb. 5, 2003 518 d
3 Sound E, E34 Jul. 5, 2004 516 d
4 Release G , B44 Jul. 5, 2005 365 d
5 Sound A, C, F455 Jan. 5, 2006 184 d
6 Release E, E34 May 5, 2006 120 d
7 Sound C, A44 July 5, 2008 792 d
8 Release C4 Nov. 5, 2008 123 d
9 Sound D, E45 Feb. 5, 2009 92 d
10 Release E5 Jul. 5, 2010 515 d
11 Release D, G45 Feb. 5, 2011 215 d
12 Sound C (16Õ), D (16Õ)44 Aug. 5, 2011 181 d
Release A 4
13 Release A, C, F455 Jul. 5, 2012 335 d
14 Sound D , A , E445 Oct. 5, 2013 457 d
15 Sound G , E34 Sept. 5, 2020 2,527 d
16 Release G 3 Feb. 5, 2022 518 d
17 Sound D4 Feb. 5, 2024 730 d
18 Sound A4 Aug. 5, 2026 912 d
19 Release E4 Oct. 5, 2027 426 d
20 Sound G3 Apr. 5, 2028 183 d
21 Release D4 Aug. 5, 2028 122 d
22 Release A4 Mar. 5, 2030 577 d
23 Release D , E45 Sept. 5, 2030 184 d
24 Release G3 May 5, 2033 973 d
25 Sound B3 Dec. 5, 2033 214 d
26 Sound F, D34 Aug. 5, 2034 243 d
27 Release F, D34 Sept. 5, 2034 31 d
28 Release B3 Oct. 5, 2034 30 d
29 Sound D 5 Jun. 5, 2035 243 d
30 Sound A (16Õ)2 Sept. 5, 2037 823 d
Release D 5
31 Sound A , A45 Mar. 5, 2038 181 d
32 Release A 5 Jul. 5, 2038 122 d
33 Release A 4 May 5, 2039 304 d
Impulse Action Notes Date Chord length
34 Sound D, A44 Dec. 5, 2039 214 d
35 Release D, A44 Apr. 5, 2040 122 d
36 Sound D , B33 Jan. 5, 2041 275 d
37 Release D , B33 Mar. 5, 2042 424 d
38 Release A (16Õ)2 Nov. 5, 2043 610 d
39 Sound A, D34 Jul. 5, 2044 243 d
40 Sound E4 Mar. 5, 2045 243 d
Release A 4
41 Sound B, C, A455 Mar. 5, 2046 365 d
42 Release C (16Õ), B, C, A4455 Oct. 5, 2047 579 d
43 Sound C (16Õ)3 Feb. 5, 2049 489 d
44 Sound D , A44 Apr. 5, 2050 424 d
45 Release A, D, E344 Feb. 5, 2051 306 d
46 Release D , A44 Nov. 5, 2051 273 d
47 Sound E , B33 May 5, 2053 547 d
48 Release C (16Õ)3 Nov. 5, 2054 549 d
49 Release E , B33 Jul. 5, 2056 608 d
50 Sound B 4 Aug. 5, 2057 396 d
51 Sound A (16Õ)2 May 5, 2058 273 d
52 Release A (16Õ)2 Nov.r 5, 2059 549 d
53 Sound G , C, D455 Apr. 5, 2060 152 d
54 Release G , C, D455 Jun. 5, 2060 61 d
55 Sound E4 Nov. 5, 2060 153 d
Release B 4
56 Sound B, C, E , C4556 Feb. 5, 2061 92 d
57 Release C, E , C556 Apr. 5, 2061 59 d
58 Sound D4 Sept. 5, 2061 153 d
Release E4
59 Sound A , D , F344 Aug. 5, 2062 334 d
60 Release A , F34 Feb. 5, 2064 549 d
61 Sound A, A34 Jan. 5, 2067 1,065 d
Release D 4
62 Release D4 Jun. 5, 2067 151 d
63 Release A, A24 Jul. 5, 2068 396 d
64 Release D (16Õ)4 Mar. 5, 2071 973 d
65 Release B4 Jul. 5, 2071 122 d
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_Slow_as_Possible
John Cage in 1988. Source Wikimedia.
Southern California Chapter
Chapter chair: Robin Biggins Reporter: Robin Biggins Photographer: Lowell Boehland
Jun. 18, 2022 Ñ San Diego, CA
It was such a pleasure to revisit the wonderful collection of mechanical music in the beautiful home of Brent Hoag. The completely rebuilt home takes advantage of a stunning view of San Diego, CA, and there are so many interesting items that Brent has collected from around the world it is hard to take it all in.
