Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 66, No. 3 May/June 2020
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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 The article will not be published with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 Directory
of Members, Museums and Dealers is published
biennially. Domestic subscription rate, $60. Periodicals
postage paid at San Luis Obispo, CA and additional
mailing offices.
Copyright 2020. The Musical Box Society International,
all rights reserved. Mechanical Music
cannot be copied, reproduced or transmitted in
whole or in part in any form whatsoever without
written consent of the Editor and the Executive
Committee.
MEMBERS: SEND ADDRESS CORRECTIONS TO:
MBSI, PO Box 10196,
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
Or, make corrections on the website at www.mbsi.org.
POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO
MBSI, PO Box 10196,
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 66, No. 3 May/June 2020
MBSI NEWS
5 PresidentÕs Message
7 EditorÕs Notes
55 In Memoriam
Features
12 Nickel Notes
by Matt Jaro
19 Sacred Music on
cylinder boxes, Part 2
28 Wrangling a Regina
Corona changer
33 Making relief decorated
music box cases
38 The importance of player
pianos in WWI
44 A pair of Regina Bell
Boxes
47 Introduction to the
Burtscher Collection
On the Cover
Harold WadeÕs Regina Style 216 disc
music box with 12 bells. Read the
story of this box and itÕs sister box
owned by Alvin Zamba (a Regina
Style 217) on Page 44 of this issue
Chapter Reports
50 Sunbelt
MBSI has replanted 94 trees so far as part
of the Print ReLeaf program.
Each One
Reach One
New Member
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 3
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
M
M
echanical music is a fascinating hobby! It
appeals to the artist, historian, craftsman, and
musician all at the same time. Play an automatic
musical instrument in a room full of people and all else
will stop as the machine enraptures the audience with the
sparkling melodies of yesteryear!
Mechanical music instruments are any sort of automatical
ly-played machine that produces melodic sound including
discs and cylinder music boxes that pluck a steel comb;
orchestrions and organs that engage many instruments at
once using vacuum and air pressure; player and reproducing
pianos that use variable vacuum to strike piano wires; pho
nographs; and self-playing stringed, wind, and percussion
instruments of any kind.
The Musical Box Society International, chartered by the
New York State Board of Regents, is a nonprofit society
dedicated to the enjoyment, study, and preservation of
automatic musical instruments. Founded in 1949, it now
has members around the world, and supports various
educational projects.
Regional chapters and an Annual Meeting held each year
in different cities within the United States enable members
to visit collections, exchange ideas, and attend educational
workshops. Members receive six issues of the journal,
Mechanical Music, which also contains advertising space
for members who wish to buy, sell, and restore mechanical
musical instruments and related items. Members also
receive the biennial MBSI Directory of Members, Museums,
and Dealers.
The only requirements for membership are an interest in
automatic music machines and the desire to share information
about them. And 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
Copy this page, and give it to a potential new member. Spread the word about MBSI.
Last name First Name Initial
Last Name First Name Initial
Address
City State / Zip Postal Code / Country
Phone Fax E-mail
Sponsor (optional)
Membership Dues
US members (per household)……………………………………….$60
Student Membership $20
(online journal access only)
Canada…………………………………………………………………………$70
Other International………………………………………………………$75
(Add $20 for International air mail.)
Join online: www.mbsi.org/join-mbsi
Check or Money Order Payable to: MBSI Treasurer (US Funds Only)
Mail to: New Member Registration – MBSI
PO Box 10196
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
Visa/MasterCard
Exp. Date CCV
Signature
4 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
By Tom Kuehn
MBSI President
As all of us work through the present
stressful situation, I hope all of
you are safe and well. This is unprecedented
in the history of our society
and I want to assure you that our leadership
team has your best interests in
mind. We plan to continue operating
as conditions allow. Our finances are
in very conservative investments and
have not been affected by the recent
market turmoil.
Our annual meeting is scheduled to
be held the first week of September.
At the present time, it has not been
determined whether the meeting
will be held as planned or canceled.
The trustees have a conference call
scheduled near the end of May to
discuss this. If our joint meeting with
AMICA is canceled, we will alert you
as quickly as possible by a variety of
means. Any registration fees received
will be fully refunded.
The trustees held their mid-year
meeting on Mar. 13. Everyone who
had planned to fly to the Los Angeles,
CA, area decided to stay home to protect
themselves from the virus, so the
meeting was, essentially, a conference
call. The minutes of the meeting are
published in this issue and can be
found on pages 8-11.
I want to bring your attention to a
happy development. The following
paragraph is provided in English and
then in Japanese via the image to the
right.
The trustees unanimously approved
the application for a charter for a new
MBSI chapter in Japan. The name of
this new chapter is Japan Chapter.
The application was supported by
20 households in Japan that serve as
founding members. The officers are:
¥ Sachiya Sasaki, Chair Pro Tem
¥ Naoki Shibata, Vice Chair Pro
Tem
¥ Hiroshi Ohkawa, Secretary Pro
Tem
¥ Makiko Watanabe, Treasurer Pro
Tem
I offer my congratulations to our
members in Japan who have worked
tirelessly to organize this new chapter
and thank the MBSI officers and trustees
who helped make this possible.
We should be hearing more from our
friends in Japan in the near future.
As most of us are staying home these
days, it is a good time to work on tasks
and projects that have been postponed
until more time is available. This may
be a good opportunity to share your
wisdom and expertise with other
members. Perhaps you have been
thinking about writing a technical
article for this journal or telling some
anecdotes or offering advice on how
KUEHN | See Page 7
The announcement of a new MBSI
chapter in Japan as distributed to the
membership there.
.
.
..
¨.
(INTERNATIONAL)
ORGANIZED IN 1949
DEVOTED TO ALL MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
.
.
..
¨.
(INTERNATIONAL)
ORGANIZED IN 1949
DEVOTED TO ALL MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Musical Box Society International
P.O. Box 10196
Springeld, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax: (417) 886-8839
Musical Box Society International
P.O. Box 10196
Springeld, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax: (417) 886-8839
MBSI MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
EACH ONE/REACH ONE NEW MEMBER
MBSI is always interested in increasing its membership and is pleased to offer new members a $15
discount off their rst year’s membership. You are considered a new member if you have not been a
member in the past three years. This discount is also available on our website, www.mbsi.org.
Current MBSI members who sponsor a new member will receive a $5 discount off their next year’s
MBSI membership renewal for each sponsorship. Attach a copy of the discount voucher below to a
copy of the membership application form on Page 4 of this issue of Mechanical Music. Place your
name as ÒsponsorÓ on the application form.
Please make copies of these forms as needed and send the completed forms with checks to the MBSI
administrator at the address listed below.
Dues Voucher Ð$15
New U.S. members may join MBSI for one year at $45 (instead
of $60); Canadians $55 (instead of $70; and, other International
members at $60 (instead of $75). This certicate must accom-
pany payment and a copy of the completed membership
application from page 4 of this issue of Mechanical Music.
New Member Name(s):
Authorized by MBSI Administrator
NEW MEMBER
GIFT CERTIFICATE
New members are those who have never been members of MBSI
or those who have not been members for three years prior to
submission of this voucher.
New members are those who have never
been members of MBSI or those who have
not been members for three years prior to
submission of this certicate.
Gift Membership Name
Sponsor
Address, City, State, ZIP
Phone Email
Please mail this form together with your check made payable to ÒMBSIÓ to the MBSI Administrator at the address listed
above. Memberships are $45 for U.S. residents, $55 for Canadian residents, and $60 for other International residents.
SPECIAL OFFER: Purchase one or more rst-year MBSI gift
memberships at $45 each U.S., $55 Canadian, or $60 other Interna-
tional and you will receive $5 off your next year’s MBSI membership
renewal for each “New Member” gift.
.
.
..
¨.
(INTERNATIONAL)
ORGANIZED IN 1949
DEVOTED TO ALL MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
.
.
..
¨.
(INTERNATIONAL)
ORGANIZED IN 1949
DEVOTED TO ALL MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Musical Box Society International
P.O. Box 10196
Springeld, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax: (417) 886-8839
Musical Box Society International
P.O. Box 10196
Springeld, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax: (417) 886-8839
MBSI MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
EACH ONE/REACH ONE NEW MEMBER
MBSI is always interested in increasing its membership and is pleased to offer new members a $15
discount off their rst year’s membership. You are considered a new member if you have not been a
member in the past three years. This discount is also available on our website, www.mbsi.org.
Current MBSI members who sponsor a new member will receive a $5 discount off their next year’s
MBSI membership renewal for each sponsorship. Attach a copy of the discount voucher below to a
copy of the membership application form on Page 4 of this issue of Mechanical Music. Place your
name as ÒsponsorÓ on the application form.
Please make copies of these forms as needed and send the completed forms with checks to the MBSI
administrator at the address listed below.
Dues Voucher Ð$15
New U.S. members may join MBSI for one year at $45 (instead
of $60); Canadians $55 (instead of $70; and, other International
members at $60 (instead of $75). This certicate must accom-
pany payment and a copy of the completed membership
application from page 4 of this issue of Mechanical Music.
New Member Name(s):
Authorized by MBSI Administrator
NEW MEMBER
GIFT CERTIFICATE
New members are those who have never been members of MBSI
or those who have not been members for three years prior to
submission of this voucher.
New members are those who have never
been members of MBSI or those who have
not been members for three years prior to
submission of this certicate.
Gift Membership Name
Sponsor
Address, City, State, ZIP
Phone Email
Please mail this form together with your check made payable to ÒMBSIÓ to the MBSI Administrator at the address listed
above. Memberships are $45 for U.S. residents, $55 for Canadian residents, and $60 for other International residents.
SPECIAL OFFER: Purchase one or more rst-year MBSI gift
memberships at $45 each U.S., $55 Canadian, or $60 other Interna-
tional and you will receive $5 off your next year’s MBSI membership
renewal for each “New Member” gift.
EditorÕs Notes MAILING ADDRESS
MBSI Editorial/Advertising
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
EMAIL ADDRESS
editor@mbsi.org
PHONE
(253) 228-1634
EditorÕs Notes MAILING ADDRESS
MBSI Editorial/Advertising
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
EMAIL ADDRESS
editor@mbsi.org
PHONE
(253) 228-1634
By Russell Kasselman
MBSI Editor/Publisher
When this issue of Mechanical
Music reaches you, I will be finishing
nearly two months of hunkering down
at home and avoiding other people to
stay healthy. If you, like me, have spent
far too much time staring at screens
on computers, phones and televisions
trying to stay sane and keep up with
the latest news and information, I
hope you will truly appreciate the
wonderful feel of the paper in your
hands and spend some time enjoying
the great content printed on it. Hopefully
you will not need to use it later in
lieu of toilet paper.
Matt Jaro leads us off in his regular
Nickel Notes column, describing a
process for keeping your roll collection
organized in a database. It may
sound a bit technical at first, but Matt
does a masterful job at breaking down
the steps and the end result can help
KUEHN | From Page 5
to share your musical treasures with
others via electronic media.
The member instrument gallery
on our website (mbsi.org) could use
your help. There must be more than
one automata and one phonograph
out there that is worth sharing. Other
categories have very limited numbers
of instruments also, for example only
three cylinder musical boxes, and only
two time pieces. Why not take some
photos of your prize instruments,
audio recordings would be very
helpful also, and upload them to our
website? That way we can all enjoy
seeing and hearing your treasures
without leaving our homes. Videos
are welcomed also. Check with Rick
Swaney or Russell Kasselman who
can provide assistance.
I hope you enjoy reading the articles
in this issue and that they provide
a welcome diversion to your daily,
perhaps stressful, routine.
you enjoy your collection even more
than you already do.
David Worrall continues his study
of sacred music pinned on cylinder
boxes, analyzing the frequency of
tunes and composers by querying
Arthur CunliffeÕs cylinder music box
register that contains details about
more than 11,000 music boxes. ItÕs
particularly interesting to hear what
he finds in regards to whether upbeat
religious music is more popular than
more somber tunes.
Jay Carsman then shares his experience
repairing a Regina Corona disc
changer that kept dropping discs.
Beautiful photographs and descriptive
text will give you a much deeper
insight into the inner workings of his
machine.
Dr. Albert Lštz follows with detailed
information about the process used to
mass produce relief decorated cases
for Regina, Symphonion and Berliner
Musikinstrumenten-Fabrik disc boxes.
The article builds on information first
presented by Steve Boehck in a 2018
article about these types of music box
cases.
Dr. Robert Penna takes us through
the music of World War I and the
importance of the player piano as a
communication tool during this time
of strife. I found it fascinating to see
the music and message change with
the rise and fall of wartime society.
Harold Wade chimes in with a quick
introduction to a pair of Regina bell
disc boxes that play modified discs
designed to ding one or more of the 12
bells in the box as they rotate.
MBSI Vice President Dave Corkrum
then takes us with him for a tour of
the fantastic Bob and Judy Burtscher
collection. The photos are wonderful
and IÕm fairly certain that when this
pandemic crisis is over, we will hear
some lobbying in the Southern California
Chapter to hold a meeting at the
BurtscherÕs home so more people can
see the collection in person.
Also, donÕt forget to browse the
latest from our advertisers. Seems
thereÕs still plenty of automatic music
out there to tickle your fancy and
round out your collection.
Stay safe and healthy, and keep
these great articles coming!
Welcome new members!
February 2020 March 2020
Stuart Perry James & Abby Parker
Hot Springs, AR Holland, OH
John & Carol Turbek Sponsor: Harold Wade
Lexington, KY Hillary Frank
Karl Hansen Phoenix, AZ
Norwich, CT Takeshi Ohtomi
Joseph Owens Suginami-Ku, Tokyo Japan
Lake Crystal, MN Phil Bordeleau
John Steinkampe Denver, CO
Yonkers, NY Marion Barstow
Sponsor: William Wineburgh Tustin, CA
Kent Sigmon
Claremont, NC
Judith Kohlhaasn
El Paso, TX
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 7
Minutes of the 2020
Mid-year Trustee Meeting
Minutes of the mid-year TrusteesÕ meeting,
March 13, 2020 Santa Ana, CA with most
members attending via teleconference
These minutes will become official when
approved and voted on during the next Board
of TrusteesÕ meeting.
The meeting was convened at
9:02 a.m. in Santa Ana, CA. Those
present were: Tom Kuehn, President
presiding; David Corkrum, Clay Witt,
Ed Cooley, Bob Caletti, Sally Craig,
Wayne Finger, Mary Ellen Myers and
Matt Jaro (nine of nine, a quorum).
Also present was Linda Birkitt, MBSI
Recording Secretary. The meeting was
held via teleconference.
1. The minutes of the Aug. 27,
2019, Annual Trustee Meeting were
reviewed. Sally Craig noted that in
paragraph two, Page 1 that Mary PollockÕs
name was misspelled as Mary,
not Marry. Trustee Witt moved, with
second by Sally Craig, to approve the
minutes with the spelling correction.
There being no other corrections,
deletions or additions, the motion
passed.
2. Trustee Corkrum presented the
current board actions for review. The
action items under XIV, Meetings,
and XIX, Special Exhibits, had been
completed and were removed from
the list. The report was received as
presented.
3. Vice President Corkrum reviewed
the duties of his position which
include: awards presentations,
creation of a slate of nominees as
required at the Mid-year Trustees
Meeting, filing the Annual Report from
MBSI to the Board of Regents of the
University of New York prior to Jul. 1,
2020, advising and keeping informed
of chapter activities and reviewing
bylaws and policies and procedures
as required. Award nominees will be
discussed in closed session and will
be presented at the 2020 MBSI Annual
Meeting in Redwood City, CA. The
report was received as presented.
4. The MBSI AdministratorÕs report
was presented by President Kuehn.
Current MBSI membership as of Dec.
31, 2019, was 1,079 and as of Feb. 29,
2020, it was 1,152. Of the 71 new memberships
for 2019, 66 percent were
generated by the website. The Gift
Membership/Sponsor program that
began in July 2008 brought in five gift
memberships for the year 2019. Any
person who joined MBSI via the inter-
net received a $15 discount and 47
new members joined in this manner.
The report was received as presented.
5. Trustee Cooley presented the
Audit Committee report. The societyÕs
annual financial statements were
found to follow New York statutes
and regulations which govern MBSI.
Year ending Dec. 31, 2018, reports
were received as following acceptable
accounting practices used in America,
per Cinda L. Rodgers, CPA of Springfield,
MO. A contract extension was
offered to Ms. Rodgers which she
accepted.
All sales are inventoried by Jacque
Beeman. However, the Compilation
Report is not yet available. Revenue
numbers will be determined after
which an audit will be executed.
MBSI new membership revenues
for 2018 were $74,771. Using 2019
membership data (87.6 percent
U.S., 1.91 percent Canada, and 10.42
percent Other International), the
total estimated revenue given these
assumptions would be $75,645. The
$874.00 difference is approximately
1.6 percent and is considered acceptable
variance. As of Feb. 24, 2020,
there are five outstanding Conflict Of
Interest statements. The report was
received as presented.
