Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 66, No. 4 July/August 2020
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of Quality Cylinder & Disc Music Boxes, Musical Clocks & Automata
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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 The article will not be published with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 author’s
approval. All articles are considered to be the
author’s personal opinion. The author may be
asked to substantiate his/her statements.
Mechanical Music (ISSN 1045-795X) is published by
the Musical Box Society International, 130 Coral Court,
Pismo Beach, CA 93449 six times per year. A Directory
of Members, Museums and Dealers is published
biennially. Domestic subscription rate, $60. Periodicals
postage paid at San Luis Obispo, CA and additional
mailing offices.
Copyright 2020. The Musical Box Society International,
all rights reserved. Mechanical Music
cannot be copied, reproduced or transmitted in
whole or in part in any form whatsoever without
written consent of the Editor and the Executive
Committee.
MEMBERS: SEND ADDRESS CORRECTIONS TO:
MBSI, PO Box 10196,
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
Or, make corrections on the website at www.mbsi.org.
POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO
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. 4 July/August 2020
MBSI NEWS
5 President’s Message
7 Editor’s Notes
9 MBSI Trustee Meeting
Minutes
10 Trustee biography, Dave
Calendine
49 In Memoriam
Features
10 Nickel Notes
by Matt Jaro
18 Mermod Freres Varieties
29 Sacred Music on
cylinder boxes, Part 3
38 The genius of Al-Jazari
42 Restoring a Forte Piano
cylinder box
46 Memories of the Stinson
Organ Company
48 Making a special
anniversary music box
On the Cover
The Mighty 2000M, built by the
Stinson Band Organ Company, that
was commissioned for the Eastern
States Exposition. Hope Rider
remembers how the company got
started. Page 46.
MBSI has replanted 101 trees so far as
part of the Print ReLeaf program.
A special anniversary
James Kracht tells the story of
putting together a special music
box for his 50th anniversary present
to his wife. Page 48.
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 3
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
M
M
echanical music is a fascinating hobby! It
appeals to the artist, historian, craftsman, and
musician all at the same time. Play an automatic
musical instrument in a room full of people and all else
will stop as the machine enraptures the audience with the
sparkling melodies of yesteryear!
Mechanical music instruments are any sort of automatical
ly-played machine that produces melodic sound including
discs and cylinder music boxes that pluck a steel comb;
orchestrions and organs that engage many instruments at
once using vacuum and air pressure; player and reproducing
pianos that use variable vacuum to strike piano wires; pho
nographs; and self-playing stringed, wind, and percussion
instruments of any kind.
The Musical Box Society International, chartered by the
New York State Board of Regents, is a nonprofit society
dedicated to the enjoyment, study, and preservation of
automatic musical instruments. Founded in 1949, it now
has members around the world, and supports various
educational projects.
Regional chapters and an Annual Meeting held each year
in different cities within the United States enable members
to visit collections, exchange ideas, and attend educational
workshops. Members receive six issues of the journal,
Mechanical Music, which also contains advertising space
for members who wish to buy, sell, and restore mechanical
musical instruments and related items. Members also
receive the biennial MBSI Directory of Members, Museums,
and Dealers.
The only requirements for membership are an interest in
automatic music machines and the desire to share information
about them. And you’ll take pride in knowing you
are contributing to the preservation of these marvelous
examples of bygone craftsmanship.
More Information online at www.MBSI.org, or
Call: (417) 886-8839, or
Email: jbeeman.mbsi@att.net
Copy this page, and give it to a potential new member. Spread the word about MBSI.
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 July/August 2020
By Tom Kuehn
MBSI President
As we work through the COVID-19
pandemic, I hope all of you are well
and continuing to enjoy the aspects
of our hobby that are still available.
Although face-to-face meetings are
discouraged, many digital methods
have sprung up in their place so that
we might stay in contact with our
friends and share memorable experiences.
Similarly, as a result of the
pandemic, several changes needed to
be made with regards to the Musical
Box Society International’s well-laid
plans and operations for this year.
Read on to find out what is changing
and how.
The most important change is the
decision to cancel our annual meeting,
which was planned as a joint
session with the Automatic Musical
Instrument Collectors’ Association
(AMICA) and would have taken place
the first week of September in the San
Francisco, CA, Bay Area. Recognizing
that gatherings of large groups is
now discouraged and travel by air is
problematic, both the MBSI Trustees
and representatives from AMICA
reached the conclusion that it would
not be prudent to hold the meeting as
planned. Presently, preparations for
the 2021 MBSI Annual Meeting to be
held in Ft. Myers, FL, and hosted by
the Southeast Chapter, are continuing
although this may change depending
on how the pandemic situation develops
in the coming months.
The trustees met in a special meeting
on May 22 via teleconference to
discuss these changes to the annual
meeting and related issues. The minutes
of this meeting are published in
this issue on pages 8-9. The drafters of
our bylaws and policy and procedures
documents never anticipated the situation
we find ourselves in currently
so several changes were required
to allow us to operate during these
unusual circumstances.
With no annual meeting, there will
also be no business meeting which is
when the election of society officers
normally occurs. Therefore, the
election this year will be by paper
ballot. Ballots and return envelopes
are included in this issue. Ballots
are to be postmarked by Aug. 5 and
mailed to our recording secretary,
Linda Birkitt, at the address printed
on the envelopes. Each household
membership is entitled to no more
than two votes. Individual members
have one vote. Everyone on the ballot
has agreed to serve an additional
one-year term in the same positions
they currently hold with the exception
of Dave Calendine who has agreed
to begin his first four-year term as a
trustee. Dave’s biography and photo
can be found on page 9 of this issue.
I will say that I am very fortunate to
be working with such a dedicated and
hard working leadership team that has
gone above and beyond to deal with all
the changes that have been necessary
during the past three months.
As described in the amended
bylaws, terms of office will end and
begin this year at the conclusion of a
meeting of the trustees rather than at
the conclusion of a business meeting.
The plan is to have the ballots counted
and the election results known by the
next trustees’ meeting which is scheduled
for Friday, Sept. 4.
The Marketing Committee has
been working diligently to promote
membership. They are developing a
series of short videos that will outline
the benefits of membership, beginning
with some testimonials from current
members.
In conclusion, stay safe, and reach
out to a friend you have not talked to
for some time. Take my word for it,
there is no such thing as Mechanical
Musical Instrument Distancing, so
let’s help keep the music flowing.
MBSI MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
EACH ONE/REACH ONE NEW MEMBER
MBSI is always interested in increasing its membership and is pleased to offer new members a $15
discount off their rst year’s membership. You are considered a new member if you have not been a
member in the past three years. This discount is also available on our website, www.mbsi.org.
Current MBSI members who sponsor a new member will receive a $5 discount off their next year’s
MBSI membership renewal for each sponsorship. Attach a copy of the discount voucher below to a
copy of the membership application form on Page 4 of this issue of Mechanical Music. Place your
name as “sponsor” on the application form.
Please make copies of these forms as needed and send the completed forms with checks to the MBSI
administrator at the address listed below.
★
★
★★
®
(INTERNATIONAL)
ORGANIZED IN 1949
DEVOTED TO ALL MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
★
★
★★
®
(INTERNATIONAL)
ORGANIZED IN 1949
DEVOTED TO ALL MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Musical Box Society International
P.O. Box 10196
Spring eld, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax: (417) 886-8839
Musical Box Society International
P.O. Box 10196
Spring eld, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax: (417) 886-8839
Dues Voucher – $15
New U.S. members may join MBSI for one year at $45 (instead
of $60); Canadians $55 (instead of $70; and, other International
members at $60 (instead of $75). This certi cate 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 certi cate.
Gift Membership Name
Address, City, State, ZIP
Phone Email
Sponsor
SPECIAL OFFER: Purchase one or more rst-year MBSI gift
memberships at $45 each U.S., $55 Canadian, or $60 other International
and you will receive $5 off your next year’s MBSI membership
renewal for each “New Member” gift.
Please mail this form together with your check made payable to “MBSI” to the MBSI Administrator at the address listed
above. Memberships are $45 for U.S. residents, $55 for Canadian residents, and $60 for other International residents.
Editor’s Notes MAILING ADDRESS
MBSI Editorial/Advertising
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
EMAIL ADDRESS
editor@mbsi.org
PHONE
(253) 228-1634
Editor’s Notes MAILING ADDRESS
MBSI Editorial/Advertising
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
EMAIL ADDRESS
editor@mbsi.org
PHONE
(253) 228-1634
By Russell Kasselman
MBSI Editor/Publisher
I’m sad to say that for the first time
in my six years with this publication
there are no chapter reports of any
kind to print. I have not checked
back through every issue, but I’ll
wager a guess that this might be the
first time in this publication’s history
where that has happened. It’s strange
and a bit sad to not see smiling faces
enjoying a potluck and a bit of good
music together, but I’m also grateful
to know that everyone out there is
taking precautions and staying safe. I
look forward to the day when the all
clear is sounded and we can get back
to gathering and enjoying the sights
and sounds of the collections that our
generous members so often share via
chapter meetings and at our annual
meeting.
In the meantime, I must express my
gratitude to the authors who have continued
to share with us their fantastic
articles to fill the pages and keep us all
going though the hard times.
Starting us off, Matt Jaro gives an
account of the American Piano Company
from the perspective of a person
who might have lived during the time
of its operations and followed its rise
and demise in the music trade press.
Great examples from original trade
papers are included, making for a
visual treat as well.
Bill Wineburgh then dives into a
discussion of the many varieties of
Mermod Freres cylinder boxes. He
postulates theories about why there
are so many types and provides charts
and images to further our understanding
of the company’s motives for the
strategies they used.
David Worrall continues his study of
sacred music on cylinder boxes in part
three of a series of five articles. This
time, David tackles hymns and hymn
singing. He provides background on
the rise in popularity of hymns and
then, using Arthur Cunliffe’s Register
of Cylinder Boxes, notes which hymns
seemed to be most popular based on
the number of times they are pinned
on cylinder boxes over the years.
Dr. Robert Penna’s article on Al
Jarazi, a 13th century Arab inventor and
pioneering engineer, gives us a fascinating
look at perhaps one of the first
ever mechanical music automatons.
Al Jazari’s invention, and instructions
on how to build such works may have
even inspired some of the music box
makers we all know today.
And speaking of a music maker we
all know, I’m sure you will enjoy Hope
Rider’s account of Don Stinson’s journey
to become a great organ maker.
Hope shares her personal recollections
of the Stinson Organ Company
from beginning to end with some great
photos of Don Stinson to boot.
Rounding us out is James Kracht,
with his first submission to the journal.