As usual, the meeting started with a catered lunch prepared by Sonia Johnson and Brent, and then we had a short busi.ness meeting to encourage members to attend the MBSI Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA.
It was such a delight to have our dear friend Mike Ames attend after a period of health issues and the loss of his wife, Marilyn.
The afternoon was then spent on a grand tour by Brent so we could hear many of his musical boxes and how he acquired them. There were early sectional comb and key-wind boxes up through orchestral formats with bells and organ sections, all with features not normally seen. There was also a stunning collection of Reuge boxes, including an automaton, and a huge box with 15 interchangeable cylinders that was produced to commem.orate the bicentennial of the musical box, and named ÒAntoine Favre.Ó
Because of the travel distance and the
heavy traffic, some members had to leave
early and were not included in the group photo. As usual, Lowell did a wonderful job of photography.
Brent demonstrates a hand carved key-wind box with a clock.
Rita along with Roger De Weese admire a fancy BrŽmond Orchestra box.
ÒPetit OrchestreÓ by BrŽmond with sep.arate organ controls for reeds and flutes. See tune sheet 282, Serial Number 13846 Made in 1872.
A five-note sectional comb with seven teeth at the treble end. Jerome Kaliser and Rita listen to Brent talk about his Mills Violano.
Four combs. First two, sublime-harmo.nie, then mandoline and piccolo. Made by John Manger, Geneva.
Mike Ames entertains our members with tales of history.
Hosts Sonia Johnson and Brent Hoag.
A beautiful Francois Lecoultre ÒMusique ˆ 4 OuverturesÓ cyl.inder music box.
Brent shows a beautiful hand-carved musical box by BrŽmond.
This is the Reuge ÒAntoine FavreÓ musical box. It was made in 1996 as a bicentennial tribute to Antoine Favre who is credited with inventing the musical box. It is one of a limited edition of 99 pieces.
Brent displays an intricately carved multi-ball from China made of elephant ivory, circa 1850, with 18 more carved balls inside.
A partial group photo. Some attendees departed early to beat traffic on their long trips home.
Robin Biggins conducts the chapter business meeting. An excellent lunch was enjoyed by all.
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
National Capital Chapter
Chapter Chair: Ken Gordon Reporters: Donna and Gene Borrelli Photographers: Gene Borrelli, Knowles Little and Richard Hack
May 29, 2022 Ð Potomac, MD
The National Capital Chapter held its 24th Annual Monkey Organ Grind and Music Box Demonstration at the Tavern in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park in Potomac, MD. Fourteen members attended, many in period dress to showcase their monkey organs, music boxes and other musical treasures. Due to COVID closures and member availability we were not able to confirm the meeting until three weeks before the event. In the end we had a great turnout of members and visitors.
Jack and Mildred Hardman brought their Raffin street organ. Dick Hack brought his Arthur Prinsen organ and set up at the entrance to the tavern.
Ken Gordon tries out the GEM roller organ with Paul Senger. Ginny Little entertains visitors at the kidÕs table.
Knowles Little demonstrates his 15.-inch Regina disc music Paul Senger demonstrates the John Smith organ for a group box for an interested visitor. of young visitors.
Mildred and Jack Hardman play their Raffin organ at the tavern.
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
Travis Hanna, DickÕs grandson, did most of the cranking and had large groups of visitors throughout the day. Paul Senger explained the nuances of his John Smith 20 note Busker organ that he personally built. Visitors got to play the organ and received official organ grinder certificates. Paul also brought along several smaller organs for visitors to play and hear music as it was played 100 years ago. Joe Orens treated visitors to music on his Tanz.bŠr accordion. Ginny and Brian Little manned the kids table with lots of hands-on mechanical music toys and Knowles demonstrated a disc music box. Ken Gordon and Richard Simpson worked at all the tables demonstrating instruments and explaining our hobby. Many of the visitors were given the opportunity to play the organs, and soon realized that it is a lot of work to play a monkey organ.
Pete Peterson, the Supervisory Park Ranger was pleased with the visitor interaction and invited us for next year which would be our 25th.
Thanks to everybody who came Sunday to display our hobby.
Richard Simpson and Gene Borrelli ready to answer questions from the crowd.