6. The Marketing Committee report
was presented by Judy Caletti, committee
member. The committee is
testing the membership certificate
program which allows a purchaser of
Mechanical Music at an auction to join
MBSI for one year gratis. Certificates
have been sent to two additional
auction houses. Website changes
will drive more traffic to MBSI. Bob
Taylor posted segments of Marvels
of Mechanical Music on YouTube and
he will include our website address in
his segments. A new, short MBSI promotional
video will be developed to
introduce MBSI and its benefits. The
committee will submit information to
the Mechanical Music Digest monthly
for MBSI promotion. A new welcome
process and revised welcome packet
is in the works, which Russell Kasselman
will format. This project will add
an increase to the Marketing Budget
of $750. The committee met monthly
via teleconferencing as well as having
the Automatic Musical Instrument
CollectorsÕ Association (AMICA) and
MBSI working together on events. The
report was received as presented.
7. Chair Matt Jaro presented the
Meeting Committee report. He stated
that 205 people attended the 70th
MBSI Annual Meeting hosted by the
National Capital Chapter in Rockville,
MD. From that meeting a net gain of
$9,772.83 was generated and a profit
of $6,856.88 was made.
The 71st MBSI Annual Meeting
will be a joint meeting with AMICA
and MBSI with MBSI taking the
lead. Chairs Sandy Swirsky and Lyle
Merithew will direct the convention
to be held in Redwood City, CA, near
San Francisco. The 72nd MBSI Annual
Meeting is planned to be in Fort Myers,
FL, Aug. 30 through Sept. 4, 2021.
The Meetings Committee has a budget
of $500 to purchase a new video
camera as the old one is no longer
8 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
suitable for filming workshops. The
committee is attempting further joint
activities with AMICA. The report was
received as presented.
8. Chair Sally Craig presented the
Museum Committee report. MBSI
members continue to catalog and
organize space at American Treasure
Tours (A.T.T.) for the Barry Johnson
collection of discs and music boxes.
The donations value cannot be computed
until certain items have been
returned to A.T.T.
MBSI signed a new five-year contract
with the Musical Instrument Museum
(MIM) in December 2019. The items
loaned to MIM are well-cared for and
help promote MBSI and mechanical
music. Information on repair of the
Guitarphone is not yet completed.
Chair Craig reviewed a document
titled Guidelines and Suggestions for
Contributions and Planned Giving
and Testamentary Gifts to be used
by MBSI members. The Trustees are
requested to review this brochure in
the future. The Finance Committee
needs to be involved in this project.
She recommends this project be put
on the agenda for the annual meeting
under old business.
A Welte orchestrion was recently
donated to the National Association
of Watch and Clock Collectors
(NAWACC) and MBSI will try to work
with that group to engender added
publicity. The report was received as
presented.
9. The Nominating Committee
report was presented by member Judy
Caletti. At the conclusion of the 2020
MBSI Annual Meeting, membership of
the Nominating Committee will be:
¥ Dan Wilson, Chair;
¥ Clay Witt, immediate past
president;
¥ Bob Caletti, Trustee;
¥ A trustee to be determined to
replace Sally Craig;
¥ Christine Hopwood or a designee
from the Golden Gate Chapter;
¥ Aaron Muller or a designee from
the Lake Michigan Chapter;
¥ Vernon Gantt or a designee from
the Piedmont Chapter;
¥ and Robin Biggins or designee
from the Southern California
Chapter.
The Nominating Committee respectively
submits the following slate of
officers and trustees for approval at
the 2020 MBSI Annual Meeting: Vice
President David Corkrum to serve a
second, one-year term; Dave Calendine
to serve a first four-year term as
trustee; treasurer Ed Kozak to serve
another one-year term; Recording Secretary
Linda Birkitt to serve another
one-year term. All nominees agreed
to accept their positions. A motion
to approve the recommended slate
of officers and trustees was made by
Trustee Jaro and seconded by Trustee
Cooley. The motion carried.
President Kuehn stated that he
would appoint a trustee to the Nominating
Committee. The report was
received as presented.
10. Acting Chair Mary Ellen Myers
presented the Special Exhibits report.
All chapter chairs and current or
provisional committee members have
been contacted regarding public outreach
efforts.
Mid-America Chapter member Robert
Ebert staged a Sights and Sounds
of Euclid Beach Park event Sept. 29,
2019, in Euclid Beach Park in Cleveland,
OH. In this family-oriented park,
attendees were treated to band organs
and organ grinder organs.
Southern California Chapter
member Don Caine and Chair Robin
Biggins presented a program at the
Banning Museum in Wilmington, CA,
for volunteers and docents at the
museum featuring all things Victorian.
Emphasis was placed on Victorian
music boxes and how they evolved
between 1839 and 1901. A temporary
exhibit was planned at the museum
for September 2019, but it has been
postponed for a later date.
Lake Michigan Chapter member
Aaron Muller converted his personal
collection into a public display to raise
awareness of his hobby thorough
direct interactions with the instruments.
Additionally, he produced a
video tour of his special exhibit titled
ÒMini Museum of Automatic and
Mechanical Musical Instruments from
the Turn of the Century.Ó The link is
http://www.barringtonresale.com.
Golden Gate Chapter member David
Corkrum noted that his chapter is
planning a public display as part of the
2020 MBSI Annual Meeting.
Southeast Chapter member Jack
Hostetler held the 7th annual Christ-
mas/Holiday exhibit in The Villages,
FL, from Dec. 13-14, 2019. Three
homemade automata were featured.
Only between 300-400 attendees were
present due to a date conflict with The
Villages Christmas Parade.
Attendees at these public events
appear to want to know how it all
works, so developing teaching tools is
a valuable asset.
Dave Beck has designed a mini
Òshow and touchÓ presentation for
hands-on education for the public.
National Capital member Terry
Bender provided helpful information
on how to conduct a successful organ
rally. He has volunteered to serve as
an adviser for the Special Exhibits
Committee.
Chair Myers asked Trustee Jaro to
suggest a member from the National
Capital Chapter to serve on the Special
Exhibits Committee. In order for
all chapters to be represented on the
committee, members are needed from
the Sunbelt and Snowbelt chapters.
Each committee member will have the
opportunity to share their chapterÕs
outreach efforts in the journal, pending
the editorÕs approval. The report
was received as presented.
11. Chair Bob Caletti presented the
Publication Committee report. Per
Trustee Jaro, Russell Kasselman is
doing a fantastic job on the journal as
editor/publisher. He adds pictures and
graphics on his own without compensation.
Russell agreed to continue his
contract for three more years at the
same compensation rate.
To increase advertising revenues,
it was proposed that we offer to put
the display ads on our website at no
additional cost.
Terry Smythe continues to scan
books. One consideration of an online
lending library would be ramifications
of copyrights. The trustees asked the
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 9
Publications Committee to investigate.
Trustee Jaro stated that if a
copyright were renewed, it is then not
in the public domain.
The report was received as
presented.
12. Trustee Caletti presented the
editorÕs report. The average revenue
increased in an upward direction by
21.23 percent between March and
April of 2019 through March and April
of 2020. A volunteer is being sought
to function as an asset database
manager. This person would use the
MBSI website to update the status
of all the societyÕs instruments on a
regular basis, post photos and record
any moving of instruments from place
to place. The program is ready for the
Museum Committee to manage.
The online classified ad form needs
to be updated and there are requests
to post short summaries of articles
appearing in the journal on the website
with links to the membership benefit
page in order to entice more people to
join the society.
Trustee Craig noted that in the current
Directory of Members, Museums
and Dealers (2018-2019), not all museums
have the specific state listed,
although the zip code is indicated. The
report was received as presented.
13. Trustee Caletti presented the
Website Subcommittee report. Eight
workshops were recorded at the
2019 MBSI Annual Meeting which are
now part of the website video library.
The convention trailer for the 2020
joint MBSI-AMICA meeting has been
uploaded to YouTube. A language
selection menu by a free WordPress
plugin is now available in the upper
right-hand corner of the website. After
selecting the desired language, all
subsequent material on the site will
be in the selected language. The automated
translation system works well
except when using English idioms.
There is a superior translation tool
with improved translation function,
but it costs $18 per month. Chair
Swaney recommends trying the free
Wordpress plugin for a while before
considering an upgrade.
Chair Swaney and Russell have
investigated adding custom ringtones
for download on the website, but
they found it not practical to use.
Custom ringtones for an iPhone can
be obtained from the Apple store with
an app called Zedge with music box
ringtones.
The ads from the print version of the
journal can be viewed on the website.
A link to the ads is displayed on the
publications page under the more
option. Approximately 100 website
views occur daily. The total number
of views is currently 159,393. The
MBSI Facebook Forum is now at 95
members, having doubled in the last
six months. The Facebook page has
more than 600 likes and followers.
Alison Biden is assisting with identifying
music boxes for visitors to the
site. Chair Swaney is requesting an
increase in the Website Subcommittee
budget to $1,700 to cover new tasks
carried out by Russell Kasselman. The
report was received as presented
14. The Endowment Committee
Report was presented by Ed Kozak.
Our accounting firm has issued
reports for the end of the year. The
Endowment Committee Fund balance
is $155,505 with an increase of $2,340
which came from donations. As of
Dec. 31, 2019, the investment of the
portfolio funds is composed of two
CDs totaling $152,000 which matures
as follows: 2020 Ð $122,000 and 2021
Ð $30,000. The fund also has a money
market account with a balance of
$7,717 as of Dec. 31, 2019.
B. Bronson, committee member,
received a request from the Herschell
Carousel Factory Museum for a
donation to support their endowment
fund. There was no monetary amount
indicated in their request. B. Bronson
suggested a figure of $15,000. Three
of the five Endowment Committee
members favored this request. Much
discussion took place. Trustee Clay
recommended that we put off further
consideration of this request until the
annual meeting. That would give us
time to ascertain from the Herschell
Museum how and where their endowment
money is spent. Trustee Cooley
questioned if there is some item the
museum needed that MBSI could
fund. Trustee Witt stated that usually
the trustees go along with the Endowment
Committee recommendations,
but further study needs to be done.
A lesser amount for the donation was
discussed. Additionally, Trustee Myers
suggested that other organizations
(the Carousel Organ Association of
America, AMICA, and/or the National
Carousel Association) come together
to create a $15,000 donation. Trustee
Witt moved to table this issue until the
next trustees meeting. Trustee Craig
seconded the motion. The motion
carried. President Kuehn asked the
Endowment Committee to obtain
more information on this request prior
to the annual meeting. Chair Kozak
noted that the committee would do
whatever the trustees choose to do
with this request. The report was
received as presented.
15. Ed Kozak presented the Finance
Committee report.
The total balance for MBSI increased
by $22,208 in 2019 compared to
$30,545 in 2018. The dues revenues
continue to decline from $78,583 in
2018 to $74,771 in 2019. Convention
income was $84,530 compared to
$69,012 in 2018. The 2019 convention
income exceeded expenses which
were $78,442. Publishing revenues
of $17,115.00 were less in 2019 as
compared to $21,835 in 2018. Publishing
expenses were $69,193 in
2019 as compared to $74,603 in 2018.
Accounting, tax preparation, and
administrative expenses total $31,357
in 2019 compared to $31,229 in 2018.
The society continues its investment
laddering program. Non-endowment
CDs and money market deposits total
$526,000 and $544,000, respectively.
On Dec. 31, 2019, the maturation of the
CDs were as follows: 2020 Ð $82,000;
2021 Ð $174,000; 2022 Ð $200,000; 2023
Ð $70,000. Investments also include a
short-term bond fund totaling $15,000
with an average maturity of less than
one year. Prior to the mid-year meeting,
the 2020 budget which had been
approved at the annual meeting in
August 2019, was re-assessed by the
committee members and the trustees
and no changes were evident. As of
Dec. 31, 2019, there were temporarily
10 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
restricted assets of $164,274. MBSIÕs
policies and procedures state that
they will provide up to $15,000 in
seed money for future annual meetings.
Dues revenues, however, have
declined which may hinder operations.
A motion to increase the Marketing
CommitteeÕs budget by $750 and to
increase the Website SubcommitteeÕs
budget to $1,700 was made by Trustee
Witt and seconded by Trustee Craig.
The motion carried. The amended
budget for 2019-2020 was approved
with the addition of an increase of the
Marketing CommitteeÕs budget of $750
and the Website SubcommitteeÕs budget
to $1,700. The report was received
as presented.
16. The MBSI Document Translations
Committee report was presented
by Chair Jaro.
Because of the societyÕs international
status, MBSI is in need of
translations of our most commonly
used forms. Currently, we have translations
in French, German, Japanese,
and Italian. The following persons
were involved in the translations: Matt
Jaro, David Corkrum, Bob Caletti,
Michel Tremouille, Peter Both and
Taizo Murakami. The forms that have
been translated are as follows: renewal
forms, renewal reminders, viewing
etiquette, post card reminders, group
directors, goods and services forms,
and thank you notes.
Jacque Beeman corrects the expiration
date on the membership forms
and sends out all translated forms.
Trustee Finger made a motion for
Jacque to use all corrected translated
forms by next April. Trustee Cooley
seconded. The motion carried. The
Document Translations Committee
report was received as presented.
17. President Kuehn presented a
report covering an Application for a
Chapter Charter in Japan and Related
Issues.
The Lake Michigan Chapter Charter
application form was used as a
template for the Japanese Chapter
Charter application form that was
translated into Japanese. A hard copy
of the completed and signed charter
application was mailed to President
Kuehn and an electronic copy was
sent that was distributed to members
of the board. The name of the new
chapter is Japan Chapter and the four
Pro Tem officers are listed as:
¥ Sachiya Sasaki, Chair Pro Tem;
¥ Naoki Shibata, Vice Chair Pro
Tem;
¥ Horoshi Ohkawa, Secretary Pro
Tem;
¥ Makiko Watanabe, Treasurer Pro
Tem.
The first meeting is scheduled to be
held before the end of July 2020 and
the new bylaws will be developed and
submitted by Dec. 31, 2020. Trustee
Witt moved to accept the Japanese
petition for a new chapter and Trustee
Finger seconded the motion. The
motion carried unanimously.
President Kuehn stated the society
now needs to have assets from
the former Japanese International
Chapter (JIC) transferred to the new
Japan Chapter. Four original signed
charters will be made with signatures
of the officers of MBSI. The four
originals will be sent as follows: New
Japan Chapter, President Kuehn, Vice
President Corkrum and Recording
Secretary Birkitt for inclusion in the
MBSI records. The former JIC has been
dissolved and the new Japan Chapter
takes its place. President Kuehn will
soon draft a letter to Sachiya Sasaki
as President Pro Tem of the Japan
Chapter acknowledging the approval
of the application. He also will request
that the chapter develop its bylaws
and submit them to the board by Dec.
31, 2020.
18. President Kuehn proposed the
appointment of Mary Ellen Myers as
chair of the Special Exhibits Committee.
A motion to name Mary Ellen
Myers Chair of the Special Exhibits
Committee was made by Trustee Witt
and seconded by Trustee Finger. The
motion carried unanimously
19. Discussion about potential
changes to the annual meeting was
brought up by Meetings Committee
Chair Jaro.
The Hotel Pullman cancellation
charge increases the closer it gets to
the actual date of the annual meeting.
The society will still have to pay
something if it cancels the meeting.
No one knows for sure how this event
will shake out. The next increase in
cancellation fee comes 90 days prior
to the meeting. That day is Jun. 2,
2020. The next deposit is due May
31, 2020. The society needs to make
a final decision about the future of
the event before May 31. MBSI will
give a full refund to registrants if it
cancels the event. On Friday, May 22,
the trustees and officers will initiate a
teleconference call to determine if the
society will cancel or not.
20. A discussion of Barry Johnson
donation to the society was held.
Many of the items donated by Barry
Johnson to MBSI were removed
from his home and moved to the
MBSI museum in Pennsylvania last
summer but not everything could be
moved at that time. The remaining
items were subsequently removed
and stored nearby. A motion was
made by Trustee Finger and seconded
by Trustee Cooley to allow up to 36
months for the remaining items to be
moved to the MBSI museum location.
The motion carried.
21. A motion was made by Trustee
Craig to adjourn the meeting which
was seconded by Trustee Finger. The
meeting concluded at 3:10 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted, Linda Birkitt,
Recording Secretary April 6, 2020
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 11
Nickel Notes
By Matthew Jaro
Music Roll Database Design and Implementation
I have written many times about the
importance of preserving historical
information in the area of mechanical
music. As we get further from the
era when the music machines we all
love were made, the more difficult
information compilation becomes.
Comprehensive roll catalogs, called
rollographies, are important sources
of information. Just as important is
the method used to contain the information.
This method determines oneÕs
ability to distinguish recut rolls from
originals, to control proliferation of
duplicate entries due to misspelling,
to provide an easy query capability
and to be able to distinguish multiple
songs with the same title and multiple
rolls with the same number.
The importance of roll databases
can be seen by scanning Mechanical
Music Digest (MMD) entries from
any period. There are frequent pleas
to identify rolls given the names of a
few songs or sound files containing
unknown songs. I can generally identify
the roll given this information.
An exception would be early rolls or
World War I era rolls or ethnic rolls
where the songs are so obscure that
listening to them would not shed any
light as to their titles.
In this column, I will present
technical information meant to be a
guide for those readers who want to
construct databases or are curious
as to the motivation for using a relational
database system to house the
roll information. I will discuss my
database of nickelodeon rolls. I have
limited my activities to type A, G, 4X,
O and H rolls. If anyone wants to make
a database of other roll types (for
example, Link rolls would be nice),
I would be glad to set them up with
a new database that would work for
them. If anyone wants a copy of my
database, I would be glad to give it
to them. They would need Microsoft
Access to run it, however. ÒAccessÓ
is part of the professional version of
Microsoft Office, or it can be obtained
separately for less than $100.