James tells the story of his quest to put
together the perfect 50th anniversary
music box for his wife. It’s a sweet
story and a good addition to the mix
of content in this issue.
I hope you all enjoy this issue, and
I also hope you might be inspired to
write your own article to share during
this time stuck at home since we
might not have any chapter reports
or annual meeting coverage for some
time to come.
Letter to the Editor
Baskanion Music Box Discs
By Kevin McElhone
I am trying to compile some more
tunelists after a gap of a few years,
the first one is for Baskanion 48-note
Musical Box card discs. They are 111/8
inch or 28.5 centimeter in diameter,
made of cardboard. The discs have a
central pivot hole plus four drive holes
like an Ariston disc and indeed have
the name “Ehrlich” on them. They are
labeled in three languages. Can anyone
add more titles to this list, please?
• 5002 • 5024
• 5005 • 5033
• 5006 • 5034
• 5008 • 5035
• 5009 • 5036
• 5010 • 5038
• 5023 • 5041
Thanks to the four people who
have contacted me so far with titles
for Baskanion discs. The numbers
missing from the list are shown above.
Number 5064 is thought to be the
• 5042 • 5056
• 5043 • 5057
• 5044 • 5058
• 5045 • 5059
• 5049 • 5060
• 5052 • 5063
• 5053
highest number issued.
Kevin McElhone is the new members
secretary of the Musical Box
Society of Great Britain. Contact him
at kevinmcelhone@live.co.uk
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 7
MBSI Trustee Meeting Minutes
The MBSI Teleconference meeting
of May 22, 2020, was called to order at
9:07 a.m. after all trustees and officers
had checked into the meeting.
A motion to allow the trustees and
officers of MBSI to meet electronically
was made by Trustee David Corkrum
and seconded by Trustee Sally Craig.
The motion carried.
Several guests were recognized by
President Tom Kuehn. Sandy Swirsky
and Lyle Merithew were recognized as
co-chairs of the Program Committee
organizing the MBSI/AMICA joint
annual meeting in Redwood City,
CA. Joel Cluskey was recognized as
the President of AMICA and an MBSI
member. Bob Skinner was recognized
as an organizer for the AMICA convention
in New Orleans, LA, in 2021.
American Theatre Organ Society Chair
Dave Calendine was also recognized.
Recording Secretary Linda Birkitt
stated that the amended minutes
of the Mar. 13, 2020, MBSI meeting
were sent to the board members for
their review, as additional notes were
included from the original Section 11
meeting notations as follows:
1) Trustee Clay Witt moved that
the Publications Committee budget
be increased by $338.00 which was
seconded by Trustee Matt Jaro. The
budget increase entails rewriting an
upload script to accommodate new
file names, rewriting the search script
for Presto and MTR publications,
uploading all files to the website as
well as testing and verifying all content.
The motion carried unanimously.
2) Discussion ensued regarding the
protocol for lending books to members
outside the U.S. Trustee Mary
Ellen Myers moved to allow members
outside the U.S. to borrow books from
the lending library if the member pays
mailing costs. Trustee Wayne Finger
seconded the motion. The motion
carried.
3) A discussion followed about loaning
and scanning rare books. Trustee
Craig moved, with a second by Trustee
Corkrum, to table the discussion until
a future trustees’ meeting. The motion
carried.
President Kuehn called for a motion
to approve the amended minutes.
Trustee Witt moved to approve the
amended minutes of the Mar. 13, 2020,
meeting with Trustee Edward Cooley
seconding the motion. There being no
other discussion, additions, deletions
or corrections, the motion carried.
President Kuehn asked Trustee
Witt to lead the discussion on bylaw
changes and policy and procedure
(P&P) changes as two separate discussion
items. Trustee Witt requested a
motion be made to adopt the proposed
amendments to the bylaws dated
May 14, 2020. Trustee Myers moved
to adopt the proposed amendments
to the bylaws delineated as Update
1A and Trustee Craig seconded the
motion. Significant discussion followed.
The motion was carried.
Trustee Witt stated that the P&P
amendments are up for consideration.
President Kuehn entertained
a motion to approve the proposed
P&P amendments. Trustee Craig
moved to approve the proposed P&P
amendments dated May 14, 2020, with
Trustee Myers seconding the motion.
Trustee Jaro indicated that the convention
information should be on the
website. President Kuehn asked that
the P&P amendments dated May 14,
2020, be approved as read. The motion
carried.
President Kuehn then asked
Trustee Corkrum to discuss the issue
of finalizing the arrangements with
the Pullman Hotel in Redwood City.
Trustee Corkrum stated that because
of the problems with COVID-19, MBSI
must postpone this meeting. However,
he noted that the final decision to
postpone will lie with the co-chairs
and the board of directors.
President Kuehn asked if Trustee
Jaro would like to make a motion
regarding the upcoming annual meeting.
Trustee Jaro moved that MBSI not
hold the annual meeting scheduled in
Redwood City for 2020. Trustee Finger
seconded the motion.
The motion carried. A great deal of
discussion followed. Program Committee
co-chair Merithew commented,
“we don’t know if we can have a
convention or not, even in the end of
August as it appears illegal to have
groups of greater than 100 persons in
a room.”
President Kuehn agreed to send a
letter to the general manager and the
reservations manager of the Pullman
Hotel stating that MBSI is unable to
hold its meeting as scheduled because
of events beyond the society’s control
and that MBSI will invoke the force
majeure clause to terminate the contract.
The letter will also request the
return of all deposits made.
Trustee Finger reported that the
Marketing Committee has identified a
contractor to assist with the creation
of short videos to promote membership
in the society. The Endowment
Committee was approached regarding
using endowment funds for this project
and the committee endorsed it.
Trustee Finger moved that endowment
funds up to $3,000 be made available
for this video project. The motion
was seconded by Trustee Myers. The
motion carried.
President Kuehn entertained a
motion to adjourn the meeting.
Trustee Witt moved to adjourn the
meeting. Trustee Craig seconded the
motion. The motion passed.
President Kuehn stated that the
next meeting is scheduled as a teleconference
meeting on Sept. 4, 2020.
The meeting concluded at 1:49 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Linda Birkitt Recording Secretary
June 6, 2020
8 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Trustee Bio – Dave Calendine
I started my trek with mechanical
music when I was 3 years old, with
a good ol’ player piano. I really got
the bug for mechanical music while
growing up as my uncle had a small
collection of nickelodeons, a Wurlitzer
band organ and a Wurlitzer Caliola. I
have been fascinated with them ever
since and can’t get enough of them
still to this day.
I am currently the chair of the American
Theatre Organ Society (ATOS)
and would love to see more meetings
between chapters of MBSI, the Automatic
Musical Instrument Collectors’
Association, and the Carousel Organ
Association of America in conjunction
with ATOS chapters. Many of the
members of all four organizations
share the same passions.
I also believe that we need to do
more to promote those instruments
that are more readily available, and
not just the large and nearly-impossible-
to-get orchestrions if we want to
ever get more people to be interested
and involved with our hobby and our
organization.
I am a Warren, OH, native, and cur-Fox Theatre, associate organist at and my day job is the head of Payroll
rently live in downtown Detroit, MI. I Little Caesars Arena for the National for Little Caesars Arena’s food, beveram
the resident organist at the Detroit Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings, age and retail operations.
April 2020
Tim Beggs
Crosswicks, NJ
Sponsor, David Corkrum
Dennis & Jacci Schumaker
Bloomington, MN
May 2020
Edith Lukens
Bend, OR
Joseph & Robin Toomey
Mars, PA
Sponsor, Al Zamba
Linda & Roy Pierce
Simi Valley, CA
Sponsor, Robin Biggins
Welcome new members!
Seeking your stories for ….
The Hunt
Did you once spend time
finding the perfect musical
antique to round out your
collection? What was it? How
did you find it? Was it in ruins, or in perfect condition?
Did you acquire it and restore it so that you might
display it and tell the story to all who visit your home?
If so, you have the perfect story for “The Hunt” column
in Mechanical Music. Editing help is available to
turn your recollections into a good story.
Email your story now to editor Russell Kasselman at
editor@mbsi.org
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 9
Nickel Notes
By Matthew Jaro
A music trade press
reader’s history of the Ampico
This column will present a short
history of the Ampico as a reader
of the Music Trades, The Presto or
The Music Trade Review might have
seen it when those publications were
actively printing. I love doing this sort
of thing because it presents history as
a living thing rather than dull statistics
and overwhelming details.
Formation of the American Piano
Company
The first proof of the non-existence
of the American Piano Company was
in the Mar. 23, 1895, issue of The Music
Trade Review (MTR), as shown in the
image to the right.
This at least shows that company
was incorporated after 1895.
The real news was an announcement
made in the Jun. 13, 1908, issue
of MTR. (See top photo, Page 11.)
Imagine the impact this had at the
time! Big manufacturers like Chickering
and Knabe, forming a combination
called the American Piano Company!
The Electrelle Player System
In 1910, The American Piano
Company acquired the rights to the
Electrelle player-system. This was an
electro-mechanical system. The Electrelle
could be installed in any upright
piano. They expanded this line with
a lever-actuated manual expression
control system for both electric and
pneumatic models.
An editorial in September 1910
10 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
An article in the June 13, 1908, MTR announcing the formation of the American
Piano Company
An article in a September 1910 MTR discussing the American Piano Company’s new
Electrelle Player System.
(bottom left photo this page) indicates
that the path towards reproducing
pianos in America was inevitable and
the American Piano Company held
recitals to demonstrate the Electrelle
system.
Artigraphic Rolls
On May 20, 1911, the American
Piano Company signed an agreement
with Hupfeld to cut their Autographic
rolls featuring famous artists. By May
27, 1911, the name was changed to
“Artigraph.” Either that, or the term
“Autographic” was a typographical
error, since Melville Clark cut Auto-
graphic rolls.
During the year 1911, the American
Piano Company was involved in a
complex suit against the Knabe brothers,
claiming that the company had
exclusive rights to the name Knabe. I
The second paragraph of the top article
from the May 27, 1911, MTR discusses
Artigraphic music rolls
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 11
think that the Knabes lost the suit, but
things were so complex, I’m not sure.
Introduction of the Reproducing
Piano
The article pictured just below
appears in the Jun. 24, 1911, edition of
MTR:
Note the name “Stoddard” is
misspelled. This article references a
Jun. 3, 1911, article (at right) which
is extremely interesting because
it fully describes the reproducing
concept a year before the Ampico
was announced. I think this is the
first mention of the American Piano
Company reproducing piano in the
trade press.
This article snippet from the June 24,
1911, edition of MTR references a Jun.
3, 1911 article that contains a descrip-
tion of the reproducing concept a year
before its introduction.