In order for anything
A Lasting Legacy
once alive to have meaning, its effect must remain alive in eternity in some way
Ð Ernest Becker, Philosopher
The Musical Box Society International Throughout its history, MBSI has fostered an interest in and preservation of is a 501(c)(3) nonproÞt organization. automatic musical instruments. Your gift to the Endowment Fund will All donations to the Endowment support programs that will help future generations appreciate these Fund are tax deductible. achievements of human creative genius. Visit www.mbsi.org to learn more. A gift of any size is welcome.
Golden Gate Chapter
Chapter Chair: Jonathan Hoyt Reporter: David Corkrum Photographer: Rob Thomas
May 15, 2022 ÑÊMenlo Park, CA
On Sunday, May 15, the Golden Gate Chapter held its second meeting of the year at the home of Judy and Bob Caletti. The chapter was joined by the Founding Chapter of the Auto.matic Musical Instrument CollectorsÕ Association (AMICA). Approximately 25-30 members attended. Our hosts provided a main course of pasta and meatballs with pesto and red sauce. The attendees augmented this with an assortment of salads, side dishes and desserts.
The members were entertained by a large assortment of instruments in the CalettisÕ collection including a Seeburg H located in their bedroom. I once asked Judy how she slept with Bob playing this instrument at all hours. She stated she slept just fine. Other instruments included a Symphonion Eroica disc box, a Cremona K orches.trion, a 15. inch Regina Changer in an art glass case with a clock in the pediment and a Knabe Ampico Grand in an art case.
In BobÕs workshop, he demonstrated the newest addition to his collection of tools; a Wazer waterjet cutting machine capable of cutting metal or any other material using a focused high-velocity water jet containing abrasive particles.
Our good friend, and former MBSI member, John Haskey brought some items for sale from the estate of the late Dr. John Field. John informed us that more items would be available in the future.
Although no business meeting was held, the chairs of the various commit.tees involved with the upcoming annual meeting met to discuss some of the final items that needed to be settled. The committees will meet
Bob Caletti demonstrates his three-disc Eroica music box. Bob Caletti plays a Regina bell chime mechanism he restored.
Lyle Merithew and Bob Caletti listen to a floor-model Mira disc music box. Bob Caletti playing the Seeburg H.
Marc Williams, Jared DiBartolomeo, Fred Deal and Bob Caletti listening to the Knabe Ampico grand.
Fred Deal, Lyle Merithew and Bob Caletti watching the Wazer Water Jet Machine at work.
Jonathan Hoyt with a 27-inch Regina changer.
The Wazer Water Jet Machine with lid open to display the cut.ting block and machinery.
Jonathan Hoyt shows off a cylinder undergoing restoration in the workshop.
again in July to discuss any last-minute items. It was a beautiful day in Menlo Park, CA, and this reporter
A Symphonion Lyra 33a with clock undergoing restoration in felt that everyone had a great time. The annual meeting will the workshop. be just as much fun if not more!
Kim Pontius Ñ 1940Ð2022
By Hope Rider
I sadly report that one of the MidwestÕs
finest piano technicians, Kim Pontius,
passed away Jun. 10, 2022.
KimÕs wife, Ruth, passed away several years earlier. The couple raised three sons in Hartford City, IN. They enjoyed many grandchildren. KimÕs working career was spent at 3M. Ruth was a nurse in the local schools and worked for a local physician.
Kim joined the United States Navy in 1959 and served until 1963, where he earned the Good Conduct Medal and was stationed on the USS Goodrich in the Mediterranean.
Kim tuned pianos and built band organs in his immaculate home workshop. He hand-painted his creations. Also, to his credit, were two JP Seeburg automatic pianos, combined into one fine unit.
Kim had a love for music at an early age and began taking piano and accordion lessons from Beulah Miller, his next door neighbor. He and Ruth would enjoy play.ing in the accordion band here in town. Because of his love of music, he used his
G.I. Bill to acquire an education in piano tuning and repair. He was known to many as the ÒPiano Man.Ó Kim was still tuning and repairing pianos when he could. After tuning someoneÕs piano, he enjoyed sharing his talents with a song or two to complete the job. Through the years, he branched off from tuning and repairing to player piano, reed organ, and band organ rebuilding, taking those items back to their original playing condition. He loved
the challenge of working on just about any kind of musical instrument someone would bring him.
He was an avid railroad enthusiast and enjoyed anything to do with trains. Kim was a member of Blackford Baptist Temple, Blackford County Historical Society, the Carousel Organ Association of America, and a former member of the First Baptist Church in Montpelier.
Kim and Ruth will be missed, not only by their family, but by their many friends in Hartford City and by many automatic music collectors as well.