The database is designed to be
very easy to use for people with no
technical knowledge of databases. If
you are not interested in the technical
design considerations, you can skip
any sections that are too technical.
Manual Database
Figure 1 shows an early roll
Òdatabase.Ó This information was
painstakingly compiled by Alan Light-
cap and Art Reblitz with long visits
Figure 1: An early roll ÒdatabaseÓ comprised of index cards listing the name of a roll
maker, roll number, and tunes on the roll.
to the New York Public Library. The
entries are typed on index cards with
one roll per card. ÒCORCÓ stands for
the Clark Orchestral Roll Company.
These entries are basically duplicates
of the roll label, indicating the roll
company, roll number and roll title,
selection number, name and song type
for all selections on the roll. Computers
werenÕt readily available when this
information was compiled. A listing
was created by copying the index cards
on a page after arranging the cards so
that multiple cards fit on a page.
When insertions were made, the
cards had to be arranged again to
make a new listing. Often, insertions
were just added at the end to make life
easier. A drawback to this design is that
it is impossible to form queries. For
example, to look up a particular song,
the unfortunate person making the
query has to scan all the entries. Adding
12 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
Figure 2: A spreadsheet database. Note the repeated data in several columns.
to this problem is the fact the titles are
not unique, but are duplicated. What
songs are actually on the rolls?
Spreadsheet Database
Many people are tempted to use a
spreadsheet program, like Microsoft
Excel, to create a roll database. Figure
2 shows a spreadsheet containing
basically the same information as
the cards. You generally make a
spreadsheet with all rows containing
identical information. Consequently,
you will notice that the roll company
(CORC) and the roll number (909) are
repeated on each row. If you donÕt do
this, it is difficult to print all information
for a particular roll. Notice that
the roll name is not included, because
it would either have to be repeated
10 times or a special row would be
required.
One of the major problems with
this type of structure is misspellings.
Notice that the song ÒDear, On a Night
Like ThisÓ has an error in the word
ÒNight.Ó This would mean that a query
using the proper spelling of the word
night while looking for this song title
would not find this instance. Similarly,
if you forgot to include the comma and
simply searched for ÒDear On a Night
Like This,Ó the query would, again, not
match. You can see the compounding
set of problems with this approach.
The Relational Data Model
Fortunately for us, if we use modern
design techniques to construct
a database it will have none of the
problems inherent in the above-mentioned
schemes. Microsoft Access is a
complete relational database system.
The concept of a relational database
splits information into one or more
tables. Superficially, a table looks just
like a spreadsheet, with rows and columns.
These tables can be related to
each other. Further, a table should not
contain a lot of redundant information.
This is called normalization. The
roll spreadsheet from Figure 2 is an
un-normalized table, because so much
information is repeated for every row.
The rows of a table are the individual
entries. For example, in a song table,
each row would be a separate song.
The same song would not be repeated.
The columns of a table are the data
items collected. For example, a song
table might have a title column, a publication
year column, and references
to other tables, such as song-type and
composer.
The Relationships
Figure 3 shows the relationships
in my roll database. Each rectangle
is a separate table. The columns of
the table are listed below the table
name. I name all tables beginning with
ÒtblÓ to distinguish tables from other
objects. The key symbol below the
title indicates the keys to the table.
Each table row must be uniquely identified.
Generally, this is accomplished
by generating a unique sequence
number. The keys are used to navigate
from one table to another. The lines
represent the relationship between
two tables. The infinity sign is used to
indicate a many-to-one relationship.
For example, on the relationship
Figure 3:
Relationships
between tables
of data stored in
a relational data-
base system.
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 13
Figure 4: A screencapture of several rows in the roll table listing year the roll was produced, manufacture name, and more.
between manufacturer (tblMfg) and
rolls (tblRolls), the line has a Ò1Ó by
the manufacturer and an infinity symbol
by the roll. Consequently, there is
a one-to-many relationship between
manufacturer and roll Ð-or, to state
it differently, one manufacturer can
make many rolls.
The roll table (tblRolls) is the central
table. The RollID is the key. This
is just a sequential number applied to
each row. These rows represent rolls.
Each row is one roll. The RollType is
the kind of roll. Currently, A, G, 4X, O
and H rolls are supported. The prefix is
used for rolls with a special prefix (like
SR for Special Request). The numeric
part of the roll number follows. The
suffix is used to distinguish multiple
rolls from the same manufacturer
with the same number. The RollMfg
is a link to the manufacturer of the
roll. The RollCompleteID contains the
entire roll number including prefixes
and suffixes. This is mainly used for
displaying the roll information. The
date is the year the roll first appeared.
The RollAuth is the source for the
information about this roll and Roll-
Notes can contain any miscellaneous
information about the roll. Figure 4
shows several rows in the roll table.
The manufacturer name is expanded
to show the actual name instead of the
sequence number. The first column is
the RollID, followed by the roll type,
prefix, roll number, manufacturer,
complete number, roll title, roll year
and authority. Thus, the first entry is
for an A roll, Automatic SR-35, entitled
ÒS.R. DeanÕs Novelty Store,Ó first
appearing in 1925.
There is a many-to-many relationship
between rolls and songs. A roll
has many songs and a song can be on
many rolls. The table tblRollSong is
used to capture this relationship. This
is called a junction table. Each row on
this table is a selection on the roll. It is
linked to both the roll and song tables.
The unique key is a combination of the
roll key and the song key. The table
contains the selection number (usually
10 selections per roll) a suffix,
if there are medleys of songs and an
arranger ID, if the arranger is known.
There is only one entry in the song
table for each unique song. Consequently,
a query such as Òfind all rolls
with this songÓ is easy and automatic.
The tblRollSong table provides the
navigation between songs and rolls.
The song alias table is used if there
are multiple names for the same song.
For example, ÒFive Foot TwoÓ and
ÒHas Anybody Seen My GalÓ are the
same song. A composer can write
many songs. A query such as, Òshow
me all rolls with songs by Irving BerlinÓ
is easy.
Recut Rolls
A goal for this database is to capture
information about all original rolls and
all recut rolls. A recut roll is defined
to be a reproduction of an earlier
issued roll. If a manufacturer makes a
composite roll consisting of previous-
ly-issued material, then that roll is an
original roll because it did not previously
exist in that form. A recut can
have completely different numbers
than the original. Ed Freyer would
often make up a number if he didnÕt
know the number of the original. The
box label may indicate information in
error about the original. For example,
saying a roll was an Automatic Roll
instead of a Clark roll. Each tblRecuts
entry references an entry in the roll
table. Recuts generally have different
manufacturers than the original.
The Private Tables
It is important to keep track of the
rolls you have in your personal collection.
The table tblPrivateOrig keeps
track of any original rolls in your
collection and tblPrivateRecut keeps
track of any recuts in the collection.
Included are box and roll conditions.
Any other information could be added
to these tables, such as price paid,
when acquired, and where acquired.
The database can be used by other
parties simply by deleting all entries
Figure 5: This image shows the end-user interface that makes it easy to find infor-
mation in the database with text fields and dropdown menus.
14 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
in the private tables. There are many
important queries that can be made.
For example, ÒDo I have a copy of the
song Blue Skies?Ó
Ease of Use
The database was specifically
designed to be used by people with no
technical background. A key objective
was to reduce the possibility of duplicate
entries by using lists instead of
typing. For example, rolls can be identified
by typing the numeric portion
of the roll number only and choosing
which roll is desired. See Figure 5. The
user types in 101 and a dropdown list
appears with all rolls having the term
Ò101.Ó The user selects the desired roll
from the list and a list of songs is displayed
so that the user can verify that
this is the right roll. The user doesnÕt
have to remember the prefixes or
suffixes or exact company. For example,
the earliest rolls were labeled
ÒSeeburgÓ and not ÒAutomatic.Ó The
Jazzola and Play-Rite rolls are newly-
issued composites.
Songs are displayed in a similar
manner to the roll numbers. As you
type, the list of songs converges on
the song you want. For example, type
ÒBÓ and you get songs starting with
the letter ÒB,Ó then Òlue,Ó gets you
songs starting with ÒBlue,Ó etc., This is
illustrated in Figure 6. The user typed
ÒblueÓ in the Òsong boxÓ and the list
shown drops down. Notice that there
are two songs named ÒBlue Bird.Ó The
user can select the one wanted. Figure
7 shows what happens if you select
ÒBlue Bird (1916).Ó You can see that
it appears on a number of rolls. For
example, ÒAutomatic A-460 selection
5Ó contains the song. You can see that
the song selected was written by Al
Piantadosi in 1916 and itÕs a waltz. I
can also see if this song is in my private
collection.
When the user starts the database
application, there are only three
buttons on the screen: Queries,
Transactions and Reports. If you click
on Transactions, you see the screen
shown in Figure 8.
Transactions
All functions are selected by clicking
on buttons. Figure 8 shows all the
Figure 6: This end-user interface shows the search capability of the database.
Figure 7: This information is displayed after a search for ÒBlue Bird (1916).Ó
Figure 8: These buttons allow a user to manage data stored in the database.
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 15
transaction choices. When a roll is
added, the user enters the information
common to the entire roll (such
as title), and then each selection is
entered. The user can check to see if a
song is already registered and if not, a
new song and maybe a new composer
can be registered without leaving the
selection entry process.
One thing that happens occasionally
is for a song to be associated with a
number of selections, and then further
information reveals that some of the
selections should not have been associated
with that song. Figure 9 shows
an example where we chose to edit
ÒBlue Bird (1916)Ó because some of
the selections should have used ÒBlue
Bird (1917).Ó The user can change
the roll and selection for this song,
or change the song for this selection.
All related information is shown. This
is probably one of the most complex
activities and yet it is not too convoluted.
Changing the song in the middle
screen, changes the display below and
changing the roll changes the display
above. Thus, any song can be associated
with any selection.
Queries
There are two types of queries, one
for a single roll (given a roll number of
an original or a recut, display information
about the roll and answer whether
the user has the roll or not) and a query
for groups of rolls (see Figure 10). You
can see that this covers most of what a
person may want to see. Users can perform
additional queries if so desired.
The Rolls By Song option is useful
for identifying rolls given one or more
songs. The position of the song in the
roll provides an important clue.
Reports
There are several reports available.
These are generally printed. In my
case, I take the report and make a PDF
file from it, and save it on my mobile
phone. Then, if I am away from home,
I can tell if I have a roll or not. Figure
11 shows a typical report showing
original rolls that I have in my collection.
The condition of the roll and box
are noted as is the first song on the roll
for verification purposes. Figure 12
shows a Master Roll report. The title
line lists information for the whole roll
followed by a list of selections.
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Access is a very powerful
database application. One of the principal
features is referential integrity.
This makes it impossible to delete
a roll without first deleting all the
selections, and makes it impossible to
delete a song if there are references to
it anywhere.
It has features of database applications
that cost many times the amount
that Microsoft charges. The price for
Figure 9: This screen shows all the options a user can select from and change when
the user opts to edit the database record for ÒBlue Bird (1916).Ó
all this power is complexity. This is a
very difficult program to use, requiring
programming on the part of the user.
There is a macro programming language
to control opening forms and to
control what happens when the user
clicks on a button, etc. The end result,
however, of all of this is an application
that can be used by anybody. I have
tried to do this with the Nickelodeon
roll database.
Compiling the Database
There are two separate issues that
must be addressed in order to compile
16 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
Figure 10: Buttons are available to quickly search (query) for commonly used types
of rolls.
Figure 11: This image shows a report listing all the original rolls in the authorÕs pri-
vate collection. It can be easily printed and reviewed away from the computer.
Figure 12: This is another example of a report designed for printing that shows each
roll title followed by the songs on that roll.
a database like this one. The first
involves the contents of the rolls and
the second involves the composers of
the songs. The best source is the roll
catalogs themselves. For example,
there are Seeburg and Automatic
Music roll catalogs which list the roll
numbers and the selections for the
rolls. Composers are not listed. The
dates of the catalogs give the most
important clue as to the composers
and dates of the songs. It is important
to distinguish between songs with
identical titles and different dates
and composers. This happens quite
frequently and different songs should
not be grouped as if they were all the
same song. The following are typical
sources for roll information:
¥ Manufacturer roll catalogs
¥ Trade paper publications (Music
Trade Review, Presto, etc.)
¥ Tune cards for rolls
¥ Roll labels
¥ Recut roll labels and catalogs (but
be careful !!!)
¥ Available listings (like the list
from Alan Lightcap and Art
Reblitz)
¥ Rolls sold on eBay or other
auctions (read the tunes from
pictures of the labels)
¥ Rolls owned by friends or
associates
For the composers of the songs, the
most reliable source is the Catalog
of Copyright Entries issued by the
Library of Congress. One volume is
issued each year. All copyrighted
songs are listed. Access to these volumes
can be obtained for many years
from Google Books. One can download
each volume, but in doing so, the
books become unsearchable. A better
alternative is archive.org. Search for
Òcopyright entries.Ó These files are
searchable and can be downloaded.
Since it is important to perform
searches, I download the book and
perform Optical Character Recognition
on each volume using Adobe Acrobat
Pro and then I create an index to all
volumes. The OCR phase is far from
perfect because the books were not
scanned well originally. It is good
enough, however, if one keeps the
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 17
number of search words to a minimum
and to try different combinations of
search words. Some other sources are:
¥ The Sheet Music Reference and
Price guide (Anne Marie Guiheen)
¥ Ragtime (David A. Jasen)
¥ American Song (The Complete
Musical Theatre Companion)
(Ken Bloom)
¥ LissauerÕs Encyclopedia of
Popular Music in America
(Robert Lissauer)
¥ The Columbia Master Book
Discography (4 vols.) (Tim
Brooks)
¥ Brunswick Records: A Discography
of Recordings) (4 vols.) (Ross
Laird)
¥ The Victor Black Label Discography
(3 vols.) (John R. Bolig)
DonÕt forget the internet. Songs that
contain only common words are more
difficult to find. Be sure to put the
whole title in quotes. Adding a phrase
like ÒSheet MusicÓ often helps. There
are also various music libraries that
show original sheet music. You can
access these by bookmarking a lot of
them and they all have searching capabilities
within the site. Remember that
the restrictive copyright laws enacted
in the United States keeps sheet music
later than 1923 under copyright, so
newer sheet music is a problem. eBay
is a source if you are lucky to find
something you are looking for.
The hardest categories are marches
and waltzes. Many of these have
quickly passed into obscurity and
there are few references to them. ItÕs
really fun when you find one.
If I donÕt know a composer, then
I list the composer as ÒUnknown.Ó
I have a separate report to print all
unknown entries, so that I can try to
fill them in at a later time. DonÕt forget
that the rolls were for popular music,
so the songs are generally composed
near the date of the roll. You can also
eliminate composers for songs published
after the date of the roll.
Finally, there is plenty of work to
be done in the area of roll databases.
Feel free to jump right in. I would be
glad to help anyone who wants to get
started.
Figure 13: An example of what a spreadsheet roll database might look like.
Relational Database Alternatives
Some people may not want to
tackle the complexities of a relational
database for simple collections and
others may not be confident enough to
take on a project like that described
in this article. For those people and
applications, I would suggest using a
spreadsheet program like Microsoft
Excel. Here is a possible simple
design that would work but would
not guarantee lack of duplication and
would not control against misspelled
entries.
Open a new spreadsheet. You will
notice that the columns are labeled
ÒA,B,C, ÉÓ and the rows are numbered
Ò1,2,3ÉÓ. You can change the width of
each column to fit the text you need
to enter. Refer to Figure 2 on Page 13
for an example of this. Notice that the
selections are numbered 1 to 10. Enter
each of the following pieces of data in
separate cells of the spreadsheet on
the same row (each new line below
references one cell of data in a row of
the spreadsheet).
> CORC
> 909
>0
> ÒFlavored with Zip and PepÓ
Then move to the next row down
and follow the same pattern:
> CORC
> 909
>1
> ÒAmong My SouvenirsÓ
> fox-trot
The next row would contain:
> CORC
> 909
>2
> ÒMy DaddyÓ
> fox-trot
Now, if you search for a roll within
the spreadsheet, the title of the roll
will appear with all the selections for
that roll. Note that the first row of data
does not have a song type because it is
the title of the roll itself.
You can add additional columns for
more information if you want. For
example, details like Composer and
Publication Date can be added and
only filled in for the song selections.
Leave these columns blank for the
title rows. Columns like Box Condition,
Roll Condition, Date Acquired,
etc., are all properties of the roll and
not the songs. These can be filled in
for selection zero (the roll title) and
left blank for the individual songs on
the roll.
Figure 13 shows this example.
Notice that only the appropriate columns
are filled out and blank lines are
kept for clarity.
Finally, if the song has a separate
composer for lyrics and music, specify
the composer of the music since nickelodeons
donÕt sing lyrics. If there are
multiple composers keep either the
principal composer or the best-known
composer.
DonÕt be afraid to experiment, and
have fun!
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 May-
June 2014 issue of The AMICA Bulletin.
18 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
Sacred Music On
Cylinder Musical Boxes
PART 2: CLASSICAL SACRED MUSIC.