A small section from an American Piano
Company advertisement in 1911.
This article from the June 3, 1911, edition of MTR describes the reproducing piano
concept a year before its introduction.
12 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
An except from an article from the Feb.
23, 1911, publication The Presto talks
about the American Piano Company’s
use of the name Flexotone.
Flexotone
Also in 1911, the American Piano
Company tried to steal the name
“Flexotone” which was used in 1908 by
Frederick Ives. (See article pictured at
the top left column on Page 13.)
The American Flexotone was a part
of their Electrelle players. The Flexotone
was a hammer-rail with three
positions in order to add nuances of
dynamics. It looks like the American
Piano Company kept using the name.
Rythmodik Rolls
In March 1912, the Rythmodik
rolls were introduced. These were
developed by Charles Fuller Stoddard.
These seem to be ordinary 88-note
rolls, but Stoddard made marvelous
claims for them.
A sample from an article discussing the
patent for the Rythmodik roll.
An advertisement for Rythmodik Record Music Rolls from the American Piano
Company that appeared in the Mar. 30, 1912, edition of MTR.
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 13
An excerpt from an article in the Apr. 20,
1912, issue of MTR, discusses Stoddard
as the inventor of Rythmodik Record
Music Rolls.
Now, dear reader, was the Rythmodik
really much better than the usual
roll or was it just hype? Please let me
know.
The Stoddard-Ampico
George C. Foster, the president of
the American Piano Company states
in his book “Sketches of My Life” that
he and Ernest Knabe went to Boston
in the fall of 1907 to meet Stoddard
“who invented an electric reproducing
piano mechanism,” which the American
Piano Company took control of
and manufactured under the name
Ampico (from Doug Hickling).
Finally, on Aug. 10, 1912, this
announcement appeared in the MTR:
Soon after, the rave reviews kept
pouring in, like this one at right from
Sydney Silber, the pianist.
There are those that say that the
inspiration for the Ampico system was
the Hupfeld Meisterspiel DEA reproducing
piano. This is because many
DEA performances were recoded into
the Ampico format. Also, remember An excerpt from an article in the Mar. 29, 1913, edition of MTR reviewing the perforthat
the American Piano Company mance of the Stoddard-Ampico.
14 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
had an agreement with Hupfeld to cut
their Artigraph rolls. The DEA reproducing
piano was designed by Robert
Frömsdorf and appeared in November
1907. Hupfeld introduced the concept
of splitting the piano into bass and
treble sections in 1902.
Lewis B. Doman
There is a theory floating around
that Lewis B. Doman, not Charles
Stoddard, invented the Ampico system.
Doug Hickling, in the December
1994 AMICA Bulletin, wrote an article
entitled: “Lewis B. Doman: Did He
Invent the Ampico?” Doug mentions
that Harvey Roehl, in his book, “Player
Piano Treasury,” stated, “Just who
deserves credit for the basic development
of the Ampico mechanism is
not clear …” I checked in my second
edition of Harvey’s book and any such
statement had been changed so that
Stoddard got full credit, while Doman
was credited with working on some
features (like the unit valves). Doug
does go on to say that Doman never
claimed to have invented the mechanism,
he concludes that:
“While acknowledging that Doman
may have designed the unit block
valve and that he may have done
some production engineering on the
Ampico system during its manufacture,
it would appear that the claims
that Doman did the basic development
work on the Ampico are unfounded.”
If you are an AMICA member, you
can go to the AMICA website and read
this very interesting article from the
December 1994 issue for yourself.
In my own research into the trade
press, I found a reference to Lewis B.
A reference to Lewis B. Doman as inven-
tor of “The Maestro,” as printed in the
May 7, 1898, issue of MTR.
Doman in 1898. The Amphion system
was very important to the Ampico
history because that company manufactured
the Ampico mechanism from
around 1917 to 1928. The Amphion
Company absorbed Doman’s work on
the Maestro.
Clarence Hickman and
the Ampico B
Alf Werolin wrote an article for the
AMICA Bulletin of June 1976 where
he discusses Clarence Hickman, a
principal developer of the Ampico B
system. Dr. Hickman was an honorary
member of AMICA. This article is also
reprinted on the AMICA website.
In 1924, the American Piano
Company decided to establish a fully
equipped research laboratory in the
new Chickering Hall in New York
under the direction of Charles Fuller
Stoddard, the inventor of the Ampico.
Mr. Stoddard realized the need for
a physicist and mathematician in
undertaking more advanced research
in the operation of reproducing
instruments. Thus Hickman was
employed to work on the improvement
of the Ampico as well as on
other aspects of automatic piano
manufacture and operation.
Dr. Hickman’s work brought a high
degree of sophistication to player
piano technology and resulted in two
monumental accomplishments: the
development of the Ampico dynamic
recording machine; and the improved
Model B Ampico. These developments,
and other improvements to both the
piano and reproducing mechanisms
are well described and illustrated in
Larry Givens’ book on the Ampico. It
is apparent from reading this historical
account that Hickman made an
outstanding contribution to the development
of this reproducing piano.
There are few references to Hickman
in the trade press. Most searches
for the name return articles about Art
Hickman, an early jazz band leader.
In 1928, Edward S. Werolin (father
of Alf Werolin) and Dr. Hickman
were invited to attend a reading of a
paper on “An Acoustic Laboratory for
the Testing of Music and Other Steel
An excerpt from an article by William
Braid White, MTR technical editor, in the
March 1931 issue.
Wires” by William Braid White for the
American Iron and Steel Institute.
Interestingly enough, the same William
Braid White wrote the influential book
entitled “Piano Playing Mechanisms,”
which discusses reproducing pianos
in detail. You can see from this sort
of thing how very important the piano
business was in the 1920s.
I don’t think that Hickman would
have approved of an action that was
good enough for amateurs but not for
professional musicians!
Edward S. Werolin
Edward was the service manager for
the American Piano Company in the
1920s. Alf gave a great deal of Ampico
material to Richard Howe, who in turn
donated it to the International Piano
Archives in Maryland.
Edward S. Werolin was referred to
as Edwin S. Werolin in the trade press.
I wonder which is correct. Anyway,
Werolin achieved some fame by organizing
Ampico service courses in 1924
and beyond that were very successful.
A little offshoot of the training
classes was reported in a 1925 edition
of Presto (photo Page 16).
Alf Werolin, Edwin’s son, even
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 15
A small note in the Aug. 8, 1925, issue of
The Presto mentions E.S. Werolin as a
popular presenter during a piano tuners
convention in Detroit, MI.
attended a post-graduate course
in Springfield, MA, in 1926 and his
picture appears in Presto. Most of the
articles referenced the schools which
were conducted all over the country
for many years.
Sale to Aeolian
In August of 1932, the Aeolian
Corporation (makers of the Duo-Art
system) bought out the American
Piano Company.
Now, ironically, two rival systems
were under one ownership.
The End of Ampico
The last Ampico mechanisms were
installed in spinet pianos known as
“Baby Ampicos” in 1938. The last
Ampico rolls were made in the factory
in 1941. Aeolian-American resumed
production of spinet player pianos in
1957.
The combined corporation, Aeolian-
American, was acquired in 1959 by
Winter & Co. It declared bankruptcy
in 1985. Wurlitzer acquired the Chickering
brand name. (Thanks to Art
Reblitz for this bit of history).
Ampico Researchers
Throughout the years there have
been many researchers that have
contributed greatly to the history
and workings of the Ampico reproducing
pianos. Richard Howe wrote
many articles on the Ampico for the
AMICA Bulletin and collected a great
amount of material. Jeffry Morgan
was also very prolific. “The Evolution
of the Ampico” by Howe and Morgan
describes how features were added to
the models throughout time (AMICA
Bulletin, Nov/Dec, 1991). Richard
Howe also wrote an article, entitled
“The Early Days of Ampico,” which
This article from the August-September 1932 issue of MTR discusses the merger of
the American Piano Company and Aeolian.
discusses patents and the results of
a library search. It’s interesting that
Dick Howe could only look through
three years of the MTR and had to do
so by physically going to the Lincoln
Center Library in New York. Thanks
to modern indexing, I was able to go
through all issues to find exactly what
I was looking for. In addition, Bill
Koenigsberg is very knowledgeable,
having restored many pianos himself.
There are many others, and I apologize
for my failure to mention them.
The Pianola Institute has an interesting
website: http://www.pianola.org/
reproducing/reproducing_ampico.cfm
Of course, there are the following
references:
• Larry Givens: “Re-enacting the
Artist: A Story of the Ampico
Reproducing Piano,” Vestal, N.Y.:
16 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Vestal Press, 1970.
• Elaine Obenchain: “The Complete
Catalog of Ampico Reproducing
Piano Rolls,” New York: American
Piano Co., 1977. ISBN 0- 96011721-
0 (Available online from the
AMICA website).
• The Ampico A&B, Duo-Art and
Welte Service Manuals have
all been reprinted, as have the
Ampico Service Manual 1929 and
12 Ampico Roll Bulletins.
• The AMICA website, www.amica.
org, has a ton of AMPICO literature
thanks to Terry Smythe.
An advertisement from the
Feb. 7, 1920, edition of
MTR where the American
Piano Company extolled
its “supremacy.”
Email Matt Jaro at mjaro@verizon.
net if you would like any information
about style “A”, “G”, “4X”, “H” or “O” rolls.
Also, comments and suggestions for this
column will be appreciated.
Reprinted with permission of the
author and The Automatic Musical
Instrument Collectors’ Association
(AMICA). Originally printed in the
July-August 2014 issue of The AMICA
Bulletin.
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 17
Mermod Frères Varieties
By Bill Wineburgh
In the musical box collecting arena,
the Symphonion Music Box Company
is notorious for the large number of
different disc sizes it produced. Dave
Bowers in his Encyclopedia lists
21 sizes, ranging from 4½-inches to
29½-inches in diameter. Each had its
playing mechanism, some only with
a single comb and others with both a
single comb and a second model with
two combs. Several sizes had different
case styles as well. Yikes! I suppose
that by doing so they tried to appeal
to as large an audience as possible,
from simple lower cost models to
more complex expensive models.
They were a successful company for
many years so that must have worked
for them. The business case for their
great variety then translates to greater
sales.
With this in mind, I found myself
noticing for some time that there
are quite a variety of sizes and styles
that Mermod Frères manufactured. I
think that their case for the variety in
sizes and designs, like Symphonion,
had everything to do with sales. And
like Symphonion, the manufacturing
costs were appropriately built into the
prices to the purchaser.
Mermod Frères operated on Avenue
des Alpes in Ste Croix, Switzerland,
for most of the 19th century, beginning
in 1816 as quality watchmakers.