ÑAdditional information for this article was found at legacy.com/us/ obituaries/hartfordcitynewstimes/name/ kim-pontius-obituary?id=35223663
Our Condolences
MBSI has learned that the following member has passed away:
Aline Kadlec of Springfield, MO, passed away in February 2022.
The Musical Box Society of Great Britain announces the publication of two new books Published in September 2018
100pp Hard Back ISO A4 format [8.27Ó . 11.70Ó; 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; Combined Index of Images in the original book and its Supplement.
Compiled and Edited by 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.
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Mechanical Music
Mechanical Music is mailed to all members at the beginning of every odd month Ñ January, March, May, July, September and November.
MBSI Advertising Statement
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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 busi.ness dealings with said advertisers.
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THE GOLDEN AGE of AUTOMATIC MUSI.CAL 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 youÕll find it to be one of the most interesting, inspiring, informative books you have in your libraryÐor your money back. Everyone has been delighted, and some readers have ordered several copies. Get your copy today for $99 plus S/H. MECHANI.CAL MUSIC PRESS-M, 70 Wild Ammonoosuc Rd., Woodsville, NH 03785. (603) 747-2636.
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WEBER MAESTO tunes adapted for G-Roll orchestrions. 10 Tune roll $100 ppd. More genres coming soon. Additional info/orders
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SELF-PLAYING DECAP ACCORDION model #1 with midi-system, Carousel horse carved by Tom Wade. Stander in armour, pedestal carved by Ray Jones, Gazo clock ÒCalifornianÓ 8-foot 1-inch, plays Ave Maria. Reproducing piano restored by Don MacDonald. Pictures available MARILYN BUECHNER (608) 334-8518 marjerb01@gmail.com
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
Photos are only $30 extra per issue.
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call (253) 228-1634 for more details.
PORTER BAROQUE MUSIC BOX with match.ing storage cabinet. It plays 15.in disc. The box has 2 musical combs w/76 teeth (152 playing teeth). It has a 5 octave range and will play 20 min on a single wind. The wind up motor is a clock works type made of cast iron and brass gears machines at Porter Music Box Co. Included is an assortment of 15 discs. $15,000 or best offer (owner will cover 1/2 of packing shipping costs). Contact STAN WILLIS, at pstan.willis@gmail.com or (707) 975-2727
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REPRODUCTION POLYPHON discs; Cata.logs available for 19 5/8Ó, 22 1/8Ó, and 24 1/2Ó. DAVID CORKRUM 5826 Roberts Ave, Oakland, CA 94605-1156, 510-569-3110, www.polyphonmusic.com
SAVE $Õs on REUGE & THORENS MUSIC BOX REPAIR & RESTORATION Ð 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. WeÕre the only REUGE FACTORY AUTHORIZED Parts & Repair Service Center for all of North America. Contact: DON CAINE -The Music Box Repair Center Unlimited, 24703 Pennsyl.vania Ave., Lomita, CA 90717-1516. Phone:
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3………. Renaissance Antiques 58…….. MBSGB 58…….. American Treasure Tour 59…….. Porter Music Box Company 60…….. EspeciallyWallaWalla.com 60…….. Reeder Pianos 60…….. Cottone Auctions 60…….. Music Box Restorations 61…….. Nancy Fratti Music Boxes 67…….. Marty Persky Music Boxes 68…….. Auction Team Breker
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OFFICERS, TRUSTEES & COMMITTEES of the MUSICAL BOX SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL¨
OFFICERS COMMITTEES Membership Committee Nominating Committee
Chair, TBD Dan Wilson, Chair
President Audit
David Corkrum, President Tom Kuehn, Immediate Past Pres.
David Corkrum Edward Cooley, Chair, Trustee Richard Dutton, Trustee Bob Caletti, Golden Gate, Trustee 5826 Roberts Avenue Dave Calendine, Trustee Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee, Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee, Oakland, CA 94605 Matt Jaro, Vice President Southeast Southeast
musikwerke@att.net
Endowment Committee Robin Biggins, Southern California Jonathan Hoyt, Golden Gate Edward Kozak, Treasurer, Chair Judy Caletti, Golden Gate Robin Biggins, Southern California Vice President Edward Cooley, Trustee Gary Goldsmith, Snowbelt Aaron Muller, Lake Michigan Matthew Jaro Dave Calendine, Trustee Julie Morlock, Southeast
Publications Committee
24219 Clematis Dr B Bronson Rob Pollock, Mid-America Bob Caletti, Chair, Trustee Gaithersburg, MD 20882 Wayne Wolf Florie Hirsch, National Capital Richard Dutton, Trustee mjaro@verizon.net Dan Wilson, Piedmont
Executive Committee Steve Boehck
Gerald Yorioka, Northwest IntÕl
David Corkrum, Chair, President Christian Eric
Recording Secretary TBD, East Coast
Matthew Jaro, Vice President Kathleen Eric
Linda Birkitt TBD, Lake Michigan
Tom Kuehn, Immediate Past Pres.