By David Worrall
A dictionary definition of the word
oratorio is, Òa large scale musical composition,
usually on a sacred theme
performed by soloists, chorus and
orchestra without action, scenery or
costumeÓ; of the word opera, Òa large
scale musical composition designed
around a theme, sacred or secular but
to be performed with action, scenery
and costumeÓ; and of the word Mass,
which is Òthe celebration of the
Eucharist or Holy Communion and
sometimes found set to music.Ó
Composers of arias and choruses,
along with their librettists, quite often
turned to the Bible for inspiration,
either as a source of texts or of stories
to which a libretto could be written and
then set to music. Probably the most
well-known example of this practice
which people today would still easily
recognize is George Frideric HandelÕs
oratorio, ÒThe Messiah,Ó in which the
music is set to texts selected by his
librettist, Charles Jennens.
Similarly, music from other, major
classical works found on cylinder
musical boxes came about in this
way; some of these including ÒElijah,Ó
by Mendelssohn, and ÒThe Creation,Ó
by Haydn, are still well-known and
frequently performed. They can be
heard now almost as they were during
the 19th century. Others however, such
as ÒSaint Paul,Ó by Mendelssohn, and
ÒJoshua,Ó by Handel, are much less
frequently performed and so, perhaps
are unfamiliar to most people today.
The major classical works in this
sub-group of sacred music that were
found during the research for this article
are listed in Table 5 (pages 20-21).
Also included are classical sacred airs
of an individual or solo nature that
were identified during the various
searches.
Thoughts and
Background Notes
This series of articles was first published
in 2017-2018 in The Music Box,
the Journal of The Musical Box Society
of Great Britain. It arose from research
prompted by the extracts from Mechanical
Music Digest (www.mmdigest.com).
Originally, it was intended to be short
and so published in one edition of The
Music Box. As the research progressed,
however, the scope gradually increased
to the extent that necessitated publication
in five parts over five consecutive
editions, the scope of each part being
explained in the text of the article itself.
By its nature, such research becomes
outdated as new or additional material
is found on surviving musical boxes that
continue to come to light. The article is
therefor now republished in Mechanical
Music with all changes necessitated by
this new material as of Sept. 30, 2019..
Throughout this article, the use of
the term ÒsacredÓ is used entirely with
reference to the Christian faith and then
in relation to the music identified and
referred to herein.
Part 1, published in the previous
edition of Mechanical Music, gave the
background to the article, defined Sacred
Music, and gave overall statistical details
of the extents to which each of the three
groups of Sacred Music it identified were
to be found on cylinder musical boxes.
Part 2 discusses the results obtained
from more detailed analysis of the first
group, Classical Sacred Music.
Charles Jennens, librettist for George
Frideric HandelÕs work ÒThe Messiah.Ó
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 19
Table 5: Incidence of Items from Classical Works pinned on Musical Boxes.
WORK COMPOSER TYPE INCIDENCE
The Messiah Handel Oratorio 299
The Creation Haydn Oratorio 289
Elijah Mendelssohn Oratorio 215
Judas Maccabeus Handel Oratorio 75
Stabat Mater – Cujus animam Rossini Anthem 75
Israel in Egypt Handel Oratorio 47
Grande Masse in C Minor Mozart Mass 44
Le Devin du Village Rousseau Opera 37
Moses in Egypt Rossini Opera 34
The Lost Chord Sullivan/Kuhe Solo Work 32
Saul Handel Oratorio 26
Theodora Handel Oratorio 19
Athalia Mendelssohn Oratorio 19
Faust Gounod Opera 17
Ave Maria – Meditation sur 1st Prelude de Bach Gounod 14
Saint Paul Mendelssohn Oratorio 8
Samson Handel Oratorio 8
Psalm 132 Setting Handel 8
He Layeth The Beams Handel 7
Jeptha Handel Oratorio 7
The Holy City Maybick [Adams] Solo Work 6
Cantique de Noel Adam O Holy Night 4
Piano Sonata in B Flat Minor Chopin 4
Motteto Splendente te Deus. Mozart 4
Joshua Handel Oratorio 4
Te Deum Jubilate Handel 4
Nazareth Gounod Oratorio 3
Hear My Prayer [Oh For the Wings of a Dove] Mendelssohn 3
The Silver Trumpets Unidentified 3
Missa Solemnis Mass in D, op. 123 Beethoven Missa Solemnis 3
Laudi Spirituali Mediaeval Italian Melody Alta Trinita Beata 2
Hymn of Praise Mendelssohn 2
The Dettingen Te Deum Handel 2
Requiem Masse in D Minor Mozart Mass 2
March of The Israelites Unidentified Oratorio 2
Ave Maria Schubert Ave Maria 2
Subtotal 1330
Unspecified Classical Sacred Classical Airs 54
Total: 35 Major & Individual Works of Sacred Classical Music Total Incidence 1384
20 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
It is not surprising, perhaps, to see to light in the interim that now tip the and so has been included.
the top three in Table 5. What was more scales in favour of ÒThe MessiahÓ Ð for Within this group of Sacred Music
surprising when this research was first the time being. The presence of the overall, 70 individual sacred airs have
published in The Music Box in 2017 work by Chopin in the list might be been identified and found pinned on
was that ÒThe Creation,Ó by Haydn, considered tenuous and questionable cylinder musical boxes; the incidence
rather than ÒThe Messiah,Ó by Handel, but, where found it was part of a full of each is shown in Table 6.
topped the list overall Ð just! Surviving programme of sacred music on each What is surprising here is that
musical boxes have, however, come of the four musical boxes concerned although Table 5 shows ÒThe MessiahÓ
Table 6: Number & Incidence of Classical Sacred Airs.
Air Work Composer Incidence
The Heavens Are Telling – Chorus The Creation Haydn 123
O Rest in The Lord Elijah Mendelssohn 100
With Verdure Clad – GabrielÕs Aria The Creation Haydn 82
In Native Worth & Honour Clad – UrielÕs Aria The Creation Haydn 80
Cujus Animam Stabat Mater Rossini 75
See The Conquering Hero [Also Thine be the Glory] Judas Maccabeus Handel 69
Hallelujah Chorus The Messiah Handel 59
He Shall Feed His Flock The Messiah Handel 56
Thanks be To God Elijah Mendelssohn 55
If With All Your Heart Elijah Mendelssohn 52
The Hailstone Chorus Israel in Egypt Handel 47
RousseauÕs Dream Le Devin du Village Rousseau 37
I Know that My Redeemer Liveth The Messiah Handel 34
MosesÕ Prayer Moses in Egypt Rossini 33
But Thou Didst Not Leave The Messiah Handel 32
The Lost Chord The Lost Chord Sullivan/Kuhe 32
Rejoice Greatly The Messiah Handel 30
Glory to God The Messiah Handel 28
Dead March Saul Handel 26
12th Mass: Gloria & Qui Tollis Grande Masse in C Minor Mozart 21
Unto us A Son in Born The Messiah Handel 19
Angels Ever Bright & Fair Theodora Handel 19
12th Mass: Kyrie Grande Masse in C Minor Mozart 19
War March of The Priests Athalia Mendelssohn 19
Christ est Ressusite [Angels Chorus Act 5] Faust Gounod 16
Pastoral Symphony The Messiah Handel 16
Ave Maria – Meditation sur 1st Prelude de Bach Ave Maria – Meditation sur 1st
Prelude de Bach
Gounod 14
Comfort Ye My people The Messiah Handel 11
Let The Bright Seraphim Samson Handel 8
Lord, Remember David Psalm 132 Setting Handel 8
Jerusalem! O Thou that Killest the Prophets Saint Paul Mendelssohn 8
He Layeth The Beams He Layeth The Beams Handel 7
Waft Her Angels ThroÕ the Skies Jeptha Handel 7
Continued on Page 22
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 21
Air Work Composer Incidence
Then Shall The Righteous Elijah Mendelssohn 6
The Holy City Victorian Ballad Maybrick [Adams] 6
Cantique de Noel O Holy Night Adam 4
Piano Sonata No 2 in B Flat Minor Funeral March Chopin 4
Oh had I JubalÕs Lyre Joshua Handel 4
He Was Despised The Messiah Handel 4
O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion The Messiah Handel 4
Te Deum Jubilate Te Deum Jubilate Handel 4
Motteto Splendente te Deus. Motteto Splendente te Deus. Mozart 4
Missa Solemnis Mass in D, op. 123 Glory to God in the Highest Beethoven 3
Jesus of Nazareth Nazareth Gounod 3
O Lovely Peace Judas Maccabeus Handel 3
Creator spirit The Creation Haydn 3
Oh For the Wings of a Dove Hear My Prayer Mendelssohn 3
The Silver Trumpets The Silver Trumpets Viviani 3
Alta trinita beata Laudi spirituali Mediaeval Italian melody 2
Every Valley Shall be Exalted The Messiah Handel 2
The trumpet shall sound The Messiah Handel 2
ÒAll the HeartÓ [All The Earth] The Dettingen Te Deum Handel 2
Hymn of Praise Hymn of Praise Mendelssohn 2
Lachrimosa Requiem Mass in D Minor Mozart 2
March of the Israelites March of the Israelites Not identified 2
Ave Maria Ave Maria Schubert 2
Faust Anges purs, anges radieux
[MarguariteÕs Aria Act 5]
Gounod 1
Ecco SÕAvanza Judas Maccabeus Handel 1
Sing Unto the Lord Judas Maccabeus Handel 1
Sound An Alarm Judas Maccabeus Handel 1
All we like sheep The Messiah Handel 1
Lift Up Your Heads The Messiah Handel 1
In Splendour Bright – UrielÕs Recitative The Creation Haydn 1
Baal we cry to thee Elijah Mendelssohn 1
Lift thine eyes Elijah Mendelssohn 1
Grande Masse in C Minor Credo Mozart 1
Grande Masse in C Minor Sanctus Mozart 1
Grande masse in c minor Benedictus Mozart 1
Grande Masse in C Minor Agnus Dei Mozart 1
Priests hymn Moses in Egypt Rossini 1
Sub-total – 70 Identified Classical Sacred Airs 1330
Unidentified Titles 54
Total Incidence of Sacred Airs 1384
Note: the entries in cells highlighted in blue in this table are items from works classified by musical authorities as oratorios. Thus, only
musical boxes with programmes comprised entirely from a selection of these truly justify the use of the sobriquet, or generic term Òoratorio box.Ó
22 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
as the most popular work as a whole,
Table 6 reveals that its individual arias
and choruses were far less popular
than those of several other works,
particularly those from ÒThe CreationÓ
and ÒElijah,Ó and by substantial margins.
Indeed, the top entry gives clear
evidence as to why HaydnÕs work,
ÒThe Creation,Ó is so high in the list
in Table 5 Ð the chorus, ÒThe Heavens
are Telling the Glory of God,Ó which
comes from the final section of Part
1 of the oratorio, and celebrates that
point in the biblical story of creation
when light has triumphed over darkness;
it was a clear favourite and by a
substantial margin.
It may be surprising to see items
from operas appearing in the list.
Although the operas themselves may
not immediately be associated with
the Christian faith, individual items
from such works often are. Two examples
of this come from GounodÕs opera
ÒFaust.Ó Gounod was known to have
been an intensely religious person and
whilst ÒFaustÓ deals with the Christian
concept of heaven, hell and the devil
in an otherwise very secular story, in
Act 5 comes Margaruites aria in the
form of a prayer for help, ÒAnges Purs,
Anges RadieuxÓ[ÒAngels Pure, Angels
RadiantÓ] and the Chorus of Angels
ÒChrist est ResussiteÓ [ÒChrist is
RisenÓ] a clear reference to the Easter
Story. Both of these items occur in the
selection listed in Table 6 above.
Similarly, with the item from ÒLe
Devin du Village [The Village Soothsayer],Ó
by J.J. Rousseau, who is
described elsewhere as having been
an 18th century radical free thinker and
an unbelieving philosopher. Although
his one act opera was entirely secular,
the score included one item, a love
serenade ÒDays of absence, sad and
drearyÓ the music for which became
known as ÒRousseauÕs DreamÓ and
was used as a hymn tune, appearing
in many hymn books, sometimes
with name of ÒGreenvilleÓ or of just
ÒRousseau.Ó
Although the majority of music in
this group comes from oratorios and
masses, many instances were found
of standalone compositions. Unsurprisingly,
amongst these is ÒThe Lost
Chord,Ó composed by Sullivan in 1877,
a very popular item over the years and
found included in the musical pro-
grammes of 32 musical boxes made
in the last quarter of the 19th century
by several makers, including Ami
Rivenc, Mermod, and Nicole Freres.
In the case of Freres, the 15 instances
found were all on musical boxes from
their 50000 series, so would have
been made by another maker and
retailed under the Nicole Freres name.
Another equally popular ballad from
late Victorian times is ÒThe Holy City,Ó
composed by Maybrick [Adams]. As
this was not composed until 1892, it
is featured on only six musical boxes
made by makers still active in this
field in the mid-to-late 1890s Ð Cuendet,
Mermod Freres, Charles Ullman
and an unknown, and then only as
the single sacred air in an otherwise
secular programme.
Also in this category, ÒAve Maria,Ó
by Gounod, was found pinned on 14
musical boxes but most interestingly
perhaps, is ÒStabat Mater Ð Cujus
Animam,Ó found to be pinned on no
less than 75 musical boxes. Without
hearing the musical boxes concerned,
however, it is unclear which of two
alternatives this could be. It could be an
arrangement of the ÒCujus Animam,Ó
the second part of RossiniÕs setting
of the 13th century Catholic Hymn
to Mary Ð ÒStabat Mater Dolorosa,Ó
completed in 1841. This second part
Figure 3: An example of a six air programme with a single sacred air at tune six, a
popular item of sacred music on cylinder musical boxes.
of the work is written as a tenor solo
and is described in sources elsewhere
as having a rollicking and memorable
tune, often performed apart from
the workÕs other movements as a
demonstration of the singerÕs bravura
technique. Alternatively, it could be an
arrangement of the simple plain-song
hymn tune of 17th-century German
origin found in many hymn books with
the name ÒStabat Mater.Ó
Whichever of these two alternatives
it may be that is pinned on the 75
musical boxes, on 34 of them ÒStabat
MaterÓ is the single sacred air amongst
otherwise secular programmes. The
tune sheet at Figure 3 is a typical
example, with ÒStabat MaterÓ pinned
here as Tune No. 6 on Serial Number
501, a Mandolin-Basse Piccolo music
box. The tune sheet pattern has,
according to HAV BulleidÕs book
ÒMusical Box Tune SheetsÓ and its
supplements, only been recorded for
use by Bremond. In this example, it
is quite clearly the Rossini alternative
and although this was so in quite a
number of instances, in others it was
not so clear. On balance, however,
and considering the description given
above, all 75 instances have been
assumed to be the Rossini alternative
Ð a Òrollicking, memorable tuneÓ
probably being more appealing to the
listener than a plain-song hymn tune
of German origin.
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 23
Table 7: Early Musical Boxes with Classical Sacred Airs.
Maker Serial Type Programme Comments
Capt. H. 1898 3 air. Tabatiere. 1. Not Identified
2. RousseauÕs Dream.
3. The Heavens are Telling. Creation. Haydn.Ó
Unable to reliably date this Serial
Number.
Ducommon-Girod. 1220 6 air. Key wind. 1. Jubelfeier. Valse.
2. La Somnambula. Ma perche non posso.
3. Chlesoine (?) Polka.
4. The Conquering. Judas Macabee. Op.
5. La Varsoliana.
6. Le Patthes de Monza. Galop.
Unable to reliably date this Serial
No; H.A.V. Bulleid Dating Charts
date Serial No 1220 in 1st Series
as 1821/22; however, BelliniÕs
ÒLa SomnambulaÓ was not written
& performed until 1831!
Ducommon-Girod. 12061 4 air. Key wind. 1. Not identified
2. Dead March – Saul. Handel.
3. Sing unto the Lords – Judas Maccabeus. Handel.
4. He shall feed His flock. Messiah. Handel.
H.A.V. Bulleid Dating Chart –
gives circa 1836/37
Nicole Freres. 25150 6 air. Hymn box.
Key wind.
1. Mount Ephraim.
2. But thou didst not leave. Messiah, Handel
3. Bedford.
4. Old Hundred.
5. All Saints.
6. Lyons.
H.A.V. Bulleid Dating Chart –
gives circa 1848/49.
Nicole. Reymond 135 3 air. Key wind. 1 Overture to Der Freyschutz,
2. do…….Guillaume Tell.
3. Hailstone Chorus.
Unable to reliably date this Serial
Number but sometime after
1834/5
The dates for the earliest musical
boxes found registered with classical
sacred music in their programme is
not quite clear cut. There are several
contenders for the earliest but, for the
reasons outlined in Table 7, care has
to be exercised in identifying which
particular one(s).
None of the dates identified are as
early as might be thought possible,
but the reason may be that earlier
examples of musical boxes pinned
with classical sacred music are still
buried amongst the 5,500 or so music
boxes registered without details of
their musical programmes.