They were one of the most awarded
Ideal and Peerless music boxes on display at the
1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago,
IL. Note the display of interchangeable cylin
ders hanging vertically on the wall behind.
18 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
brands in the Swiss mechanical watch
industry.
In the second half of the century,
they began manufacturing cylinder
musical boxes, which they made in a
wide variety of sizes and styles, and in
the late 19th century, they made Stella
and Mira brand disc musical boxes in
order to compete with the new German
disc musical box industry. Their
cylinder musical boxes were of high
quality and many were coin-operated
to be placed in public venues, providing
excellent advertising for their
brand. They were sold worldwide and
were especially well received in America
where
many were cased in American-made
cabinets.
Prolific manufacturers, they
made many thousands of cylinder
musical boxes in more varieties than
Symphonion or any other musical
box manufacturer. An 1890 full-page
advertisement from a 92-page catalog
from Mermod & Jaccard & Co. in
St. Louis, MO, (see advertisement
Page 20) shows 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12-air
musical boxes with choices of tunes
from which a buyer could select.
Additionally, single-air musical boxes
for children were also available, again
with a choice of tunes.
And these were only the fixed-cylinder
cartel musical boxes they made.
The 1895 Illustrated Catalog of
Heeren Bros. & Co. Jewelers in Pittsburgh,
PA, also shows a huge variety
of sizes and styles of both fixed and
interchangeable cylinder musical
boxes offered from Mermod Frères.
The 1887-1888 Jacot & Son Catalog
of Musical Boxes describes a series
of cartel format interchangeable cylinder
boxes, having double-coupled
spring barrels on the left side with
model names Harpe-Piccolo, Sublime
Harmonie, and Guitare to name a few.
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 19
An advertisement from Mermod & Jaccard & Co showing various models available for purchase.
20 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Photo 1a Photo 1a
As prolific as the company was
with fixed cylinder cartel boxes,
they became the industry leader in
the manufacture of interchangeable
cylinder musical boxes. Many manufacturers
made musical boxes that had
several changeable cylinders in order
to increase the program available for
their instruments, but the cylinders
were only good for one specific musical
box. I have seen orphan cylinders
for sale over the years with serial numbers
and cylinder numbers that cry out
for the musical box from which they
came. Mermod Frères, however, made
instruments that would truly allow
cylinders to be interchangeable within
a style and size. Such was their precise
manufacturing that if someone purchased
a model from them, they could
order additional cylinders a year or so
later that would play perfectly on their
musical box (or on any other musical
box of the same model).
A photo of the company’s display
Photo 1b
at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition
in Chicago (pages 18-19) shows
eight different size interchangeable
cylinders hanging on the wall in their
display (smaller non-interchangeable
cylinders are also hung in the center
of the same display).
Jean-Claude Piguet describes Mer-
mod Frères in his book “The Music
Box Makers.” One important note he
makes is that they are the first musical
box manufacturer to establish a
research and development department.
Several innovations attributed
to Mermod, include the “Parachute”
safety check that helped prevent a
“run” if a governor was to fail, a different
method of changing tunes unlike
typical methods used by most Swiss
makers and a “Tune Skipper to allow
a user to select a specific tune on the
cylinder.”
It is these innovations and their
several variations that are the subjects
of this article.
Changing The Tunes
On typical Swiss cylinder boxes,
the tune change snail cam is mounted
on the right-hand side of the cylinder
shaft, inside and attached to the great
gear. (Photos 1a and 1b, above.)
A cam follower is mounted on the
right end of the cylinder on the edge
of the cylinder cap and rides on the
snail cam steps, each step moving the
cylinder to the left for as many steps
as are on the snail cam (i.e the number
of tunes pinned on the cylinder) until
at last the snail cam reaches the last
tune and when the snail cam turns this
last time the snail returns to the lowest
step (tune number 1). The distance
between the tips of the comb teeth
allows for as many cylinder pins as
are in the number of tunes pinned on
the cylinder, and the number of steps
in the snail cam.
In order to make this work, a spring
is mounted on the left end of the
cylinder shaft to force the cylinder to
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 21
return to the right, providing pressure
against the snail cam follower that
rests on the snail cam step and when
the snail cam returns to tune number
1, the cylinder is forced all the way to
the right to once again to begin the
program of tunes.
Mermod manufactured a large
variety of such cartel boxes having
the spring barrel on the left end with
a lever to wind the spring barrel that
use this style tune change mechanism.
However, I have limited the scope of
the rest of this article to Mermod’s
Peerless and Ideal series of musical
box mechanisms that are wound with
a removable crank used with a spring
barrel situated on the right side of
the works. The company made no
less than 21 varieties in their Peerless
and Ideal brands (see Chart 1, pages
24-25), most of which could be purchased
with several case styles, some
of those having storage for additional
cylinders. So, on those musical box
mechanisms, how did they change the
tunes?
Mermod Snail Cam
On these Mermod cylinder boxes,
rather than a typical Swiss snail cam,
the tune change cam (or snail cam) is a
uniquely shaped cam as seen in photo
2 below that is mounted in front of the
left-hand spring barrel arbor as part of
the change/repeat mechanism. Figure
2a is an excerpt from Mermod U.S.
Patent No. 382292, dated May 8, 1888,
Photo 2 Figure 2a
showing the design of the snail cam.
Some such Mermod boxes have a
tune indicator incorporated in their
change/repeat mechanisms and some
do not. Let’s look at these more closely.
Mermod Change/Repeat
Mechanisms
I have observed four varieties of
change/repeat mechanisms. The first
is a half-moon plate with CHANGE
along the top left, REPEAT along the
top right and the Mermod trademark
shield at the top center. The knob at
the bottom center has a pointed arrow
that indicates which selection has
been chosen. There is no way to select
a tune, only whether you want to
repeat the same tune or change to the
next tune. I will call this variety CR-1.
Second is a simple rectangular
plate, elongated at the top and bottom,
which I will call CR-2. This one also
cannot select a tune, but can only set
it to change or repeat the current tune.
A third is a shield shaped plate with
tune numbers visible through holes
in the shield that I will call CR-3, and
fourth is a shield shaped plate with a
pointer that I will call CR-4. Photos
3a through 3d at right show these
varieties.
Robin Biggins wrote an excellent
article describing these last two varieties
(see Mechanical Music, Winter
1999, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 9-12) so I will
not repeat that discussion here.
U.S. Patent No. 382292, mentioned
Figure 3a above, then 3b, 3c, and 3d are
shown below.
22 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Figure 4a
above, also shows the details of the
CR-3 tune change mechanism (Figures
4a through 4c above).
Each of the four change/repeat
mechanisms use the same style of
snail cam which is unique to Mermod
Frères. Two methods of mounting the
snail cam on the left-hand side of the
cylinder have been seen: vertically
(Type V), that is, perpendicular to the
bedplate and angled at 45 degrees in
the crook of the change/repeat mechanism
(Type A). Both of the change/
repeat mechanisms that incorporate
tune indicators CR-3 and CR-4 use the
Type A (45-degree mounting) where
the snail cam is mounted on a shaft
under and part of the tune change
indicator.
Types CR-3 and CR-4 both operate
using a raised bump incorporated on
the left cylinder rim that moves the
snail cam when in the change position
(See Photo 5). Both CR-3 and CR-4
varieties allow the user to select the
Figure 4b
tune by turning the knob with the
attached arrow to point to the desired
tune number. Mermod advertised this
feature as a “Tune Skipper.”
Types CR-2, CR-3 and CR-4 change/
repeat mechanisms have been used
on both fixed and interchangeable
cylinder boxes. Type CR-1 has only
been observed on the Peerless series
of interchangeable mechanisms.
In both the Type CR-1 and CR-2
mechanisms that have no tune selecting
capability, the snail cam is held
directly against the left-side cylinder
arbor with a shoulder screw either
vertically or at an angle. The cylinders
use a groove in the left end of the cylinder
cap, rather than using the bump,
to move the snail cam and change the
tune. The cylinders themselves may
have both an indent and a bump so
that they could be used with either
type of change/repeat mechanism
(Photo 6).
Figure 4c
As an aside, the vertically mounted
snail cam used in CR-2, where the
CR-2 plate is mounted parallel to the
bedplate, is seen only on Mermod
fixed cylinder boxes. On these fixed
cylinder boxes, the tune change cam
is activated by a groove in the left cylinder
cap (or in an added left cylinder
cap). An example of this CR-2 variety
in a fixed cylinder mechanism has also
been seen that incorporated a tune
indicator (photo on Page 26).
Some fixed cylinder mechanisms
with this setup also have a raised
bump incorporated on the left edge
of the cylinder in conjunction with a
piece of spring steel mounted parallel
to the musical comb, which I believe
adds tension to hold the snail cam in
place when the change/repeat lever is
Photo 5 Photo 6
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 23
CHART 1
Mermod Frères Interchangeable Cylinder Sizes – Cylinders playing 6-tunes**
Cylinder
Length Diameter Model/Order No. (Comb Teeth) Model Name & Cylinder Number Series
Peerless Musical Boxes (Single Spring Barrel)
5-1/2” 2-1/2” 350 (37) Peerless One or Two tunes per turn 425-499
5-1/2” 2-1/2” 351 Extra Cylinders two-per-turn (12 shorter tunes) 425-449
5-1/2” 2-1/2” 352 Extra Cylinders one song per turn (6 longer tunes) 450-499
7-1/2” 2-1/2” 355, 360, 365 (50) Peerless One or Two tunes per turn 425-499
7-1/2” 2-1/2” 356 Extra Cylinders one song per turn (6 longer tunes) 450-499
7-1/2” 2-1/2” 357 Extra Cylinders two-per-turn (12 shorter tunes) 425-449
7-1/2” 2-1/2” 366, 368, 369 (61) Peerless Forte Piccolo 1250-1299
7-1/2” 2-1/2” 367 Extra Cylinders
9” 2-1/2” 370, 372, 374 (62) Peerless Forte Piccolo 1250-1299
9” 2-1/2” 371 Extra Cylinders
Ideal Musical Boxes (Coupled Spring Barrels)
9” 2-1/2” 395, 400 (6) Ideal Excelsior 900-999
9” 2-1/2” 396 Extra Cylinders
10-7/8” 2-1/2” 400, 405 Playing 8 Airs**
??