PO Box 145, TBD, Sunbelt Publications
Dave Calendine, Trustee
Sub-Committee
Kuna, ID 83634
Bob Caletti, Trustee Museum Committee
Website Committee scarletpimpernel28@yahoo.com Sally Craig, Chair
Finance Committee Rick Swaney, Chair
Matt Jaro, Vice President
Treasurer Edward Kozak, Chair, Treasurer B Bronson
Glenn Crater, National Capital
Edward Kozak Wayne Wolf, Vice Chair Knowles Little, Web Secretary
Ken Envall, Southern California 3615 North Campbell Avenue Edward Cooley, Trustee
Julian Grace, Sunbelt Special Exhibits Committee
Chicago, IL 60618 Peter Both Richard Simpson, East Coast Chair Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee, ekozak1970@gmail.com
Marketing Committee Southeast
Museum Sub-Committees
Bob Smith, Chair David Corkrum, President,
Ohio Operations
Judy Caletti Golden Gate
Rob Pollock, Mid-America
TRUSTEES Don Caine Donald Caine, Southern California Dave Calendine Jack Hostetler, Southeast
Meetings Committee
Bob Caletti SPECIAL ACTIVITIES Knowles Little, National Capital
Matt Jaro, Chair, Vice President
Edward Cooley Judy Miller, Piedmont
Judy Caletti Publications Back Issues:
David Corkrum Aaron Muller, Lake Michigan
Tom Chase Jacque Beeman
Richard Dutton Wayne Myers, Southeast
Cotton Morlock
G.Wayne Finger Regina Certificates: Rick Swaney, Northwest IntÕl
Rich Poppe B BronsonMatt Jaro
MBSI Editorial Office: Tom Kuehn MBSI Pins and Seals: Iron Dog Media Mary Ellen Myers Jacque Beeman 130 Coral Court
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Librarian:
editor@mbsi.org
Jerry Maler
Historian:
Bob Yates
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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 authorÕs 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 authorÕs approval. All articles statements.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Date Event Location Sponsor
Oct. 4, 2022 Zoom tour of Jim KrachtÕs collection music boxes Online Southeast Chapter
Nov. 11-13, 2022 Joint Southeast Chapter and COAA meeting Dahlonega, GA Craig Darlak
Aug 29-Sept 3, 2023 MBSI Annual Meeting St. Paul, MN Snowbelt Chapter
Send in your information by Oct. 1, 2022, for the November/December 2022 issue. Ask your questions on our Facebook discussion group Ñ the Music Box Society Forum.
Please send dates for the Calendar of Events to 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
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: Wayne Myers (407) 333-9095 Dues $5 to Bob Yates 1973 Crestview Way Unit 147 Naples, FL 34119
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
CHAPTERS
East Coast
Chair: Elise Low (203) 457-9888 Dues $5 to Roger Wiegand 281 Concord Road Wayland, MA 01778 or pay via PayPal, send to treasurer.eccmbsi@gmail.com
Golden Gate
Chair: Jonathan Hoyt jenjenhoyt@yahoo.com Dues $5 to Dave Corkrum 5826 Roberts Ave. Oakland, CA 94605
Japan
Chair: Naoki Shibata 81-72986-1169 naotabibito396amb@salsa.ocn.ne.jp Treasurer: Makiko Watanabe makikomakiko62@yahoo.co.jp
Lake Michigan
Chair: Mark Pichla (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: Ken Gordon (301) 469-9240 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
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 $10 to Diane Caudill 4585 Felder Road Washington, TX 77880
Copyright 2022 the Musical Box Society International, all rights reserved. Permission to reproduce by any means, in whole or in part, must be obtained in writing from the MBSI Executive Committee and the Editor. Mechanical Music is published in the even months. ISSN 1045-795X
MECHANICAL MUSIC
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
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Journal of the Musical Box Society International Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 63, No. 1 January/February 2017
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Mechanical Music is mailed to more than 1,500 members of the Musical Mechanical Music is printed on 70 lb gloss Email files to: Box Society International six (6) times paper, with a 100 lb gloss cover, sad-mbsi@irondogmedia.com per year. dle-stitched. Trim size is 8.25Ó x 10.75Ó. USPS or Fed Ex to: Artwork is accepted in the following for-Iron Dog Media, LLC
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The Spectacular Mechanical Music Collection of Carol Veome & the late Larry Dupon
Polyphon Regina Style 35 Regina Upright Seeburg G Steinway OR 6Õ6Ó Art Case 24Ó Mikado Clock & Art Glass Style 67 Rookwood Orchestrion Reeder/Leedy Restoration
3 Disc Eroica Regina 20 .Ó Drum Table Rococo 26Ó Stella Empress 18 .Ó
B. A. Bremond Orchestra Box Nicole Freres Desk 206 Teeth Paillard Sublime Harmony Piccolo 42 Airs on 7 Cylinders 20 Overtures & 8 Airs on 7 Cyls. 36 Airs on 6 Cylinders
Call Marty Persky 847-675-6144 or email Marty@Mechmusic.com for further information on these and other fine instruments.