Sometimes, the rhetorical question,
ÒWhy should the Devil have a monopoly
of all the good tunes?Ó is heard,
often posed as a retort to some sort of
a challenge. As if in answer, over the
years when the merits of good, secular
tunes have been recognised, Christian
musicians have set them to the words
of a hymn or other verse associated
with the Christian faith. Reference has
been made already to two examples
of this happening but, as in most
cases where this has occurred, when
has gone unrecorded and is lost now
in the mists of time. So, arising from
this thought is a caveat, that some of
the item(s) regarded by this article
as sacred airs may have been pinned
originally as part of a complete
programme of secular music rather
than to satisfy the need or request
for sacred music. This caveat applies
particularly to some of the early examples
identified, such as two of the two
tunes identified as sacred airs in Table
7, ÒRousseauÕs DreamÓ and ÒSee The
ConqueringÉ.Ó
A final thought on classical sacred
music. At the time of this research,
slightly more than 80 musical boxes
had been registered specifically
as Òoratorio,Ó as compared to the
generic term Òhymn box.Ó Detailed
analysis has revealed that there are
cases where this is not a wholly
accurate description of their musical
programme. If the generic term, Òoratorio
boxÓ is to be applied to a musical
box, then its entire programme should
be of items from works designated by
the musical authorities as oratorios.
Those identified during the researches
for this article are listed in Table 5.
Their individual arias and choruses
are identified in the blue highlighted
cells of Table 6.
Part 3 of this Article will contain
details of the research into the second
of the Sacred Music groups Ð Hymns,
and will be published in the next edition
of Mechanical Music.
Credits.
Most of the statistical information in this
article has been obtained from the Arthur D.
Cunliffe Register of Cylinder Musical Boxes
[The Register] and is used with the kind
permission of the Registrar; it illustrates how
powerful and useful The Register is now as a
source of information when writing articles of
this nature. Those readers who own cylinder
musical boxes who have not registered them
with The Registrar are encouraged to do so
and thereby extend the value of this powerful
research tool.
ÒMusical Box Tune SheetsÓ by H.A.V. Bulleid
and its four Supplements, published 2000 by
MBSGB.
ÒThe Musical BoxÓ by AWJG Orde-Hume,
published in 1995 by Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
of Atglen, Pennsylvania U.S.A.
24 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
PLAN AHEAD
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for the 2020-2021 Mechanical Music
Directory of Members, Museums and
Dealers. Ads must be ordered by July
ACT NOW
1, 2020.
Placing your advertisement in an
MBSI directory means your companyÕs
name and contact information will be
a permanent part of this collectorÕs
reference book. Plus, by placing an
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company will also be featured on the
MBSI website where people searching
for your services can find and click
directly through to your company
website or contact you via email or
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Mailed directly to more than 1,200
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each new member that joins the
society, an ad in the directory means
your companyÕs information will be
seen several hundred times in the
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May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 25
Interesting Tidbits
By Bill Hays
A note on your website indicated
that you could possibly identify the
maker and perhaps the date of a cylinder
music box from looking at the
tune card. My box, a family Òtreasure,”
has a well-preserved tune card but its
other markings are all but inscrutable.
Enlarging the tune card shows that
some of the airs are handwritten in
red.
May I impose on your group to take
a look at my tune card? Thanks for
your consideration.
Send answers to empakai@gmail.
com. Please copy editor@mbsi.org so
information can be printed in the next
issue.
The numbers 27 4 14 are written on both ends of the bottom. VII is on both the inside of the box and the back edge of the
Might that be a date? box lid. Might that be the box makerÕs mark?
The marking #100 is written on the box bottom and the tune
card. JH (or JA) 20.00 is also on the bottom of the box. This
may be what a jeweler who worked on the box charged my
father.
Wrangling a
Regina Corona into shape
By Jay Carsman
My Regina Corona, Serial #3500218,
shipped from the factory on Jan. 14,
1911, was supposedly ÒrestoredÓ by
the gentleman who sold it to me. Over
many years, however, it has proven, in
its own way, to be a rather challenging
part of my family. A recent tantrum
finally required that I take a serious
look at its mechanism and cabinet.
It was time to determine just exactly
what was going on.
My Regina Corona was always unreliable
about lifting just one disk at a
time. Anyone who owns one of these
automatic disc changing machines
knows what happens when the mechanism
correctly grabs one disc on one
side but two discs on the other. ItÕs
either say bye-bye to some discs, or
perhaps some broken tension rollers.
If you happen to be standing right next
to the machine to monitor it, a carefully
placed finger is needed to lift the
governor stop lever and then remove
the pins on each end of the tension bar
so the discs are exchanged as they are
intended.
I called upon Robin Biggins asking
for his expertise to help me gain a
proper understanding of the theory of
operation of the carriage movement
mechanism in my problem child of a
machine. The information he sent me
was invaluable and I was successful in
properly positioning the carriage and
the associated arms and levers that
move it. Ah, the mystery of angular
movement.
Proper positioning, however, was
not enough to solve my issues, so it
was back to the drawing board for
more looking and measuring. I made
a metal bar that I could place on the
carriage to observe the position of
each lifting pawl. Oh my, it was not
even close from one side to the other.
Obviously, I thought, this must be why
the mechanism couldnÕt reliably lift
The Òproblem childÓ Regina Corona now changes discs like a champ.
28 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
Figure 1: What secrets lie behind? Only the Shadow knows.
ItÕs an adventure trip into 19th century engineering.
Figure 2: Looking into the Òcave.Ó Note that the right arm is not
exactly the same height as is the left arm in this picture.
Figure 3: A view of the right-side lifting arm, disk drive wheel,
tension arm and wheels, and spinning governor. The wheels
should turn smoothly and gently hold the disk in contact with
the star wheels that pluck the comb.
Figure 4: The wheel in the center of this view should turn freely
as it slightly warps the disk forward. The cam slots cut into the
spring housing are important lubrication points.
just one disk at a time.
So, I first made shims for the front
and back side of the sliding area of the
lifting arms. Then, additional shims
were placed near one end or the other
of the sliding surfaces to ensure the exactly how high each arm lifts the
lifting arms moved straight up and discs and making sure the arms
down. These arms had a lot of wiggle were lifting the disc equally high on
before shimming, but not now. Next, both sides. Fortunately for me, I had
there was the matter of measuring already milled slots into the castings
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 29
Figure 5: Removing the sound board is an easy task and gives
a chance to check that all the wood slats are tight. Some clear
wood glue may solve vibration problems. This view shows the
important little mechanism that controls all play, and repeat
movement of the carriage and stopping. The small lever with
the weight attached is the source of much evil. A flimsy piece
of stiff wire connects the top of the coil spring to the workings
adjacent to the governor. This lever must drop down
far enough to clear the pawl that engages the disk changing
mechanism. Adjustment is by bending the wire while not
allowing it to catch on other parts. It can be a major PAIN!
Figure 7: The left side lifting arm now has extra nuts and bolts
for adjusting lift. The top of the arm should just touch the pin
for both left and right arms.
which permitted vertical adjustment of each lifting arm. On
my machine, the large lifting arms have a bolt for making
an adjustment. Somewhere in time, however, the arms got
pinned to the shaft and no adjustments were possible until
I removed that entire portion of the mechanism from the
cabinet, pressing-out the pins, and starting all over. I wasnÕt
in the mood to go that far and my adjustment slots proved
to be sufficient.
Considering I was already quite far into my repair of the
machine, I noticed many parts had far too many coats of
aluminum colored paint applied poorly. Perhaps, I thought,
that was part of the restoration process used by the fellow
Figure 6: Looking down at the disk carriage, the curved arm
and the short link that connects to the carriage are visible.
This is where the angular motion lives. Adjustment is in two
places. The position of the large arm is adjusted on the large
vertical shaft seen in Figure 10. The other adjustment is made
by sliding the small connector that attaches the link to the rod
attached to the carriage. When correctly set, the large arm
will be very close to the right side rear wheel on the carriage
when the carriage is positioned for disc No. 1 and the linkÕs
angle will allow the carriage to move far enough forward and
backwards to play all the discs. I call this another ÒfiddlyÓ
adjustment. Patience is required. Also, note the horizontal
shaft at the back of the cabinet. Its motion raises and lowers
the discs.
Figure 8: Note the distance towards the front required to
move the right side lifting lever slide bar into a position that is
exactly matching the left side slide bar. This is very important
as it keeps both lifting arms lined-up under a disc.
I purchased the machine from. Perhaps it wasnÕt, IÕm not
sure IÕll ever know for sure. Regardless, itÕs not the way I do
restoration work, so I ended up removing many small parts
and rollers to clean and buff them free of paint and polish.
Then, I reinstalled and adjusted each of the parts in their
proper places. I know there are probably many other parts
30 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
Figure 9: This view shows the ÒbendableÓ wire and a large
lever with the end of itÕs return spring wrapped around the
edge. The movement of that lever is critical and itÕs controlled
by the little lever with the weight on it. The movement of the
disc carriage starts here.
that deserve the same cleaning and buffing treatment, but
thatÕs a subject for another time.
Testing my machine again, I found there was still a
problem. The lifting arm slide (steel bar) on the left side
was not in the same position front to back with the slide
on the right side (facing from the front). God knows, not
me, how someone managed to create that situation. All the
cast pieces appeared and measured straight and parallel to
their castings and the only variable was really at the bottom
where the mountings screw into the wooden cabinet.
I was able to shim the top and bottom of the slide bar on
the right side towards the front of the box so that it exactly
matched the position of the slide bar on the left side. That
required a shim of 0.20 inches top and bottom, which is
rather substantial in my book.
The most interesting (in my opinion) part of this project,
and the one I found most challenging, was the setting of
the position of the ÒlinkÓ that attaches the carriage to the
operating arm. It was a trial and error adjustment process
to position the link just right. Also, the two lifting levers
that raise the discs must be exactly the same height. If
the lifting arms got out-of-sync, the discs would rotate as
they are lifted. That would move the ÒstartÓ point from the
proper position.
I have a feeling my Regina might be a conglomeration
of parts from several machines. It might explain why
some parts donÕt seem to align themselves without some
modifications. The funny thing is, if I were 110 years old
and someone took me apart, they might find many things
out-of-order and plenty of odd-looking plates and screws
just like IÕm finding with my machine. So, I guess my body
isnÕt really too much different from my old music box.
There is a happy ending to my story. Last night, I sat and
watched the old girl play perfectly 12 discs going forward
Figure 10: Looking at front side of the ÒdevilÓ mechanism. The
large horizontal arm is mounted on a shaft that allows it to
follow the ÒcamÓ indentation machined into the spring motorÕs
case. This collection of parts is the ÒbrainÓ of the whole works.
Again, its proper function depends upon nice free movement
and that piece of bent wire.
Figure 11: A closeup of the adjustment for the operating height
of the right-side lifting lever. Note the second holes needed to
raise the right-side lifting arm so it matches the height of the
left-side arm.
and 12 discs going backwards without so much as a wiggle
or snort. Now that was a treat!
The next change in the weather may undo my efforts to
some unknown degree, but, for now, I think I shall enjoy
listening to my music box play.
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 31
Figure 12: This is the infamous bent wire that controls the
machineÕs Òbrain.Ó When this wire becomes caught on something
or is poorly adjusted, the start, repeat, stop lever on the
outside of the cabinet doesnÕt work correctly. At top of photo
is the cam mechanism that is next to the winding gear. The
long spring holds the cam follower in its groove. At the very
top is the shaft upon which the cam follower is mounted. If
that lever happens to move slightly to the right, the follower
and cam no longer touch and the mechanism will not stop
until the spring winds down. I added a machined ÒkeeperÓ to
the shaft to hold everything in the right place.
In so many ways, this was a rather amusing and, contrary
to my wifeÕs impression, a very entertaining challenge that
did not unduly stress my still recovering right armÕs surgery.
I think itÕs appropriate to mention that I didnÕt pay a lot of
money for my Regina Corona. I think that might be obvious
from my photos. I say this because I donÕt wish to insult our
many talented friends in MBSI and the Automatic Musical
Instrument CollectorsÕ Association who do magnificent
restorations. They are truly masters of art and talent!
Lastly, I took a few pictures of the mechanism that
controls moving the carriage that holds the disks. ItÕs a
very clever bit of design and itÕs controlled by the start/
Figure 13: The unseen and not so elegant shim for the right
side lifting lever slide bar. With this shim, top and bottom of
the slide are exactly in line. Perhaps the mis-alignment was
caused by what machinists call Òcumulative error.Ó A small
mistake at multiple locations on adjacent connected parts may
add up to a big error at the end. At least that is my assumption
for this odd adjustment.
stop lever located on the outside of the music box. The
mechanism includes a small steel roller that rides on the
ÒcamÓ which is part of the housing for the spring motor. IÕve
learned that this little bunch of levers and springs can often
be the reason that the music box will not play or change
discs or, sometimes play and refuse to stop until the spring
is unwound. ThereÕs a little piece of wire that connects to
the on/off lever that likes to get caught on things. Once itÕs
bent into a working shape, I just leave it alone. Sometimes,
though, a change in the weather gets things a bit out of
sorts. Perhaps the wood cabinet warps itself a little from
time to time.
32 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
Relief decorated Disc Musical Boxes
A follow up
By Dr. Albert Lštz
In an article by Steve Boehck entitled
ÒArt-Cased Disc Musical BoxesÓ that
appeared in Mechanical Music (Vol.
64 No. 5, September/October 2018,
p. 22) he presents three disc musical
boxes made by Symphonion, Regina,
and Berliner Musikinstrumenten-Fabrik1.
All three boxes were completely
1. For an in-depth treatment of the history of
Berliner Musikinstrumenten-Fabrik, formerly Ch.
F. Pietschmann & Sšhne, see: Albert Lštz, Das
Mechanische Musikinstrument, no. 130 (December
2017), p. 7-25, no. 131 (April 2018), p. 8-26, no.
134 (April 2019), p. 8-23, no. 135 (August 2019),
p. 9-18.
covered with reliefs on their lids and
side panels.
Steve described the process used
for the manufacture of these decorations
and asked for more detailed
information on the probably German
cabinet maker. This article provides
some additional information.
Figure 1 shows the first advertisement
for the Symphonion ÒRococoÓ
in Zeitschrift fŸr Instrumentenbau
(Journal of Musical Instrument Making),
issue 21 November 1895, vol.
1895-96, p. 154. I will henceforth refer
to this magazine as ZfI, which is a
journal from Leipzig and is the most
important printed German source for
the industry of mechanical musical
instruments.
ZfI published a short article on page
391 of its vol. 1890-91, entitled ÒErsatz
fŸr BildhauerarbeitÓ (Replacement for
SculptorÕs Art), writing:
ÒÉThe firm B. Harrass at Bšhlen
(Thuringia) with a subsidiary in
Berlin (Central) 37 Koenigstr. has
now succeeded by indefatigable
labour in being able to put on the
market its hydraulically embossed
black and wood-veneered piano
ornaments in quite various types
and styles as excellent and inexpensive
replacement for sculptorÕs art.
Figure 1: Symphonion Rocco. Translation: ÒPatented in all countries! Symphonion. Patented everywhere! The Symphonion
was awarded with the highest prizes at the expositions of Chicago 1893 and Antwerp 1894. The Symphonion excels among
all similar instruments by its quite simple construction, most rugged design, elegant appearance, and unsurpassed durability
of the steel teeth, by the latter quality overshadowing all competing products as is well known. The Symphonion is the best
musical box existing with exchangeable steel discs. The Symphonion is unreached by any instrument with regard to purity and
sonority of sound. The Symphonion has a repertoire of several thousand of choice music pieces. The Symphonion satisfies all
demands of the public with its various models ranging from 8Ð700 Marks. Music shops or other sellers that do not yet stock the
Symphonion should not miss offering it.Ó (Image source: Staatliches Institut fŸr Musikforschung (SIM) in Berlin Ð Stiftung Preu§ischer Kulturbesitz (State Institute for
Music Research Berlin Ð Foundation Prussian Cultural Heritage), call number C 35, 16, urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb00004242-7, licence CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 33
These ornaments shall now have the
advantage to be weather-resistant,
fire-proof, and water-proof, and not
to be endangered by rodents and
insects, thus being especially suitable
for tropic climates. É The specimen
that we were sent É excels by its
spirited drawing and by its accurate
and thorough execution of the most
minute details. The similarity of this
piano decoration with a carved one
is still more deceiving and effective,
because it is covered with genuine
natural walnut veneer.Ó
The article is accompanied by a
drawing of a specimen (Figure 2).
Bruno Harrass filed the two (handwritten!)
Canadian patents Nos. 18881
in 1884, and 30896 in 1889. In the first
patent, he wrote:
ÒThis invention has for its object
the production of an artificial ligneous
or wood like compound from
which a great variety of objects can be
manufactured, such for instance as
carvings or mouldings for buildings
or furniture, picture frames and the
like, such manufactures being effected
directly by pressure in suitable metal
moulds, while the articles produced
are capable of being obtained polished,
varnished, glued, bored, rasped
or planed like natural wood.Ó
He described several methods for
the manufacture of the moulded
articles that varied somewhat in the
procedure and the composition of
the moulded mass. In the case of a
veneered product, the mass consisted
of two to 20 parts by weight of wood
fibre or cellulose, from six to 30 parts
of sawdust, from one to five parts of
dry dextrine powder (or other binding
material, such as blood, albumen,
resin etc.), and from one to five parts of
glutinous flour of wheat, rye, or maize
(corn). In order to prevent warping of
the product, a small amount of clay
or gypsum could be added, as could
be coloring matter. This mixture was
heated and then spread on the veneer
which had been dried after having
been coated with a cementitious
substance such as glue or resin. The
amount of the mixture depended on
the height of the relief, and could be
two to 20 millimeters in thickness.