Ideal Concerta 100-200 and 1000-1049
10-7/8” 2-1/2” 401 Extra Cylinders
11” 2-1/2” 410, 420, 421 (77) Ideal Guitare 600-649
11” 2-1/2” 411 Extra Cylinders
11” 2-1/2” 412, 422, 423 (77) Ideal Piccolo 650-699
11” 2-1/2” 413 Extra Cylinders
11” 2-1/2” 414, 424, 425 (39, 39) Ideal Sublime Harmonie 700-749
11” 2-1/2” 415 Extra Cylinders
11” 2-1/2” 580 Ideal Sublime Harmonie with Bells (Mandarin Strikers)
11” 2-1/2” 589 Extra Cylinders
24 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Cylinder
Length Diameter Model/Order No. (Comb Teeth) Model Name & Cylinder Number Series
11” 2-1/2” 610 Ideal Forte Piccolo with Drum & Bells (Mandarin Strikers)
11” 2-1/2” 619 Extra Cylinders
11” 2-1/2” 634 Playing 8 Airs** Ideal Flutes, Bells in View (Mandarin Strikers)
11” 2-1/2” 639 Extra Cylinders
14-1/2” 2-1/2” 416, 430, 431 (51, 51) Ideal Soprano 500-549
14-1/2” 2-1/2” 417 Extra Cylinders
14-1/2” 2-1/2” 590 (14, 41, 41, 6) Ideal Sublime Harmonie with Drum, Bells & Castanets (Mandarin Strikers)
14-1/2” 2-1/2” 599 Extra Cylinders
14-1/2” 3-1/2” 500 Ideal Sublime Harmonie with Bells, Drum & Castanets 1100-1149
14-1/2” 3-1/2” 501 Extra Cylinders
14-1/2” 3-1/2” 510 Ideal Soprano with Bells, Drum & Castanets 1150-1199
14-1/2” 3-1/2” 511 Extra Cylinders
14-1/2” 2-1/2” 644 Playing 8 Airs** Ideal Orchestra Flutes Basses (with Drum, Bells & Castanet) Mandarin
Strikers
14-1/2” 2-1/2” 649 Extra Cylinders
18” 2-1/2” 435 (44, 79) Ideal Sublime Harmonie Piccolo 550-599
18” 2-1/2” 436 Extra Cylinders
20” 3-1/2” 440 (66, 73) Ideal Quatuor Soprano 1050-1099
20” 3-1/2” 441 Extra Cylinders
20” 3-1/2” 654 Playing 8 Airs** Ideal Orchestra (with Flutes, Drum, Bells & Castanet) Mandarin Strikers
20” 3-1/2” 659 (6, 28, 29, 22, 12) Extra Cylinders
24-1/2” 3-1/2” 520 (45, 45, 32) Ideal Sublime Harmonie Piccolo 1200-1249
24-1/2” 3-1/2” 521
??
Extra Cylinders
NOTES:
Different Model Numbers were available with different Case Styles: Rosewood, Inlaid Mahogany, Solid Mahogany and Oak and with a
storage drawer.
Not all cylinder numbers in a series were used. Cylinders have been found with “custom” pinning, having cylinder numbers outside the
above ranges
A later Mermod catalog published in 1895 in French & German (not in English) lists different model numbers for the Peerless & Ideal
Models.
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 25
Grooved End Cap
not in the locked (repeat) position.
Mermod Cylinder Return Springs
Whereas a typical Swiss cylinder
mechanism uses a coil spring on
the left end of the cylinder shaft to
force the cylinder to the right end
against the snail cam, Mermod, in
Added Spring Steel
these designs, went the opposite
direction, pushing (or pulling) the
cylinder toward the left end where
their unique snail cam was placed.
The Mermod research and development
staff did not limit their designs
to just a single one. I have observed
the following methods of forcing the
With Tune Indicator
cylinder against the snail cam using:
a spring on the cylinder shaft (RS-1),
a spring on the spring barrel arbor
(RS-2), a spring internal to the spring
barrel (RS-3), a spring on a separate
offset shaft attached to the spring
barrel (RS-4) and a spring steel fork
attached to the left end of the bedplate
RS-1 Example RS-2 Example
26 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
RS-3 Example
Figure RS-1 Patent Diagram
to pull the cylinder from the left side
(RS-5).
The RS-1 method is used only on
their fixed cylinder mechanisms. RS-4
is used on both fixed and interchangeable
cylinder mechanisms. RS-2, RS-3
are used only on Interchangeable models
and RS-5 has only been observed
on the “Peerless” interchangeable
models. Examples of each design are
shown in the photos left and above.
U.S. Patent No. 442609, dated Dec.
16, 1890, shows the diagram for the
RS-1 spring design. U.S. Patent No.
382292 shows the diagram for the RS-2
spring design.
To take this further, I thought that it
would be interesting to associate each
of these types with Mermod serial
numbers to see if there is a progression
over time to perhaps show that
RS-4 Example
Figure RS-2 Patent Diagram
each change/repeat or return spring
variety was tried in succession. After
small survey of more than 100 mechanisms,
however, there seems to be no
such succession.
With thanks to Robin Biggins, Reg
Smith and Carol Beck for their help
with many details included in this
article, not the least of which were the
several Jacot & Son catalogs from Reg
Smith’s collection.
I would encourage anyone who has
further information about Mermod
varieties to add to our knowledge base
by submitting an article to this journal.
RS-5 CR-2 with cylinder
RS-5 CR-4 without cylinder
Sources:
• Bowers, Q. David, “Encyclopedia of Mechanical
Music”
• Biggins, Robin, MBSI Journal Winter 1999,
Volume 45, Issue 3
• Heeren Bros. & Co. Catalog, 1895-1896
• Jacot & Son Catalog of Musical Boxes,
1887-1888
• Jacot & Son Catalog of Musical Boxes,
1888-1889
• Jacot & Son Catalog of the Ideal Interchangeable
Cylinder Musical Boxes, 1893
• Jacot & Son Catalog of Musical Boxes,
1893-1894
• Mermod & Jaccard Sales Catalog, 1890
• Mermod “Prix Courant illustre, Boites À
Musique, No. 34 (Fr. & Ger. catalog), 18951896
• Piguet, Jean-Claude, “The Music Box
Makers of Ste Croix”
• US Patent Office: Patent Nos. 382292,
442609
• Photos by Bill Wineburgh
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 27
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28 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Sacred Music On
Cylinder Musical Boxes
PART 3: HYMNS.
Photo courtesy Wikimedia.org – author Diliff
The choir of Canterbury Cathedral, looking west toward the nave. Canterbury
Cathedral is the seat of power for the Church of England. Hymns were not sung
here until they were officially approved in the 1820s.
By David Worrall
Hymns may be defined as words
of metrical composition, i.e. in verse,
with poetical rhythm and set to music
in order to be sung by congregations
of ordinary people as part of religious
services in churches and chapels.
Following the Reformation in the
16th century, hymn singing quickly
became part of church services in
parts of continental Europe that followed
the Lutheran practice. It came
late to Britain where, under Calvin
practice, the only singing permitted
in church services was metrical versions
of the Psalms and other verses
from the Bible. Not until the middle
of the 18th century did hymns as we
know them begin to become a part of
religious services and then only in the
non-conformist churches, notably the
Methodists. The introduction to the
1933 edition of “The Methodist Hymn
Book” opens with the words “Methodism
was born in song…” for the
verses of many hymns that came to be
sung by Methodists, and subsequently
other denominations, were written by
Charles Wesley (1707-1788), one of the
founding fathers of Methodism in the
early and mid-18th century. Wesley
authored more than 6,500 hymns.
By the beginning of the 19th century
hymn singing was finding a degree of
favour within more forward-thinking
elements of The Church of England.
Thoughts and
Background Notes
This series of articles was first published
in 2017-2018 in The Music Box,
the Journal of The Musical Box Society
of Great Britain. It arose from research
prompted by the extracts from Mechanical
Music Digest (www.mmdigest.com).
Originally, it was intended to be short
and so published in one edition of The
Music Box. As the research progressed,
however, the scope gradually increased
to the extent that necessitated publication
in five parts over five consecutive
editions, the scope of each part being
explained in the text of the article itself.
By its nature, such research becomes
outdated as new or additional material
is found on surviving musical boxes that
continue to come to light. The article is
therefor now republished in Mechanical
Music with all changes necessitated by
this new material as of Sept. 30, 2019.
Throughout this article, the use of
the term “sacred” is used entirely with
reference to the Christian faith and then
in relation to the music identified and
referred to herein.
Parts 1 and 2, published in the previous
editions of Mechanical Music, gave
background for the article, defined sacred
music, gave overall statistical details
of the extent sacred music on cylinder
musical boxes and discussed results
from the detailed analysis of classical
sacred music. Part 3 of the Article now
discusses the results obtained from the
similar analysis of the second group of
sacred music – hymns.
In 1816 a prayer book was published
that included around a dozen hymns.
Among these are two hymns, the
words of which came to be associated
with the tunes “Morning Hymn”
and “Evening Hymn,” two tune titles
frequently seen on musical box tune
sheets.
Officially sanctioned by The Church
of England in the 1820s, hymn
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 29
singing in the church’s services only
spread gradually during the next two
decades. Other denominations were
even slower to adopt the practice,
not taking it up until well into the
latter part of 19th century. The first
edition of “Hymns Ancient & Modern”
did not appear until March 1861, but
then became the model for others
to follow in two ways: the setting of
each hymn to a particular tune, and
publishing both the words and their
associated tune together rather than
in separate collections. The delay to
officially sanction hymn singing on the
part of The Church of England did not
prevent worshipers from adopting the
practice very early on in their homes
where singing hymns was believed to
have become a common, and indeed
popular, pastime.
The main point here is that the
singing of hymns, whether by church
congregations or by people in their
homes, became widespread and
popular over the same period that the
cylinder musical box was developed
and reached its zenith – the second,
third and fourth quarters of the 19th
century. It is not surprising, therefore,
that these social and cultural developments
were reflected by musical
box makers in providing some sacred
music in the form of hymn tunes
amongst their otherwise mainly secular
repertoire.
The detailed results of the researches
into hymn tunes on cylinder musical
boxes are set out in Tables 8A and 8B.
Table 8A shows those hymns that have
been identified by the name of the
Hymn Tune, whilst Table 8B shows
those identified by the text of the first
line of the words of the hymn found
written on the tune sheet.
Table 8A: Hymns Identified by Tune Name – on Musical Boxes with Hymn & Hybrid Sacred Air Programmes.
Tune Name Incidence Notes
Old Hundredth. [Old
100th]
106 See Note 1
The Evening. Hymn. 86 See Note 2
The Morning. Hymn. 70 See Note 3.
Adeste Fidelis 53 See Note 4.
Sicilian. Mariners. 50 See Note 5.
Helmsley. 41 Set to the words of the hymn
“Lo! He Comes with Clouds
Descending” by Charles
Wesley
Luther’s Chorale. 30 See Note 6.