ÒKlingsorÓ resonance gramophone, Krebs & Klenk, Hanau, c. 1910 Estimate: 4.500 Ð 5.000 ÷ / 4,550 Ð 5,060 US$
2-Inch scale working model of a Burrell traction engine Estimate: 4.000 Ð 5.000 ÷ / 4,045 Ð 5,060 US$
Mechanical picture of a feline dancing lesson, c. 1890 Estimate: 600 Ð 800 ÷ / 605 Ð 810 US$ Musical manivelle carousel automaton, c. 1890 Estimate: 600 Ð 800 ÷ / 605 Ð 810 US$
WorldÕs Leading Specialist Auction:
ÈMechanical MusicÇ ÈFairground AttractionsÇ
16 + 17 September 2022 5 November 2022
Walking elephant automaton by Gaston Decamps, c. 1930, Estimate: 600 Ð 800 ÷ / 605 Ð 810 US$
Left-handed barrel organ by Wilhelm Bruder Sne, c. 1920 Estimate: 3.000 Ð 4.000 ÷ / 3,035 Ð 4,045 US$
Reginaphone Model 113 E.M.G. Mark Xa gramophone and Table Grand gramophone, c. 1930 musical box, c. 1910 Estimate: 4.000 Ð 6.000 ÷ /Estimate: 4.500 Ð 6.000 ÷ / 4,045 Ð 6,070 US$ 4,555 Ð 6,070 US$
Interchangeable harpe-piccolo musical box, Franois Conchon, c. 1880
Globus strength tester, Jentzsch & Meers, Leipzig, c. 1930 Estimate: 7.000 Ð 9.000 ÷ / 7,085 Ð 9,110 US$
Estimate: 500 Ð 700 ÷ / 505 Ð 710 US$
Visible bells musical box by Nicole Frres, c. 1885 Estimate: 2.500 Ð 3.500 ÷ / 2,530 Ð 3,540 US$
Orpheus mechanical piano,
Symphonion Style 130 disc musical box with bells,
Musikwerke Ludwig & Co., Leipzig, c. 1900
Symphonion Musikwerke, Lepzig, c. 1900
Estimate: 2.000 Ð 3.000 ÷ / 2,020 Ð 3,035 US$
Estimate: 7.000 Ð 8.000 ÷ / 7,080 Ð 8,100 US$
Éand many more!
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.Ð (Europe) or elsewhere Euro 39.Ð (approx. US$ 45.Ð / Overseas)
. Consignments are welcome at any time!
Edison ÒFiresideÓ Phonograph Model A on table, c. 1905 English Mutoscope with reel, c. 1930 Estimate: 1.300 Ð 1.800 ÷ / Estimate: 2.000 Ð 3.000 ÷ / Ð The Specialists in ÈTechnical AntiquesÇ Ð 1,315 Ð 1,820 US$ 2,020 Ð 3,035 US$ P. O. Box 50 11 19, 50971 Koeln/Germany á Tel.: +49 / 2236 / 38 43 40 á Fax: +49 / 2236 / 38 43 430 Otto-Hahn-Str. 10, 50997 Koeln (Godorf)/Germany e-mail: Auction@Breker.com á www.breker.com á Business Hours: Tue Ð Fri 9 am Ð 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 á 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 England: Tel. +49 (0) 176 991 40593 * AuctionTeamBrekerUK@outlook.de á France: Pierre J. Bickart, Tel. (01) 43 33 86 71 * AuctionTeamKoln@aol.com 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