Veneer and mixture were pressed in
iron or steel moulds at 120 degrees
Celsius to 300 degrees Celsius and
with a pressure of 700 kilograms per
square centimeter. In the case of high
reliefs, pieces of wood of roughly the
outline of the relief or parts thereof
could be added to the mixture.
Bruno HarrassÕ Canadian patent
No. 30896 of 1889 described some
modifications in the composition of
the mixture in order to render the
product waterproof and safe against
damage by insects and rodents. In
order to achieve these properties,
caustic soda, alumn, and the poison
potassium bichromate were added
during the preparation of the mixture.
The moulding of a relief has to
be distinguished from embossing, a
method likewise mentioned in ZfI
(vol. 1889-90, p. 409):
ÒA novelty that met plenty of
approval and aroused interest at the
exposition of turnerÕs and sculptorÕs
art in Leipzig at the end of August
are the dull and polished ornamented
wood panels made according to the
procedure patented by Robert Himmel
in 79 Bernauerstr., Berlin.
These panels, a rich collection of
which was shown at the exposition
in walnut and black, are suited for
the decoration of better piano cases
on account of their exceedingly
Figure 2: A specimen of the piano decoration of the firm Bruno Harrass of Bšhlen
(Thuringia). This is not a photo, but a wood engraving that was published in ZfI, Vol.
1890-91, p. 391. (Image source: SIM, Zz 5, 11, urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb00004237-8, see Figure 1).
noble character. We are convinced
that this hint alone will be sufficient
to cause tests by the Messrs. piano
manufacturers.
The wood panels of one-half centimeter
thickness, usually poplar
or whitewood, are first stained
completely either brown or black,
and then polished on one side. The
polished surface is then laid under
a press which, so to say, imprints
the ornaments upon the surface.
The ornaments contrast by their
polishing, while the background has
been given a mat surface by very
small grooves pressed in. The effect
obtained is quite excellent, as already
said, especially with appropriate
illumination.Ó
A contemporary image of obviously
such a panel (Swiss patent no. 2125
of 1890 by Robert Himmel), in any
case definitely designated as Òfinely
embossedÓ in wood, is shown in Figure
3.
Panels completely covered with
genuine hand-carved decorations
were too expensive for mass production,
but machine-carved panels
were available already in the 1890s.
ZfI (vol. 1894-95, p. 642) published
an article announcing the foundation
of ÒDeutsche SchnitzwerkeÓ (German
Carving Company) in Cologne (Figure.
4) which applied a patented procedure
for machine carving. A further article
with more details appeared somewhat
34 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
Figure 3: Piano ornament embossed in wood from an advertisement by the firm
Hermann Aemilius at MŸhlhausen (Thuringia), published in ZfI, Vol. 1894-95, p. 797
(Image Source: SIM, Zz 5, 15, urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb00004241-1, see Figure 1).
later in ZfI, vol. 1894-95, p. 741. It
said that German Carving Company
had acquired the licence from Caesar
Hass in London for Germany, Russia,
Austria-Hungary, and Switzerland.
Similar firms in England, the USA, and
France used the licence for their and
further countries. All these companies
had formed a trust exchanging their
designs. A sculptor made a model,
from which an iron copy was cast.
From this iron copy, the patented
machine with 250 cutters carved a
wooden panel of 125 centimeters long
and 35 centimeters wide within 30
minutes.
Figure 5 (Page 36), shows a carved
panel directly from the machine. Additional
manual work on the panels,
e.g. with sand paper, was required for
high-quality products.
U.S. patent 511696 of December
1893 (German patent 71829 of March
Figure 4: An advertisement by Deutsche
Schnitzwerke in Cšln-Lindenthal
(German Carving Company, Cologne)
in ZfI, Vol. 1894-95, p. 771. The text
in the advertisement says: ÒGerman
Carving Company, Cšln-Lindenthal,
delivers sculptorÕs products from solid
wood in artistic perfection, especially
for piano panels, lesenes, pediments,
etc., also fretwork, in all styles, by use
of a procedure patented in all countries,
also according to customersÕ
designs, at unrivalled prices. (Vertically:)
Drawings and price list free by
request.Ó (Image Source: SIM, Zz 5, 15, urn:nbn:de:bvb:
12-bsb00004241-1, see Figure 1).
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 35
Figure 5: Carved relief from Deutsche Schnitzwerke, ZfI Vol. 1894-95, p. 741 (Image Source: SIM, Zz 5, 15, urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb00004241-1, see
Figure 1).
1893) describes the carving machine
in detail (Figure 6, Page 37). The red
rectangle immediately below the blue
rectangle represents the relief to be
copied as a negative (copied depressions
appear as projections) to the
wood panel drawn as a green rectangle.
The cutters (yellow, only one
colored) in the form of rapidly rotating
belt-driven drills are arranged in
a two-dimensional array. They are
pressed by individual springs against
the surface of the relief to be copied
with their non-cutting end (actually
via an intermediate pin). Both the
panel to be copied and the panel to be
carved jointly move in the horizontal
plane (perpendicular to the drills).
This movement consists of shifts
in two perpendicular directions of
the plane. The violet drive shifts the
two panels slowly in one direction,
whereas the shift in the perpendicular
direction by the light blue drive
is much more rapid and changes its
direction automatically at the ends
of its range. Each partial area of the
surfaces of both the red and the green
panel is thus completely scanned
by at least one drill. Additionally, a
crank (dark blue) imparts a vertical
percussive movement to the array of
drills.
All this proceeds automatically, the
only action to be done by hand with a
wheel (light brown) is the adjustment
of the mean distance between the
original and the copy. This distance
must be decreased with the advancement
of the copying process. Because
of the finite thickness of the drills, all
projections of the copy are smaller and
all depressions larger than those of an
exact negative of the original. This can
be remedied with error compensation
by first copying from a positive, and
then again copying from the resulting
negative to the final panel.
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
36 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
Figure 6: A drawing from U.S. patent 511696 by Caesar Hass for a carving machine. Coloring not original. Turn page sideways
for proper machine orientation.
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 37
The
Humble
Player
Piano
and the
Great
War
By Dr. Robert Penna
What role did the humble player
piano serve in one of the greatest wars
in history? We know that World War I
had a profound influence on contemporary
American and British ways
of life at the time. It was a period of
major transition for both nations. For
the United States, immigration was on
the increase. In Britain, families were
leaving farms for cities. In both countries,
factories were becoming a more
common part of the landscape. While
Britain still had her empire, America
was just entering the global marketplace.
During WWI, many citizens of
both nations relied on popular culture
in order to make sense of global
affairs. They needed to understand the
reasons for the conflict and the concept
of a soldierÕs duties to his nation.1
As there were no radios or televisions
to report conditions on the
battlefields, both the British and the
American public maintained a romantic
view of war. Not only were many of
the songs of the day patriotic, but they
1 Gassmann, Helen. ÒPopular Culture during
WWI,Ó Remembering WWI, https://rememberingwwi.
villanova.edu/popular-culture/
Photo courtesy Missouri Historical Society
A customer plays a roll on a player piano in a St. Louis, MO, store in 1918.
often portrayed soldiers as brave and
noble, while women were portrayed
as fragile and loyal waiting for their
loved ones to return.2
The need to gain and maintain
general acceptance for the waging of
a war in which casualties would reach
unimaginable heights involved what
was no doubt the most ambitious
propaganda campaign in history.
According to Akeo Okada, associate
professor at the Institute for Humanities
at Kyoto University, ÒThe use
of music as propaganda had roots in
the First World War.Ó3 Many believe
that this form of propaganda through
song was essential to the successful
construction of a patriotic consensus,
in particular because it could speak to
a mass audience who were often wary
of declarations coming directly from
politicians or the wealthy.4
Before the war began for the United
2 Smith, Kathleen E.R. (2003). God Bless
America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. Lexington,
KY: University Press of Kentucky. p. 72.
ISBN 0-8131-2256- 2.
3 Okada, Akeo. ÒIntroduction,Ó Music,
International Encyclopedia of the First World
War. p. 1
4 Propaganda and Dissent in British Popular
Song during the Great War
States, the music of ragtime was
already fading and war songs were
the most prevalent form of popular
music. Tunes popular in Great Britain
quickly crossed the ocean to become
hits among the Americans. At first
these songs were the province of
British music hall entertainers and
American vaudeville performers.
Tickets for seats in these venues could
be very cheap and attracted a largely
working-class audience, for whom a
gramophone would generally be too
expensive.5 As the popularity of the
tunes being performed grew, sheet
music producers and player piano roll
manufacturers began to meet a new,
growing demand for this music. Stores
often displayed music rolls alongside
sheet music for the same song. The
aim was to make a sale whether for
the player piano or the home pianist.
After all, a sale was a sale. Decorative
covers for sheet music also acted as
the illustrations for the music roll
thereby enhancing sales for either
product.
The player piano had an especially
impressive impact on the increasing
5 Wikipedia ÒThe Music of WWIÓ https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_World_War_I.
38 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
popularity of new tunes as no real
musical talent was required to provide
music to an audience. Plus, the words
of each song were actually printed
on the paper music roll, which made
it possible to sing along with the
music even if the listener had never
heard the song before. People started
gathering around the player piano to
sing along.6 This became very popular
at parties and family gatherings and,
in the case of patriotic songs, would
lead to discussions about the war and
enlistments.
But how did this profusion of
war era songs affect the masses of
ordinary people? Let us look at some
of the titles and lyrics of a handful of
songs of the time. There were, by some
estimates, hundreds of player piano
rolls that dealt with the conflict. Many
of these tunes have long since been
lost, their rolls forgotten or disintegrated
by time. Yet, those that remain
provide a sincere and honest look at
the propaganda and the contemporary
thoughts of ordinary folk of the time.
Primarily because the music was
devoid of political speeches or
newspaper editorials, they were more
readily accepted by members of the
public. Also, these songs were sung
in chorus by friends and family members
at the piano in a relaxed setting
which meant the music appealed to
6 Tuttle, John A. ÒThe Impact of the Player
Piano in American SocietyÓ Player-care.com,
Mar. 10, 2015.
them both emotionally and rationally.
Catchy tunes, of course, are much
more easily remembered than political
messages as well.
To be able to gain a perspective on
how these rolls were published, I have
placed them into four phases that correspond
somewhat to the progress of
the war. Certainly, WWI era rolls and
the songs they portray can be divided
into any number of categories. The
phases I have employed are arbitrary
but useful.
Phase I: Rolls Fostering Recruitment/
Involvement in the War
A review of player piano roll titles
suggests a link between the progress
of the war and the rise of certain
themes in the songs. When Britain
entered the war in 1914, song lyrics
were highly patriotic, justified the
war effort and encouraged young
men to enlist. This is also true of the
piano rolls in the United States after
1917 when it entered the war in April.
Some of the roll titles include those
below. Obviously, more exist and a
determined search will turn up many
more titles.
ÒUncle SammyÓ (QRS roll 602) was
originally written as a vocal march in
1904. It urges men to fight for home
and country as patriots. The lyrics
make war sound exciting and necessary
while suicide becomes more
acceptable and surrender unthinkable.
Lines include:
Hark to the sound of the cannon
and the gun!
Cheer for the fighting has only
begun!
Then hark! to the sound and
save our last round. Ah!
ÒOver ThereÓ (QRS rolls #295 and
Q163) was written in 1917 by George
M. Cohen as a motivating song for
Americans to join the fight and make
their mothers and their country proud.
Some of the lyrics are:
Johnnie, get your gun,
Get your gun, get your gun,
Johnnie show the Hun
WhoÕs a son of a gun.
Hoist the flag and let her fly,
Yankee Doodle do or die.
Pack your little kit,
Show your grit, do your bit.
Yankee to the ranks,
From the towns and the tanks.
Make your mother proud of you,
And the old Red, White and Blue.
ÒWake Up AmericaÓ (Perfection roll
#86667) was published in 1916 and
implied that the United States should
join the fight.
ÒWe DonÕt Want the Bacon, What We
Want Is a Piece of the RhineÓ (QRS roll
627) is a somewhat comic song exhorting
men to take on the Germans.
If you read your history, why it
will show
That we have always held our own
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 39
40 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
with any kind of foe.
WeÕve always broÕt the bacon home,
no matter what they done,
But we donÕt want the bacon now,
WeÕre out to get the Hun.
We donÕt want the bacon, we donÕt
want the bacon,
What we want is a piece of the
Rhine.
Phase II: Rolls for Getting into the
Fight
Europeans had been at war for
several years and had reached a virtual
stalemate when America joined
the war in 1917. At the time, the
American public felt their countryÕs
presence would quickly bring an end
to the war. When they realized the
Germans would not sue for peace or
fall apart just because Americans had
joined the war, the nature of popular
songs changed. As casualties began
to mount, the piano rolls started to
reflect a patriotic duty to win the war,
defeat the enemy and have pride in
the armed forces. This phase of music
remains throughout the conflict. Here
are a few of the titles from this phase.
ÒPack Up Your Troubles in Your Old
Kit Bag, and Smile, Smile, SmileÓ (QRS
roll 582). This was one of a large number
of British music hall songs aimed
at maintaining morale, recruiting for
the forces, or defending BritainÕs war
aims.
ÒGeneral Pershing MarchÓ (Perfection
roll #8784). Pershing was in
overall command of the American
Expeditionary Force. Written by Carl
D. Vandersloot and J.R. Shannon, this
was also published by Playrite Piano
Rolls.
ÒAmerican PatrolÓ (QRS roll #1354
and Themodist-Metrostyle roll #81234).
Originally written in 1885, this patriotic
song was reintroduced on piano rolls
to boost American morale.
ÒJoan of Arc, They Are Calling YouÓ
(Singa roll #5230) highlights the devotion
of the French soldiers.
ÒMy Belgian RoseÓ (Singa roll #5577).
This song depicts the viewpoint of
soldiers who describe an appreciation
for the beauty that has been destroyed
in the war and the hope of restoring
that beauty once again.
A corollary to this phase was the
an important
theme. Only
a few of
these songs,
however, were
produced
piano rolls. One of
the most famous is
ÒThe Allies in Camp.Ó
This roll contains a
suite of patriotic martial
music representing
the forces
against the axis powers.
It was written by English
composer
roll #TL16170) is an example of a
genre known as descriptive fantasia,
a form of musical narrative format for
relating to battles and other momentous
events. In this case the narrative
is indicated by the contents listed on
the roll:
need to include all the allies in the
work of winning the war. Therefore,
praise for the allies became
on
arrayed
Joseph Engleman
and first published in London in 1915.
ÒThe Allies in CampÓ (Themodist
1. Introduction (war threatening)
2. British Grenadiers
3. Russia
4. Scotland
5. Warwicks
6. France
7. Japan
8. Japanese Nautical Song
9. Belgian
10. Hornpipe
11. Wales
12. The Girl I left behind me
13. Ireland
14. Battle scene
15. Victory
16. God save the King
Listeners would have understood
these elements to represent the
bands of the various Allied armies
and regiments as they marched to the
battle zone. JapanÕs naval role in the
war is also represented. The selection
culminates in a grand battle scene and
triumphal victory for the Allies.7
7 Grilanc, Marina. WW I Stories from
Our Museums ÒThe Allies in Camp Music
RollÓ sidneylivingmuseums.com.au/ww1/
allies-camp-music-roll
Phase III: Rolls to Cheer and Rally
the Public
While the war dragged on and casualties
continued to grow, acceptance
of the war remained high. To believe
otherwise would be an admission that
our soldiers had died in vain. Therefore,
it became necessary to introduce
songs to help people keep going
despite the hardships, the absence
of loved ones and the worry this
engendered. Cheer-up songs can be
considered the result of this period.
Generic upbeat tunes were meant
to lift the spirits of the listeners and
help them cope with the problems of
wartime. Among these piano rolls are
the following:
ÒCome on PapaÓ (QRS roll #752)
is a comic song of a French beauty
who drives her car around and picks
up Yankee soldiers. Part of the lyrics
include:
ÒCome on papa,
Hop in ze motor car,
Sit by mama,
and hold ze handÓ
ÒKeep the Home Fires BurningÓ
(QRS roll #392) was published in
England in 1914 and its title included
the phrase ÒTill the Boys Come Home.Ó
The lyrics proclaim:
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 41
ÒThey were summoned from the
hillside,
They were called in from the glen,
And the country found them ready
At the stirring call for men
Let no tears add to their hardshipsÓ
ÒK-K-K KatyÓ (QRS rolls #618 and
#Q162). The song lyrics tell of a
brave but awkward/stuttering soldier
called Jimmy who is lovesick over the
beautiful Katy. He buys a wedding ring
before going to fight in the war.
ÒAnd HeÕd Say, ÔOo-La-La! Wee WeeÓ
(Connorized roll #6575).
ÒThey Were All Out of Step But JimÓ
(Universal roll #3051).
ÒWay Down There a Dixie Boy is
MissingÓ (Ideal roll #1486). Written
in 1917, this song tells the story of a
brave wounded soldier dreaming of
his home and mother. This sentimental
song seems to encourage our boys
to be strong and continue the fight.
Phase IV: Coming Home Songs
The next phase, and likely the most
obvious piano rolls, are those that supported
the dream of returning home
from the war. The largest single category
of rolls dealt with the dream of
returning home after a victory. Among
these piano rolls are the following:
ÒWhen My Ships Come Sailing
HomeÓ (Ampico roll #271).