Vesper Hymn 24
Easter. Hymn. 17 Various references to “Easter
Hymn – All as the same tune
“Easter Morn” from Lyra
Davidica
Rock of Ages. 17 Set to the hymn “Rock of
Ages, Cleft for me”
Devises. Hymn. 15
German Hymn. 14 Composed by I. Pleyel;
Probably to the words “Children
of the Heavenly King”;
sometimes seen as “Pleyels
Hymn”.
Luther’s Hymn. 13 Great God what do I See?
Mount Ephraim. 12
Austria – Hymn. 10 See Note 7.
Missionary. Hymn. 10 Words to this tune almost
certainly “From Greenland’s
Icy Mountains”
New Sabbath. Hymn. 9
Tune Name Incidence Notes
St. Alphage 9 Associated with “Brief Life is
our Portion Here”
Brattle Street. Hymn. 8 See Notes to Tune 4 in Table
11
Cambridge SM 8
All Saints. Hymn. 7
Doxology. Hymn. 7 “Praise God from Whom all
Blessings Flow”.
Hallelujah. 7 This could be anything, from
the Hallelujah Chorus to
any of several hymn tunes
bearing this name.
Lyons. Hymn. 7
Bedford. Hymn. 6
Cambridge New 6
Hanover. Hymn. 6 Usually set to the words “O
Worship the King”
Hotham 6 References to “Flotham” not
recognised as a hymn tune.
Could be a misread of the
tune “Hotham.”
Oxford. 6
Vital Spark. Hymn. 6 To the words: “Vital Spark of
Heavenly Flame”
Houghton. Hymn. 5 Most probably for the words
“Oh Heavenly King, Look
Down From Above”
Abington. 5 A village in Scotland. Also
seen on tune sheets as
Abingdon, a town in England
not recognised as a tune
name. These taken to be the
same tune.
30 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Tune Name Incidence Notes
Evening Prayer. This
Night. Costa.
5
Arabia. Hymn. 4
Bridport. Hymn. 4
Falmouth. Hymn. 4
Pembroke. Hymn. 4
Austrian Evening
Hymn. Hermans.
3
Eaton. Hymn. 3
Justification. 3
Lonsdale Hymn. 3
Silent Night 3
Abridge 2 Probably for the words of
the hymn “O For a Heart to
Praise my God”
Bolton 2
Chalvey 2
Dismissal 2 Probably to the words
“Lord Dismiss Us with Thy
Blessing”
French.[Dundee] 2 Words almost certainly “God
Moves in a Mysterious Way”
Majestic 2
Monmouth 2
Newport 2
Queenboro’ 2
St Anne 2 For the words “O God Our
Help in Ages Past”
Advent Hymn 1
Angel Voices 1
Beautiful River 1
Berwick 1
Bradley Church 1
Brightest & Best 1
Christ Church CM 1
Cranbrook 1 Written on the Tune Sheet as
“Cronbrook”
Creation 1
Elland 1
Foundling 1
Georgia 1
Greenwich 1
Haxton Chapel LM 1
Heavenly Breezes 1
Israel 1
Tune Name Incidence Notes
Lux Benigna 1 Set to the words ”Lead
Kindly Light”
London 1
Macedonia 1
Magdelen [College] 1
Mary Magdalen 1
Oswestry 1
Portugal 1
Refuge 1
Sawley 1
St Mathew 1
St Stephen 1
University 1 Probably for the words of the
hymn “The God of Love My
Shepherd Is”
Vienna 1
Wells 1
Wem in Leidenstagen 1
Identified Hymn
Tunes
83
Total Incidences 763
Notes for Table 8A
1. Found on tune sheets in the following variations: Old Hundred;
Old Hundredth; Old Hundredth Psalm; Old Hundredeth [sic]
psalm; Old Hundredth Hymn; Old 100th; Old 100 LM; Old 100th
psalm; and even Old Room [sic]. [Old 100th]; the tune is usually
set to the words “All people that on Earth do Dwell”
2. Found on tune sheets in the following variations: Evening; The
Evening; Evening Hymn; The Evening Hymn.
3. Titles on tune sheets vary: Morning; Morning Hymn; The Morning
Hymn; The Morning.
4. Found on tune sheets as “Adeste Fidelis”; “Portuguese Hymn”;
“Portuguese”; all taken as “Adeste Fideles”, to which “O Come All
Ye Faithfull” is sung; often referred to as “Portuguese Hymn”; its
origins are unknown and has been attributed to various composers,
including King John IV of Portugal, the musical king.
5. Usually associated with the words “Lord Dismiss Us, with Thy
Blessing”; seen on tune sheets as: “Sicilian”; “Mariners”, “Sicilian
Mariners”; “Sicilian [Mariners]” and “O Sanctissima”;
traditionally used for the Roman Catholic Marian hymn “O
Sanctissima” and sung by Sicilian seamen at the end of each
day’s fishing.
6. Seen as “Luther’s Choral”; “Luther’s Chorale”; “Luther’s Chorus”
[Luther’s Chorale]”; “Chorale de Luther”; “Choral Luther. Amous
[sic – probably chorus]”; “Choral de Luther. Seigneur rampant”;
“Choral de Luther. Meyerbeer”; “Choral de Luther. Les Huguenots”;
“Ein Feste Burg. Luther” ; all taken to refer to the tune
“Ein’ Feste Burg” (“A Mighty Fortress”) composed by Martin
Luther. Meyerbeer used it as a basis for some of his choral and
organ work – hence the reference to “Les Hugenots”.
7. Found on tune sheets as “Austrian Hymn”; “Austrian National
Hymn [Austria]”; “Austrian National Hymn-Haydn”; “Austrian
Emperor’s Hymn”; “Emporer [sic] Hymn. [Austria]”; “The
Emperor’s Hymn. [Austria]”; all assumed to refer to “Austria”
composed by Haydn, said now to have been based on a Croatian
folk tune.
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 31
Table 8B: Hymns Identified by 1st Line of Text – on Musical Boxes with Hymn & Hybrid Sacred Air
Programmes.
Words of the Hymn Incidence Notes
Before Jehovah’s awful throne. 76 Almost certainly another setting of “Old Hundredth”
Abide with me. 68 The tune pinned is most probably “Eventide” by W.H Monk
Nearer My God. Hymn. 61 The tune pinned could any one of several: “Horbury” by JB Dykes; Bethany” by
Lowell Mason
Onward Christian Soldiers. Haydn. 39 See Note 1.
Sun of my Soul Thou Saviour Dear. 38 Tune pinned could be either: “Abends” by Oakeley; or “Hursley” by “Keble
Sound the loud Tymbrel. 36 The tune pinned on these boxes is probably “Avison”
Hark The Herald Angels. 31 Most probably the tune pinned in “Berlin”, by Mendelssohn
O Paradise O Paradise 31 Tune not identified
Jerusalem the Golden. Ewing. 28 The tune pinned is “Ewing” by A. Ewing
Pilgrims of the Night. Bowling. 28 Tune not identified
All hail the power of Jesus. 22 See Note 3.
Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. 16 Almost certainly the tune pinned is “Nicea” by JB Dykes
As with Gladness Men of Old. Koches. 14 The tune pinned is most probably “Dix” by C. Kocher
Jesus Lover of My Soul. 14 See Note 4.
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. 14 The tune probably “Rockingham”
We Love thy House O God. 9 The tune pinned is probably “Quam Dilecta” by Jenner
Eternal Father strong to save. 8 Almost certainly the tune pinned is “Melita” by JB Dykes
Let the bright Seraphins. Hymn. Carnaby
8 Tune pinned “Carnaby”?
Lord of all Power. Hymn. 7 Tune pinned not identified.
Hark, Hark my Soul. 5 Most probably the tune pinned is “Swiss Air” by Goule.
Lord of the Worlds above. 5 Tuned pinned most probably “Darwall 148”
Sweet Saviour bless us. 5 Tune pinned not identified.
Angels Ever bright. Hymn. 4 Tune pinned not identified.
How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds. 4 Probably the tune pinned is St Peter by Reinagle.
I will arise. Hymn. 4 Tune pinned not identified.
Art Thou Weary 3 Tune pinned not identified.
Let the Hills Resound. 3 Tune pinned not identified.
The Church’s One Foundation 3 The tune pinned is probably “Aurelia” by SS Wesley
Glory to God. Hymn. 2 Also seen in French – Gloire a Dieu [Glory to God]
God Moves in a Mysterious Way. 2 Tune pinned is possibly “Irish”.
Our Blest Redeemer. 2 Most probably, the tune pinned for these words is “St Cuthbert” by JB Dykes
Shepherd of Israel. 2 Tune pinned not identified.
Sing to the Lord. Ps 96. 2 Tune pinned not identified.
The Lord. My Pasture. 2 Tune pinned not identified.
There Is a Fountain 2 Tune pinned not identified.
Where Hast Thou Gleaned today 2 Tune pinned not identified.
Angel of charity. 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Awake and sing the song. 1 Tune pinned not identified.
32 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Words of the Hymn Incidence Notes
Brightly gleams our Banner. Haydght (?) 1 The Hieroglyphics on the Tune Sheet probably resolve to Haydn and so the Tune is
“St Alban”, sometimes used for this hymn.
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing 1 The tune is possibly “Normandy” by Bost
Come Ye Thankful People Come 1 Probably the tune pinned is St Georges [Windsor].
Come Ye That Love The Lord 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Glory Be to God on High 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Grace & Strength 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah 1 See Note 2.
I Know that My Redeemer Lives 1 Tune pinned not identified.
I Need Thee Every Hour 1 Almost certainly the tune is “I need Thee” by R. Lowry
In The Valley of Blessing 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Jerusalem On High 1 The tune pinned will be “Lux Benigna” by JB Dykes
Just As I Am 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Let Us Adore 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Like a River Glorious 1 The tune pinned is “Christchurch” by Stegall
Lord Jesus Come 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Lord Remember David 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Mighty God We Praise Thy Name 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Oh Sacred Head Sore Wounded 1 Tune pinned not identified.
One Thing Needful 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Our Lord Is Risen from the Dead 1 Possibly the tune is “Duke Street” by Hatton
Stand up, stand up for Jesus. 1 The tune could be either – St Theodulph or Morning Light.
Tarry with us Blessed Saviour 1 Tune pinned not identified.
The Day Thou Gavest 1 The tune pinned will be “Radford” by SS Wesley
The Gloomy Night 1 Tune pinned not identified.
The Lord’s Prayer 1 Tune pinned not identified.
The turf shall be my fragrant shrine 1 Tune pinned not identified.