ÒHow Ya Gonna Keep Ôem Down
on the Farm (After TheyÕve Seen
PareeÓ QRS #792). The lyrics highlight
concern that American soldiers from
rural environments would not want to
return to farm life after experiencing
the European city life and culture
during the war.
ÒI Think IÕll Wait until They All Come
HomeÓ (Imperial roll #9772).
Anti-War Songs
A few anti-war songs did exist. The
owners of British music halls and
vaudeville theaters, however, knew
that anti-war sentiment would lose
42 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
them patrons. Piano roll manufacturers
also quickly realized that these
songs would not sell and so avoided
turning these songs into player rolls.
In 1915, Americans began debating
the need for military and economic
preparations for war. Strong opposition
to ÒpreparednessÓ came from
isolationists, socialists, pacifists,
many Protestant ministers, German
Americans and Irish Americans (who
were hostile to Britain).
ÒI DidnÕt Raise My Boy to Be a
SoldierÓ (Perfection roll #86320). This
song was written to protest AmericaÕs
possible involvement in the war. Lyrics
play on a motherÕs fear:
ÒI didnÕt raise my boy to be a
soldier,
I brought him up to be my pride
and joy,
Who dares to place a musket on his
shoulder,
To shoot some other motherÕs dar
ling boy?
Let nations arbitrate their future
troubles,
ItÕs time to lay the sword and gun
away,
ThereÕd be no war today,
If mothers all would say,
I didnÕt raise my boy to be a soldier.Ó
We finish by looking at soldiersÕ
songs, composed and sung by soldiers
Words printed on player piano rolls allowed the public to sing along and made songs
more popular because they were heard more often.
on active service. In these songs, most
patriotic sentiments are absent while
rebellious sarcasm and black humor
dominate. ÒIÕve Got My Captain Working
for Me NowÓ (QRS #913), ÒI donÕt
Want to Get WellÓ (QRS #352) and ÒOh!
How I Hate to Get Up in the MorningÓ
(Ampico #34E) are a few examples.
As previously noted, there are
many phases and subcategories in
which WWI era songs can be placed.
Even though the categories/phases
I selected were arbitrary, they can
provide some direction.
This article barely scratches the
surface of all that can be written
about this fascinating topic. A future
compiler of this eraÕs songs will find it
a daunting task since so many songs
were written and made into music
rolls.
Different music roll manufacturers
would sometimes release the same
titles and often reissued them with different
numbers making it even harder
to compile a comprehensive list. Yet,
listening to the music was, and still is,
lots of fun.
In conclusion, it should now be
clear that the player piano was much
more than a simple interactive musical
instrument. Instead, it served to bring
people together in special ways while
also functioning as a unique method to
get messages to the public and influence
their thoughts and actions.
Images from the Saturday Evening Post showing the player piano in more and more homes.
Photo courtesy Wikimedia Photo courtesy Wikimedia
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 43
The authorÕs Regina bell box before restoration.
Two restored Regina bell boxes
ring out happy sounds
By Harold Wade
Regina only made one size of disc
music box with bells. The table
models were Style 215 with a single
comb, Style 216 with a double comb
and Style 217 with a double comb as
a coin-op music box. All three styles
featured 12 bells, with six bells on the
back row behind the bedplate and six
bells on the front row in front of the
bedplate. The Regina 15.-inch bell
box was made in limited numbers
and the discs (numbered 7xxx) are
only used on these bell box machines.
That makes them a fairly scarce item.
A good number of Regina bell box
instruments were sold to the Yale
Wonder Clock Company in Burlington,
VT, to be put into clocks but they
are difficult to find today.
Style 216 Disc Bell Music Box
I purchased, in May, 2014, my Regina
Style 216, serial number 2160077, at
a Stanton Auction in Charlotte, MI.
It came with several discs that were
not so good. I sent the box to Porter
Music Box Company for restoration.
The music box is similar to a 12.-inch
double comb Regina, but it has the
12-bell tracks on the outside of the
discs. It has 108 teeth on two combs
plus the 12 additional teeth for the bell
tracks. When I bought it, it sounded
terrible because the back row of
bells was reversed with the front row
of bells and both rows of bells were
switched end for end. The machine
had a penny coin-op slot mechanism
but the front row of bells needed to
be removed along with the top board
to get to the coin box. I believe the
mechanism may have simply been
added to a Style 216 cabinet and that
44 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
The authorÕs Regina bell box after restoration.
the penny coin slot was added later as
well. The Regina Company shipping
list shows my boxÕs serial number
as having been shipped to the Yale
Wonder Clock Company in September
1905. In adding the penny coin slot,
Yale failed to add the side coin drawer
to the cabinet to remove the coins.
This made removing pennies from the
box very difficult.
It was Ron Connelly who figured
out what was going on with the bell
misplacement after some trial and
error and that single fix solved a
major problem with the sound of the
box. Ron removed the coin-op slot
and installed a cover so there would
no longer be an issue with the pennies
inside the box. There was not a lot of
wear on the teeth or star wheels so it
appeared that the music box had not
been played a great deal in the past
Discs for the Regina Style 216 and 217 Disc Bell Music Boxes
7203 Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean, Song 1843 by David T. Shaw
7423 Tannhauser, Entry March 1845 by Richard Wagner
7422 Poet and Peasant Overture, 1846 by Franz von Suppe
7510 Peter Piper, March and Two Step 1905 by Herbert Gargiule
7712 IÕve Got Rings On My Fingers, Song 1909 by Maurice Scott
7733 By The Light of The Silvery Moon, 1909 by Gus Edwards
7XXX Good Bye Eliza Jane 1903 by Henry Von Tilzer
7XXX The Blue Danube, Waltz 1866 by Johann Strauss Jr.
hundred years. After cleaning up a
very dirty bedplate and bells, servicing
the motor and applying standard restoration
techniques to the combs and
star wheels, it really played great and
looked beautiful. I had Porter Music
Box Company punch out some new
bell discs from their files. The cabinet
is oak and Alvin Zamba did a beautiful
job restoring the case and building
a base cabinet which also serves as
storage for the discs.
One year after purchasing my
Regina, I bought for Alvin a Regina
Style 217, serial number 2170018, at
another Stanton Auction in Charlotte,
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 45
MI. It played reasonably well but the
discs, again, were not in good shape.
AlvinÕs Regina had a coin drawer
on the right side more than three
quarters of the way down the cabinet
with a lock to remove coins from the
music box. The coin drawer was kind
of hokey but Alvin, with his woodworking
skills, corrected the problem
and brought it back to original. After
hearing how my Regina Bell Box Style
216 sounded following its restoration,
Alvin decided to have his Regina Style
217 restored by the Porter Music Box
Company, as well, which I felt was the
correct decision. Alvin restored the
oak case and built another base cabinet
to hold the music box and store
discs as well. The Regina Style 217 has
brass screens to cover the bells both
in front and back so that people cannot
get their hands in to play with the
bells. This prevents damage and keeps
them clean, which I think is very ingenious.
AlvinÕs box also has the serial
number stamped on a brass plate. In
my opinion this is a beautiful looking
and sounding bell music box.
Alvin ZambaÕs Regina Style 217 bell disc box on the left and the authorÕs Regina
Style 216 bell disc box on the right, each featuring a stand for disc storage.
The authorÕs Regina Style 216 with an original disc standing
upright to show the bell images and words ÒFor Bell Instrument
OnlyÓ that were printed on each disc.
Alvin ZambaÕs Regina Style 217 features brass screens to
cover the bells and prevent damage from prying hands.
WE WANT YOUR STORY!
Every mechanical musical instrument has a tale to tell. Share the history of people
who owned your instrument before you, or the story of its restoration, or just what
makes it an interesting piece. Send stories via email to editor@mbsi.org or
mail your story to Iron Dog Media, 130 Coral Court, Pismo Beach, CA 93449
46 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
An Introduction to a Beautiful Collection
By David Corkrum
I recently made a trip to Southern
California for the mid-year MBSI
Trustees meeting. The meeting was
eventful as only the secretary and
I were in attendance in the room
and the trustees all participated via
teleconference.
This report is not, however, about
the meeting but about a home tour I
attended. Robin Biggins, Linda Birkitt
and I drove to the home of Bob and
Judy Burtscher in Fullerton, CA. Bob
and Judy are new to MBSI but not to
collecting. Their beautiful home in the
hills is filled with automatic musical
instruments, mainly music boxes.
Most of them were displayed in their
coffered-ceiling living room although I
will say they had a sofa and two chairs
in there too!
As you can see by the pictures, it
is a beautiful display of music boxes
that reminded me of Murtogh GuinnessÕs
collection when it resided in his
home. I was in music box heaven and
could not wait to hear every one of
them. The boxes were all displayed on
antique tables or their own cabinets.
I saw two, four, six, eight, and 10
tune machines. All were impeccably
restored to their original state and
yet, each one was an individual. There
were a few of the same format, but
their musical qualities were quite
different.
Since we had arrived in the morning,
we were entertained for about two
hours. Judy then produced a luncheon
for us that was designed for more
people than were in attendance. It is
unfortunate that the trustees could
not attend. After lunch, we listened
to a few more music boxes. Linda
and Robin then decided to leave, but
I was allowed to stay and encouraged
to play all of the boxes. It was a real
treat for me to listen, examine and
learn more about these marvelous
machines. Before I left, Bob showed
me his garden. Being a plant lover,
Key wound and lever wound Nicole music boxes.
I had to see all of it and marveled at
all of the bromeliads, rare palms, and
even rarer cycads. There were even a
few orchids in the mix which thrilled
me also.
Bob and Judy are a wonderful
couple who enjoy what they have
collected and listen to their collection
every day. We three had great conversations
in between all my listening.
When I left, reluctantly, I realized I had
spent more than six hours there, but it
only seemed like a few.
For those members who have a
chance to see this collection in the
future, you will be amazed. It is a
beautiful sight to behold.
EditorÕs note: Please continue to enjoy photos
on the next two pages.
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 47
Believed to be a Paillard changeable music box with 18
cylinders.
Our host, Bob, with a 20.-inch Regina desk disc player.
Egyptian style inlaid Bremond Mandoline Harpe changeable
music box in the style of a desk.
A Tiffany style Wisteria floor lamp with an Egyptian Princess
walking two dogs.
48 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
A gold plated snuff box with its original presentation box.
The backyard featuring palms, cycads,
bromeliads and succulents in addition
to a wonderful outdoor gathering space.
Robin Biggins with a Harmoniphone changeable music box with four cylinders.
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 49
Sunbelt Chapter
Chapter Chair: Ray Dickey
Reporter: Diane Caudill
Photographer: Diane Caudill
Feb. 29, 2020 – Spring, TX
Longtime MBSI member Kurt Nauck
invited the Sunbelt Chapter to join the
Automatic Musical Instrument CollectorsÕ
Association (AMICA) in a tour of
his vintage phonograph and musical
record facility in Spring, TX, on Leap
Day. What an exciting afternoon it
was!
Upon arrival, more than 35
attendees, a dozen of them Sunbelt
members, were greeted in the parking
lot by a line of gleaming Model A cars
displayed by the Piney Wood Model A
Club. At the end of the line of shiny
automobiles sat KurtÕs coveted and
pristine 1939 Buick Special. It must
have been a special treat for Houstonians
to pass these beauties as they
traveled to and from the facility.
As members entered the building,
they were met by employee Cookie
Demeter who led participants to a
snack table and divided them into
groups for tours with Kurt and his
expert staff of Mark Atnip and Jackson
Garrison, who imparted their in-depth
knowledge of vintage records – and
the machines that play them – to an
eager, receptive audience.
Jackson provided the ÒwowÓ factor
by explaining the four-armed turntable
with various needle sizes which
reproduces the correct sound from a
record, depending on the era in which
the record was produced, so that
the sound can be digitized for KurtÕs
voluminous auctions and for posterity.
He then showed KurtÕs vintage poster
collection as well as an amazing selection
of Talk-O-Photo recordings from
silent stars circa 1920. We also saw a
stock of bamboo needles and other
oddities that can be bought from Kurt.
Mark explained the process of grading
phonograph cylinders and showed
how to spot flaws under an extremely
Kurt Nauck has a Regina music box, various antiques, a player organ, and opera
starsÕ photos hung throughout the exhibition room.
bright light.
Kurt took the group through his fabulous
collection of unusual records,
phonographs, music boxes and other
mechanical music related items. A
Regina disc music box, an Aeolian
Orchestrelle player organ and a Mills
Violano anchored the many display
cases in the room.
The sophistication and complexities
of the entire operation, along with the
immense library of vintage records
was difficult to process in one visit.
Even the giant styrofoam peanut
hopper (which hung over the snack
table) was quite a sight to see. Kurt
has it rigged up to feed packing material
from the upper floor to the lower,
Wayne Holton (far right photo) admires a ship, which is actually a Tower Adventurer
radio speaker. Treasures could be found in each room, including a Mills Violano (left
photo and a rare Pathe Actuelle (center photo).
Annette Mather, a member of AMICA, studies the opera singersÕ photos lining the
exhibition room.
making it easy for employees to send
out packages. In short, everything in
the building was amazing.
Hopefully, it wonÕt be another four
years before we can visit Fort NauckÕs
again.
About Kurt Nauck
Kurt Nauck was given his first
collection of 78 records when he was
in the first grade, which started his
love of records. After graduating from
Texas A&M University, he started a
job at the Museum of Natural Science
in Houston but left in 1984 to start his
own business in The Village called
Memory Machines. That led to his
present business, called NauckÕs
Vintage Records, where he has an
inventory of about 60,000 records,
Phonograph-related items filled this
case in the exhibition room.
holds two online auctions per year
and runs a very successful mail order
business.
He locates most of his records in the
US by traveling from coast to coast,
looking into collections that become
available. He travels out of the country
to find others.
Once he receives a collection, he
and his other three employees grade
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 51
Kurt Nauck discusses one of his phonographs with visitors.
The Piney Wood Model ÒAÓ Club provided a red carpet of
beautiful cars to greet AMICA and Sunbelt members.
Members recline on a cannon in front of a library of records
while listening to a presentation.
The shelves in the building are lined with antiques and unique
pieces that Kurt has acquired through the years.
the records and add them to his on-line auctions or his
catalogue. He does a 10-15 hour radio broadcast before
each auction so that anyone can listen to the record for
enjoyment or for purchase decisions.
When asked about his most unusual or best treasure, he
had a hard time deciding but did admit that the early American
tinfoil phonograph was one find he was especially
proud of.
52 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
Ray Barth and David Van de Bogert
(Model A Club) enjoy snacks in the
shadow of the huge container of
Styrofoam peanuts.
Emerson produced the Talk-O-Photos which have a sepia-toned picture on one side
of the disc and their recorded message on the other side. Made of shellac, the
records are very fragile and sensitive to climate changes.
Jackson Garrison, Alan Bies and Steve Boehck stand in front Jackson GarrisonÕs expertise is digitizing the records on the
of KurtÕs vintage poster collection. four-arm turntable seen to his right.
Frances and Andy Ware listen to Jackson Garrison with a dif-
ferent section of the library collection behind them.
Mark Atnip explains the process of grading records and cyl-
inders to Vance Kemler, Jim and Kathy Quashnock, Wade
Newton (AMICA) and Wayne Holton.
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 53
Not only a great collector, but a great dad too
By Jeffrey Sanfilippo
Our family is truly humbled by the
outpouring of prayers, condolences
and love for our father, Jasper Sanfilippo,
upon his passing on Jan. 28,
2020. Dad lived three full parallel
lives… family, business and collecting.
His family came first. He loved our
mom, Marian, and his five children,
John, Jim, me, Lisa and Jasper, Jr.,
unconditionally and was so proud of
us. DadÕs 14 grandchildren and one
great-grandchild brought him such
happiness. Our father was a devoted
husband and a loving dad. He was
strict and disciplined, yet compassionate
and caring. He worked incredibly
hard throughout his life. Although he
spent many weekends at the factory
when we were young, he still found
time to lead our boy scout troops and
to coach our football teams. And he
spent precious hours horseback riding
with Lisa and attending her horse
shows.
DadÕs second parallel life was his
businesses. He lived and breathed
John B. Sanfilippo & Son and Clear
Lam packaging. When dad started in
the nut company, his father fired him
at least once. Dad always had big
ideas and pushed our grandfather to
automate manufacturing and to take
risks. Dad was a visionary business
leader and boss. He led JBSS for 42
years and believed his work legacy is
the Elgin, IL, manufacturing facility.
As a mechanical engineer, he loved
designing the layout and building
equipment and was incredibly proud
of the factory. He always mentioned
how important it was to surround
yourself with passionate, dedicated,
talented people and treat them with
respect. He did that his whole life, and
he treated everyone in the company
like family.
DadÕs third parallel life was with his
fellow collector friends. Our parents
kept thank you cards from people who
came to visit and we soon realized
how much our mom and dad touched
peopleÕs lives by opening their home.
Jeffrey Sanfilippo, along with his brothers and sisters, will carry on the work of the
Sanfilippo Foundation that was started by their dad, Jasper. They will continue to
host concerts and events that showcase the amazing collection of automatic music,
steam engines and art glass at the SanfilippoÕs Barrington Hills, IL, home.