There is a Happy Land 1 Tune pinned not identified.
There is a Land of Pure Delight 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Thou Shalt O Lord 1 Tune pinned not identified.
We Plough The Fields and Scatter 1 Most probably the tune pinned is “Wir Pflugen” by Schulz.
When Christ The Lord 1 Tune pinned not identified.
Identified Hymn Texts 69
Unidentified 56
Total Incidence 689
Notes for Table 8B
1. The words for this hymn were written in 1864. ”St Gertrude,” the tune specially composed by Sullivan for these words and now most
popularly associated with them, was not published until 1872. Based on the dating charts in H.A.V.Bulleid’s work, “Musical Box Tune
Sheets,” at least 15 of the 34 musical boxes identified with these words on their tune sheets were made by Nicole Freres before the latter
date. Thus, another tune(s) must have been pinned for this hymn on boxes produced before say 1873. Thereafter, it could be “St Gertrude.”
2. Unless this box has been re-pinned in the 20th century, the tune pinned will certainly not be “Cwm Rhondda,” now universally associated
with the words of this hymn. This tune was not composed until 1903, far too late to be pinned on a cylinder musical box made in the 19th
century.
3. This hymn was sung to any of several tunes, but the tune pinned here is most probably “Miles Lane” by Shrubsoles.
4. Tune pinned on these boxes for the words of this hymn could be one of several: “Aberystwyth” by Parry; “Hollingside” by JB Dykes; or
“Hotham” from Sacred Melody” of 1765
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 33
Compiling Tables 8A and 8B has
proved the most difficult and frustrating
aspect of the research undertaken
for this article. As anyone who has
ever undertaken a project of this type
before will know, the results of any
research study are only as good as
the data upon which the project is
based. The Register, compiled most
assiduously by the registrar over the
last 40 years and the chief data source
for this project, contains information
on more than 12,000 cylinder musical
boxes as submitted by the music box
owners. Unfortunately for researchers
like myself, this fact means the data
source contains three inherent weaknesses,
any or all of which can impact
this type of detailed research.
The first problem is that some music
boxes have old, damaged and weary
tunes sheets, with missing information,
or fading ink and indecipherable
script from which tune titles can be
determined only with difficulty.
Second, even if the first weakness
is not present, some of the titles were
reduced originally to such few words
as to be meaningless or misleading,
for example consider the title “I Know
That.” Is it the aria from “The Messiah”
or the first line of a standard hymn
that begins with those three words? It
is hard to determine.
Finally, there is the chance for human
error. The system relies entirely on
the ability of the music box owner to
accurately decipher and then transmit
to the registrar all the information on
a tune sheet, whatever its condition.
The registrar then must transfer the
information to the database, which
again opens the door to typographical
errors, number transpositions, etc.
It is not hard to imagine how difficult
and frustrating it must have been for
the registrar over the years to simply
collect and organize all this information,
so when we consider how useful
the Register is a conclusion must be
reached that we are fortunate indeed
that the registrar has achieved so
much in spite of these difficulties.
Nevertheless, however accurate the
information provided by the owner,
the overall caveat must remain, that
unless each box has been listened
to, a degree of uncertainty remains
about exactly which hymn tunes were
pinned on many of the cylinder musical
boxes identified in this group. All
that can be for certain in the following
discussion is that the music was, most
probably a hymn tune!
The information in Table 8A has
been compiled on the basis of hymn
tune names. Most hymn tunes, either
composed or in use during the period
that cylinder musical boxes were
made have an identifying name, very
often chosen because of associations
with the composer or the words.
Where the information on the tune
sheet includes such a tune name,
then in many instances we can be
reasonably certain as to the music
pinned on the cylinder. There are,
however, many examples throughout
hymnody of the same name having
been given to more than one tune,
e.g. during this research, the name
“Oxford” was found given to at least
six and “Hallelujah” to nine different
hymn tunes. Although some of these
tunes can be ruled out because they
were composed after the musical box
was made, a degree of uncertainty
nevertheless remains! Finally, different
denominations and individual
churches within a denomination
would sing quite different words to
the same hymn tune even though it did
have the same name. So, even though
the hymn tune pinned on a musical
box can be positively identified, we
cannot be sure as to the words that
would have been sung to that tune by
the owner(s)!
The information in Table 8B has
been compiled following a different
approach, using the words of the first
line of a hymn. Whether all or just
some of these words appear on the
tune sheet, we cannot be at all sure
as to the tune pinned on the musical
box concerned. Notwithstanding the
model practice set by the Church of
England’s “Hymns Ancient & Modern”
referred to above, other denominations,
splinter groups, dissenting
factions and such like often preferred
Table 9: Tunes Pinned on Nicole Freres Serial No. 19616 Gamme No. 411.
Sacred Air Title Notes
1. Vesper. Hymn. Probably “Vesper Hymn” arr. Stevenson in 1818 for the words – “Hark! The Vesper Hymn is Stealing” by Thomas
Moore. See the Notes to Tune 2 in Table 11 below for further information.
2. All People. ditto. Probably an arrangement of “Old Hundredth” for the words – “All People that on earth do dwell”
3. German. ditto. Probably an arrangement of a hymn tune written by Ignaz Pleyel in 1790. See the Notes to Tune 4 in Table 11 below
for further information concerning Pleyel.
4. I Know that. ditto. Not the aria from “The Messiah”, but more probably an arrangement of a tune to which the words of Samuel Medley’s
hymn of 1775 were sung -“I Know That My Redeemer Lives, What Joy the Blest Assurance Gives” – but which
tune is pinned here has not been determined
5. Sicilian. ditto. An arrangement of the popular tune known also as “Mariners” or “Sicilian Mariners”. See the Notes to Tune 3 in
Table 11 below for further information.
6. The Evening. ditto. An arrangement of “Evening Hymn”; See the Notes to Tune 1 in Table 11 below for further information.
34 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Fig. 4: Nicole Freres Serial No. 34171 tune sheet with fourth hymn tune name altered.
different tunes. Furthermore, musical
tastes change with the passage of time
and tune/word relationships established
of the 1850/1860 period may
well have changed by the 1880/1890s,
particularly with the advent of new,
perhaps more catchy and rhythmic
tunes.
The earliest examples of musical
boxes with hymn tunes found during
this research were, possibly:
• the three-air Tabatiere, Serial No.
1898 by Capt. H. already listed in
Table 7 (see Part 2 of this article,
Mechanical Music Vol. 66, No.
3, p. 24), the programme for
which included the hymn tune
“Rousseau’s Dream;”
• a six-air cartel box, Serial No.
104 by Lecoultre, pinned with
“Portuguese Hymn [Adeste
Fideles].”
However, accurately dating these
has not been possible so the earliest
boxes pinned with hymn tunes that can
be reliably dated were made by Nicole
Freres. The earliest, Serial No. 19110
circa 1840, is a four-air box tuned to
Gamme 376, the programme for which
includes a single hymn, “The Evening
Hymn.” The earliest example found
of a musical box with a complete
programme of hymn tunes came from
the same maker, Nicole Freres, Serial
No. 19616 dating from circa 1840-41.
Its programme, arranged for a comb
tuned to Gamme No. 411 consists of
the hymns shown in Table 9.
Interestingly, this Gamme number
was noted as having been used later
Table 10: Tunes Pinned on Nicole Freres Serial Nos. 28524, 34140 &
36715
Sacred Air Title Notes
Evening Hymn. See the Notes to Tune 1 in Table 11 below for further information.
2. Vespers. Probably the hymn tune “Vesper”. See the Notes to Tune 2 in Table
11 below for further information.
3. Sicilian. See the Notes to Tune 3 in Table 11 below for further information.
4. Oxford. There are several hymn tunes with the name “Oxford”; it has not
been possible to identify which of these is arranged on these three
boxes, but now see Fig 4 & the Notes to Tune 4 in Table 11 below
for further information.
for three four-Air boxes, Serial Nos.
28524 (circa 1850-51), 34140 (circa
1856-57) and 36715 (circa 1860). All
three are registered as being pinned
with the programme of four of the six
hymns listed in Table 10.
However, just as this article was
closing for press in 2017, a fourth
musical box by Nicole Freres tuned to
this Gamme, Serial No. 34171 appeared
for sale on Ebay. In this case however,
as may be seen from Fig. 4, the tune
sheet clearly shows that the title of the
fourth tune has been carefully altered
from “Oxford”” to “Bratle [sic – probably
Brattle] Street.” The handwriting
of the words appears to be the same
and so the change is original and not
a correction made later by an owner.
As has been commented on earlier in
this article, the naming of hymn tunes
was not a precise or disciplined practice
and so the sudden appearance of
this musical box, and its subsequent
purchase gave an opportunity to listen
to and identify more specifically the
hymn tunes with which Serial No.
34171 had been pinned. The results
are set out in Table 11 (Page 36).
One final thought on this particular
aspect is that although the sudden
appearance of Serial No. 34171 has
enabled positive identification of the
music used for these four hymn tunes,
as arranged for this particular Gamme
on this particular musical box, can we
be sure that the same arrangements
were used for others that have tune
sheets bearing these titles? Until these
musical boxes are heard, this question
must remain unanswered.
Another musical box has come to
light recently pinned with a hitherto
unmet selection of hymns. It is a six-
air, lever-wind box, Serial No. 19710,
made by Bremond of Geneva around
1880. It must be another example of
musical boxes having been made to
request for particular music. In this
case it is a complete programme of
hymns, identified by their first line and
most unusual. See Table 11A (Page
36). The tune sheet gives the number
of the hymn, but without knowing to
which hymn book of the many thousands
produced over the years they
refer this is of little help.
During the analysis work for Tables
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 35
Table 11: Tunes Pinned on Nicole Freres Serial No. 34171
Tune No Hymn Tune Name Notes
1 The Evening Hymn Using the 1904 edition of “The Methodist Hymn Book – With Tunes,” the tune pinned on Serial No.
34171 has been identified as an old arrangement of one composed in 1560 by Dr Thomas Tallis, the
16th century English composer and published in Matthew Parker’s “Psalter” as a musical setting
for Psalm 67. It became known as “Tallis’ Canon” and was subsequently adapted/arranged to be
used with the hymn “All praise to thee, my God, this night”[sometimes seen as “Glory to Thee, my
God, this night”] and, as a result of its widespread use for this hymn in church services, has become
Tallis’ best known composition. The arrangement on Serial No. 34171 is enlivened by several runs
and trills and so makes for attractive listening.