Dad was a passionate collector of
automated music machines, steam
engines and art glass. His favorite
thing to do was to sit and watch people
ride the carousel. He loved seeing
the sheer joy it brought riders as they
passed by him on a horse or in a gondola.
I would stand next to him and
just stare at this soul of a man filled
with happiness. They are moments I
shall never forget. My siblings and I
want to personally thank Marty Persky
for his friendship and for being by our
fatherÕs side for over 30 years, helping
dad build and curate his collection.
To all the docents who support our
foundation events and our foundation
director Greg Leifel, you are the torch
that continues to keep our fatherÕs
passion and legacy alive.
By the grace of God, dad and mom
combined their world class collection
with their compassion for helping
others in need. They started to host
charity concerts and fundraisers in
the early 1990s to help organizations
in the community. Through the family
foundation we established to honor
our parents, we will continue to host
fundraisers and concerts to support
non-profit organizations. We will host
a concert to celebrate dadÕs life in the
coming months.
I want to thank all of you who
spent time with our father because
you brought him incredible joyÉ
sharing stories about your collections,
enjoying concerts and listening to
orchestrions, nickelodeons and music
boxes together. To those who shared
his passion for collecting and for
music and philanthropy, think of him
when you hear a theatre or carousel
organ or another automated music
instrument. It is our fatherÕs voice
singing. And if you attend a charity
concert at our home, dad will be there
in spirit, sitting in the back row with a
big smile.
It is sad to say goodbye to a loving
husband, a dad, a grandpa, a great-
grandpa and a friend. But think of our
father and the first time you said hello.
Remember his smile, his warmth, his
compassion and the beautiful life he
led.
54 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
In Memoriam In Memoriam
Vernon Gantt, 1942-2020
Compiled from obituaries
Vernon Gantt, chair of MBSIÕs
Piedmont Chapter, passed away
suddenly on Saturday, Mar. 21, 2020,
while working on the home he built in
Raleigh, NC.
Vernon grew up in Miami, FL, and
Charlotte, NC. He was a chess champion
and wrestler in high school, then
earned a bachelorÕs degree in accounting
at Brigham Young University.
Vernon was a Marine Corps veteran of
the Vietnam War and an entrepreneur.
During his life, he owned businesses
ranging from a soda shop, to a plumbing
and heating supply store, to a car
dealership, to a warehouse grocery
store and also a home remodeling
firm. He loved to learn.
Vernon also loved antiques and
history, collecting flow blue dishware
and music boxes. He was a storyteller
and joker and enjoyed listening to
audio books in the car while exploring
the U.S. with his wife, Penelope.
MBSI has learned that the following Peter Beebee Rudolph (Rudy)Phillip Maloof
members and/or former members Russell Burt Edwards Charles Rubiola
have now passed on. We offer their Raymond Dauphinee Jackson Fritz Ken Vinen
families our deepest condolences. Joseph Dennan Mary Lee Hoek
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 55
An Excellent Auction of Automated Music Machines
Presented by StantonÕs Auctioneers
The Collection of Andrew & Harriet EllisAn Excellent Auction of Automated Music Machines
Presented by StantonÕs Auctioneers
The Collection of Andrew & Harriet Ellis
To be held in the Barry Expo Center, on the Barry County Fairgrounds at 1350 N. M-37 Highway,
Hastings, Michigan Ð go 4-1/2 miles northwest of Hastings M-37 to the sale site or approx. 20 miles
southeast of Grand Rapids on Beltline/M-37 to the auction location on:
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, August 20, 21, & 22, 2020
Thursday starts at 1:00 P.M. following the luncheonFriday and Saturday begin at 9:00 A.M. each day
This collection is phenomenol, and the
content is staggering. Hundreds of
machines, rarity after rarity, and multiples
of desirable and sought after examplesabound. As found examples acquired
and accumulated by Mr. and Mrs. Ellis
over the course of five decades make this
an offering that any collector, museum
and investor will not want to miss.
Contact StantonÕs Auctioneers to receive
your free copy of the catalog with nearly1,000 pictures.
Rare
Edison
Class M
with 5Ó
mandrel
Rare Multiphone Banjo Model
coin operated 24 cylinder
phonograph
Symphonion Eroica triple disc music
box in the Haydn Model, an extremely
AUCTIONEERS & REALTORS STANTONÕS
Steven E. Stanton
144 South Main St., P.O. Box 146 ¥ Vermontville, MI 49096
(517) 331-8150
Phone 517-726-0181 ¥ Fax 517-726-0060
e-mail: stantonsauctions@sbcglobal.net Michael C. Bleisch
website: www.stantons-auctions.com (517) 231-0868
StantonÕs Auctioneers & Realtors conducting auctions throughout Michigan and across the United States since 1954.
Over 7500 sales conducted and 4,000 parcels of real estate sold at auction. Call us to discuss your sale with a rm has the
experience to properly handle the job right for you. Steven E. Stanton, (517) 331-8150, Email Ð stevenEstanton@gmail.com
GOLD
& SILVER!
Rare, fully engraved PATCH BOX, with delicate pansy enamel painting, c. 1820,
Hallmarked and fully restored with light delicate tunes.
Exceedingly Rare, snuff box with sur-plateau movement, c. 1820,
Hallmarked and fully restored, stone lid, gold wash on silver.
More snuff boxes currently in stockÉinquire! (All subject to prior sale.)
Nancy Fratti Music Boxes
Po box
400
Ð
Canastota
ny
13032 usa
315-684-9977 Ð
musicbox@frontiernet.net
57th Annual Meeting of theAutomatic Musical InstrumentCollectors Association& 71st Annual Meeting of theMusical Box Society InternationalHosted by the AMICA Founding Chapter
and the MBSI Golden Gate Chapter
Pullman Hotel, Redwood City, California
September 2-7, 2020
I Left My Heart in San Fran -cis-co
Ladies and Gentlemen, please join us for a first time
offered ÒHarpist Tea PartyÓ featuring Adele Simpson
who will be performing a delightful musical program.
Delicious tea sandwiches and desserts will be served
along with the tea and there will be some door prizes.
Tea Party attire is optional!
57th Annual Meeting of theAutomatic Musical InstrumentCollectors Association& 71st Annual Meeting of theMusical Box Society InternationalHosted by the AMICA Founding Chapter
and the MBSI Golden Gate Chapter
Pullman Hotel, Redwood City, California
September 2-7, 2020
I Left My Heart in San Fran -cis-co
Ladies and Gentlemen, please join us for a first time
offered ÒHarpist Tea PartyÓ featuring Adele Simpson
who will be performing a delightful musical program.
Delicious tea sandwiches and desserts will be served
along with the tea and there will be some door prizes.
Tea Party attire is optional!
BenÕs Player Piano Service
Repair and restoration of air powered mechanical music
devices of all description.
Player pianos
Reproduing pianos
Dance organs
Fairground organs
Nickelodeon pianos
Original historically
Correct techniques
And materials used
Throughout in the
Rebuilding process.
Benjamin R Gottfried
464 Dugan Road, Richfield Springs NY 13439
Bensplayerservice.com 315-858-2164
WWW.REEDERPIANOS.COM ¥ 517-886-9447
Specializing in the Restora on and Retail of Fine Pianos
Available Reproducing Pianos:
Chickering ¥Marshall & Wendall ¥George Steck
Mason & Hamlin ¥Knabe ¥Aeolian
ÈQRS & AMPICO MUSIC ROLLSÇ
ÒWhere Fine Pianos
Are RebornÓ
Fine Art & Antique Consignments
The highest level of customer service plus private,
professional and confidential transactions.
120 C ourt S treet, Geneseo , NY 144 54 cottoneauctions.com
Grinder Gordie
Street Organ Grinder
Any Event for Fun
www.grindergordie.com
231.690.6210
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 59
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.
Supplement to
Compiled and Edited by
Kevin McElhone
The Organette Book
ISBN 978-0-9557869-5-2
100pp Hard Back ISO A4 format [8.27Ó . 11.70Ó; Profusely illustrated in
colour throughout;Additional Illustrations of Models; Additions to Lists of
Patents, Tune Lists & Tuning Scales; A New Section on Trade Cards;
Combined Index of Images in the original book and its Supplement.
The Organette Book is a compendium of information about Organettes,
their Makers and their Music. Originally published in 2000 but now out of
print although second-hand copies are occasionally available in online
auctions.
************************************************************************************************************************
For all MBSGB Publications, please refer to the Musical Box Society of Great Britain website for further details including latest
availability, discounted prices and information on how to order. -www.mbsgb.org.uk
60 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
FOR SALE
readers have ordered several copies. Get
THE MART
your copy today for $99 plus S/H. MECHANI
RESTORED MUSICAL BOXES Offering a CAL MUSIC PRESS-M, 70 Wild Ammonoosuc
variety of antique musical boxes, discs, Rd., Woodsville, NH 03785. (603) 747-2636.
orphan cylinders, reproducing piano rolls & http://www.mechanicalmusicpress.com
out of print books about mechanical music.
BILL WINEBURGH 973-927-0484 Web: MARVELS OF MECHANICAL MUSIC -MBSI
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Dimensions 1 issue 3 issues* 6 issues*
Back Cover 8.75Ó x 11.25Ó $600 $540 $510
Inside Covers 8.75Ó x 11.25Ó $450 $405 $383
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Half Page 7.25Ó x 4.5Ó $160 $144 $136
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Mechanical Music
Mechanical Music is mailed to all
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antiquemusicbox.us
THE GOLDEN AGE of AUTOMATIC MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS By ART REBLITZ.
Award-winning classic that brings historical,
musical, and technical information to life
with hundreds of large, vivid color photos.
We guarantee 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
Video. Fascinating and beautifully-made
film which explains the origins of automatic
musical instruments, how they are collected
and preserved today, and their historic
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62 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
WANTED WANTED
WURLITZER LX. Also wanting APP changer
rolls. Marches and old favorites. Contact:
DON KROENLEIN, (217) 650-8650 fbac@
one-eleven.net
SERVICES
REPRODUCTION POLYPHON discs; Catalogs
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 Pennsylvania
Ave., Lomita, CA 90717-1516. Phone:
(310) 534-1557 Email: MBRCU@AOL.COM.
On the Web: www.musicboxrepaircenter.com
Advertise in The Mart
Have some spare parts or extra rolls taking up the space where you should be
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Fill out the form below and mail to MBSI at 130 Coral Court, Pismo Beach, CA
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Advertise in The Mart
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Go online to place your advertisement at www.mbsi.org, fill out the form below,
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Box Swap and Show
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Nancy Fratti Music Boxes
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Cottone Auctions
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Musical Box Society of Great
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Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd.
Marty Persky
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68 Auction Team Breker
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 63
OFFICERS, TRUSTEES & COMMITTEES of the
MUSICAL BOX SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL¨
OFFICERS
President
Tom Kuehn
4 Williams Woods
Mahtomedi, MN 55115
kuehn001@umn.edu
Vice President
David Corkrum
5826 Roberts Avenue
Oakland, CA 94605
musikwerke@att.net
Recording Secretary
Linda Birkitt
PO Box 541
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693
scarletpimpernel28@yahoo.com
Treasurer
Edward Kozak
3615 North Campbell Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
kozak@seldenfox.com
TRUSTEES
Bob Caletti
Ed Cooley
Sally Craig
Wayne Finger
Matt Jaro
Tom Kuehn
Mary Ellen Myers
Clay Witt
MBSI FUNDS
COMMITTEES
Audit
Edward Cooley, Chair, Trustee
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
Matt Jaro, Trustee
Endowment Committee
Edward Kozak, Treasurer, Chair
Edward Cooley, Trustee
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
B Bronson
Wayne Wolf
Executive Committee
Tom Kuehn, Chair, President
David Corkrum, Vice President
Clay Witt, Immediate Past Pres.
Sally Craig, Trustee
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
Finance Committee
Edward Kozak, Chair, Treasurer
Wayne Wolf, Vice Chair
David Corkrum, Vice President
Edward Cooley, Trustee
Peter Both
Marketing Committee
Bob Smith, Chair
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
Judy Caletti
Meetings Committee
Matt Jaro, Chair, Trustee
Judy Caletti
Tom Chase
Cotton Morlock
Mary Pollock
Rich Poppe
Membership Committee
Chair, TBD
Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee,
Southeast
Linda Birkitt, Southern California
Gary Goldsmith, Snowbelt
Christine Hopwood, Golden Gate
Julie Morlock, Southeast
Rob Pollock, Mid-America
Dan Wilson, Piedmont
Gerald Yorioka, Northwest IntÕl
TBD, East Coast
TBD, Great Lakes
TBD, National Capital
TBD, Sunbelt
Museum Committee
Sally Craig, Chair, Trustee
Glenn Crater, National Capital
Ken Envall, Southern California
Julian Grace, Sunbelt
Richard Simpson, East Coast
Museum Sub-Committees
Ohio Operations
Emery Prior
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES
Publications Back Issues:
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Regina Certificates:
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Librarian:
Jerry Maler
Historian:
Bob Yates
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Dan Wilson, Chair
Clay Witt, Immediate Past Pres.
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Sally Craig, National Capital,
Trustee
Judy Caletti, Golden Gate
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Steve Boehck
Dave Corkrum, Vice President
Christian Eric
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Julian Grace
B Bronson
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Knowles Little, Web Secretary
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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.
64 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2020
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Date Event Location Sponsor
Sept. 2-7, 2020 MBSI Annual Meeting – Joint with AMICA Redwood City, CA Golden Gate Chapter
Sept. 25Ð28, 2020 Second Annual Global Piano Roll meeting Switzerland
When will your chapter meet next? Holding a Òvirtual meeting?Ó Let us know!
Send in your information by Jun. 1, 2020 for the July/August issue.
Please send dates for the Calendar of Events to Russell Kasselman (editor@mbsi.org)
CONTACTS
Administrator Jacque Beeman handles back issues (if available) $6;
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CHAPTERS
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Wayland, MA 01778
or pay via PayPal, send to
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Japan
Chair Pro Tem: Sachiya Sasaki
Vice Chair Pro Tem: Naoki Shibata
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Chair: Aaron Muller
(847) 962-2330
Dues $5 to James Huffer
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Mid-America
Chair: Rob Pollock
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Dues $10 to Harold Wade
4616 Boneta Road
Medina, OH 44256
National Capital
Chair: Matthew Jaro
(301) 482-2008
Dues $5 to Florie Hirsch
8917 Wooden Bridge Road
Potomac, MD 20854
Northwest International
Chair: Rick Swaney
(425) 836-3586
Dues $7.50/person to Kathy Baer
8210 Comox Road
Blaine, WA 98230
Piedmont
Temp Chair: Dan Wilson
(919) 740-6579
musicboxmac@mac.com
Dues $10 to Dan Wilson
4804 Latimer Road
Raleigh, NC. 276099
Traveling MBSI Display
Bill Endlein
21547 NW 154th Pl.
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Phone (386) 454-8359
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CHAPTERS
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Copyright 2020 the Musical Box Society International, all rights reserved. Permission to reproduce by any means, in whole or in part, must be obtained in writing
from the MBSI Executive Committee and the Editor. Mechanical Music is published in the even months. ISSN 1045-795X
May/June 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 65
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HORIZONTAL
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Mechanical Music
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 63, No. 3 May/June 2017
Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 63, No. 1 January/February 2017
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MARTY PERSKY
Instrument Brokering & Locating / Appraisals / Inspections / Free Consultation
Welte 4 Concert Weber Maesto with 3D Moving Scene Popper Felix
Mortier 84 key CafŽ Hupfeld Helios II/25 Violina Orchestra
Jaeger Brommer
42Õer Violinopan 20Õer Automaton
45Õer Niemuth
Bacigalupo Visit: www.Mechmusic.com Mills Bowfront Violano
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Éand many more!
ÒClown sur ChaiseÓ Musical Automaton
by Leopold Lambert, c. 1900
Estimate: 4.000 Ð 6.000 /
$ 4,450 Ð 6,700
Musical Clown Automaton by
Roullet et Decamps, c. 1900
Estimate: 3.000 Ð 5.000 /
$ 3,300 Ð 5,550
Rare Empire Timepiece with
Organ, probably by Christian
Ernst Kleemeyer, c. 1800
Estimate: 15.000 Ð 20.000 /
$ 16,650 Ð 22,200
Polyphon Style 4 Automatic Disc-
Changing Musical Box, c. 1900
Estimate: 18.000 Ð 22.000 /
$ 19,950 Ð 24,400
Frisian Musical Hall Clock
by Abelius, 1796
Estimate: 12.000 Ð 15.000 /
$ 13,300 Ð 16,650
156th Specialty Auction
ÈScience & TechnologyÇ
ÈMechanical MusicÇ
ÈFine Toys & Tin ToysÇ
16 May 2020
Mills Violano-
Virtuoso, c. 1900
Estimate:
15.000 Ð 20.000 /
$ 16,650 Ð 22,200
Barrel Organ by
Cocchi, Bacigalupo &
Graffigna, c. 1895
Estimate:
12.000 Ð 15.000 /
$ 13,300 Ð 16,650
ÒAirophonÓ
Fairground Organ
by GebrŸder Bruder,
Waldkirch
Estimate:
5.000 Ð 7.000 /
$ 5,550 Ð 7,750
ÒHarp PiccoloÓ Musical Box,
probably Karrer, c. 1885
Estimate: 6.000 Ð 8.000 / $ 6,660 Ð 8,880