2 Vesper Hymn. The tune pinned on Serial No. 34171 has been identified as one that first appeared in Stevenson’s
“Selection of Popular National Airs (1818)” as a setting for Thomas Moore’s “Hark! The Vesper Hymn
Is Stealing.” Whilst some have attributed the tune to Dimitri Bortniansky, the 18th century Ukrainian
composer, Stevenson is more generally recognized now as being the arranger if not also the composer,
not least because he is known to have used parts of a Russian folk song in this hymn tune.
3 Sicilian Hymn. This is an arrangement of an anonymous European folksong tune. According to tradition, Sicilian
seamen finished each day on their ships by singing this in unison, hence the variety of name(s) by
which this tune is now known and seen on musical box tune sheets and in hymn books – “Sicilian”,
“Mariners”, “Sicilian Mariners” or “Sicilian [Mariners.]” The tune, first published in England circa
1792, is thought to have come to England via Germany where it was associated with the German
Christmas carol “O du Frohliche, O du Selige[O (you) joyful, O (you) blessed ].” The Roman Catholic
Marian hymn, “O Sanctissima” is traditionally set to “Sicilian Mariners.”
4 Bratle [sic – Brattle]
Street
The hymn tune pinned on Serial No. 34171 and given the name “Brattle Street” on the tune sheet
has been identified as one composed by Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831), an Austrian musician and composer
quite famous in his day, with his fame even reaching fledgling America where a Pleyel Society
existed on Nantucket Island and hymn tunes by him made their way into contemporary American
hymnals. There are two Brattle Streets in America, one is in Boston, MA, and was the site of a
Congregational, later Unitarian church while the second is in Cambridge, MA, and is the site of many
buildings of historic interest, including No. 42, the name of whose Loyalist owner, William Brattle
gave cause for these two streets to be so named.
Although either of these American connections could explain how the tune came to have the name
“Brattle Street,” several questions remain. Did the tune have another name beforehand, e.g.“Oxford,”
and if so, why and when did the change occur and then filter back to the United Kingdom and
on to Nicole Freres in time to change the name on the tune sheet for an 1856-57 hymn box? Finally,
is it correct to assume that “Brattle Street” is pinned on the other Gamme 411 musical boxes,
although their tune sheets presumably still read “Oxford?” Or, was Serial No. 34171 singled out for a
re-pin? Finally, the hymn tune “Brattle Street” also appears again on three 12 Air two-per-turn boxes
made a little later (1862-63) – Serial Nos. 39711/2 and 49 all tuned to Gamme No. 1213.
Table 11A: Unusual Hymns Pinned on Bremond 19710
Air Number First Line of Hymn
1 One of the two who heard John Speak. Hymn 156
2 The Lord is risen indeed. Hymn 136.
3 Christ our Saviour is purified for us. Hymn 128.
4 Come for all things and are ready. Hymn 212.
5 Although the fields yield us music. No 267.
6 He that is lost in the Kingdom of God. No 178.
36 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
8A and 8B, some intuitive interpretation
had to be made to resolve
anomalies and inconsistencies in the
information provided to the registrar;
e.g.
• In two instances, the tune sheet
for Nicole Freres boxes, Serial
Nos. 46269 and 46270 had the
word “Haydn” after the hymn
tune title. Although this Austrian
composer did write hymn tunes,
he did not compose the tune for
the hymn in question, “Sun of my
Soul.” “Haydn” has been taken as
a misreading of the word “hymn”
as written in script on the tune
sheet.
• On Weil & Harburg Serial No.
2069, the tune titles submitted
to the registrar included at
Tune 5, “The Lord my Pastime,”
which should read “The Lord My
Pasture.” At Tune 8, “Glory to
me my God” should be “Glory to
Thee My God.”
Tunes submitted for Serial No. 39763
by Ami-Rivenc included two different
examples;
• at Tune No 4 “Miles Janes” is
undoubtedly “Miles Lane,” the
tune to which the hymn “All Hail
the Power of Jesu’s name” is
sung;
• and at Tune No 6, “Cronbrook,”
unrecognised either as a place
or a tune name and so most
probably should be “Cranbrook,”
the tune to which contemporary
congregations probably sang
the Christmas carol, “While
Shepherds Watched their Flocks
by Night.”
These are examples of how the
script on a tune sheet can be misread
but fortunately, examples such as this
have been relatively few in number.
As an aside, although the tune “Cranbrook”
originated in the early 19th
century as a hymn tune, many people
today would be more familiar with it
being sung to the secular words “On
Ilkla Moor Baht ‘at,” words not written
until the very end of the 19th or even
the early 20th century – no one seems
to be sure!
Still on the Christmas theme, hymns
or carols as we know them for this
event in the Christian calendar seem
rather thinly represented overall.
“Adeste Fideles” is there, and in quantity
with 53 instances, as is “Hark The
Herald Angels Sing” with 31 instances.
Apart from three instances of “Silent
Night” and the single instance of
“Cranbrook” referred to above, there
is little else which seems surprising
as there was a wealth of Christmas
hymns and carols available at that
time.
Slightly more than 40 percent of the
hymns in Tables 8A and 8B have only a
single example whilst a further 17 percent
have only two or three examples.
So, as noted earlier the hymn tunes,
in these cases were most likely to
have been arranged and pinned at the
specific request of a customer. Indeed,
some of them are very obscure, and
both their words and the tunes must
have had a very limited appeal and
use, both then and now. Just how
expensive it was at the time to have
a particular hymn tune arranged on
request for what appears to have been
a single, one-off use is, unfortunately
for us, not recorded.
Sometimes on the tune sheet, the
title of the hymn tune may be followed
by any one of the following letters, SM,
CM or LM. These are abbreviations
for Short Metre, Common Metre and
Long Metre respectively and refer to
the metre, or poetic rhythm of each of
the four lines of the verse of the hymn,
and therefore that of the tune to which
it can be sung. Put at its simplest, it
is the number of syllables in each of
the four lines of the verse that have
to be provided for in the melody to
which those words are to be sung.
Thus, Short Metre (SM) describes a
verse(s) of four lines each with 6.6.8.6.
syllables per line. Similarly, Common
Metre (CM) a four-line verse[s] with
8.6.8.6. syllables per line, and Long
Metre (LM) a four-line verse[s] with
8.8.8.8. syllables per line. Additionally,
Short means all syllables are
unstressed, Long that some stressed
syllables are included and Common
that the syllables could be either.
Finally, to answer a question posed
on Mechanical Music Digest (https://
www.mmdigest.com/), only those
musical boxes with programmes of
hymns and hymn tunes such as those
listed in Tables 8A and 8B or similar
should attract the sobriquet or generic
term “hymn box” – if it has to be used
at all.
Part 4 of this article will continue
with details of the research into the
third of the groups of Sacred Music
– Evangelical and Gospel Songs and
will be published in the next edition of
Mechanical Music.
Credits and Further Reading
1. Most of the statistical information in
this article has been obtained from the
Arthur D. Cunliffe Register of Cylinder
Musical Boxes [The Register] and is
used with the kind permission of the
registrar. It illustrates how powerful
and useful The Register is now as a
source of information when writing
articles of this nature. Those readers
who own cylinder musical boxes who
have not registered them with the
registrar are encouraged to do so and
thereby extend the value of this powerful
research tool.
2. “Musical Box Tune Sheets” by H.A.V.
Bulleid and its four Supplements,
published 2000 by MBSGB.
3. “The Musical Box” by AWJG Orde-
Hume, published in 1995 by Schiffer
Publishing Ltd. of Atglen, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
4. Internet Web Sites, “Hymnary.Org”
and “Wikipedia” have been used to
cross-check and verify tune titles and
words appearing on musical box tune
sheets and the brief biographic notes
and anecdotes on evangelical and
gospel songs and their composers and
authors.
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 37
The Genius of
Al-Jazari
An automatic musical instrument
from the 13th century
Dr. Robert F. Penna
Imagine an automatic musical
instrument housed within a small boat.
As it sails upon a lake and entertains
your dinner guests, colorful figures
recreate the realistic movements
of musicians and crewmembers.
In addition, the songs are changed
throughout the evening to retain the
interest of your guests. Certainly, that
would be an amazing invention. Yet
more so, as this appeared more than
800 years ago and was the brainchild
of an Arab inventor named Al-Jazari.
Badi az-Zaman Abu I-Izz bin Isma
ibn ar-Razaz Al-Jazari (1136-1206)
was a scholar, inventor and mechanical
engineer. He is best known for
authoring the “Book of Knowledge of
Ingenious Mechanical Devices” in the
year 1206. The book which was originally
presented as a gift to a sultan,
describes 100 mechanical devices
with instructions on how to actually
construct many of them. Born to a
family of engineers, Al-Jazari served
as the chief engineer of the local ruler
of the city of Mardin in Eastern Turkey.
Some of the Islamic Golden Age’s
most astounding mechanical creations
are described in his book. He
invented a mechanized wine-servant,
water-powered clocks and even a
hand-washing machine that automatically
offered soap and towels to its
user. But most interestingly, he also
designed a water-powered orchestra
of automatons that could float on a
lake and provide music during royal
drinking parties. The contraption
included a four-piece band (described
as slave girls) — a harpist, a flautist
and two drummers — accompanied
by a crew of mechanical oarsman who
“rowed” the musicians around the
lake.1 The boat deck was additionally
adorned with a miniature king, his
weapon bearer and a slave holding a
jug and goblet as well as several of the
king’s companions.
As the boat moved gently on the surface
of the pool, approximately once
every half hour and without any external
intervention, a performance would
begin. The flutist would play the flute,
the drummers would beat the tambourines,
and the harpist would pluck the
copper strings. How all this happens
is fascinating. According to A. Golan:
“The slave girls (musicians) are
sitting above a water reservoir. The
tank empties slowly into the tipping
bucket. When the tipping-bucket has
filled, after about half an hour, it
discharges its water onto the scoops
wheel, turning the wheel on its axle.
The pegs on the axle rotate as well
moving the rods which are connected
to the slave-girls’ hands, moving them
up and down. This creates the motion
of the harpist plucking or the drum
beating. The harpist has a three peg
system for one hand, and the other
hand is operated by one peg only. The
rods are an early version of a camshaft
and convert the circular motion
An illustration from Badi az-Zaman Abu I-Izz bin Isma musical boat using water reservoirs and scoop wheels.
of the axle to the linear movement of
the musicians’ hands. The spacing
between them generates different
patterns of drumming or harp music.
The water flows down into the pipe
which is connected to the air vessel,
forcing air through the whistle. This
is the source of the ‘flute’ sound.” 2
Other elements allowed the
38 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Isma ibn ar-Razaz Al-Jazari’s “Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices” showing the method for constructing the automated
wheels. (Image courtesy The Smithsonian)
musicians and crewmen to make
realistic body movements. According
to Fowler, the automata performed
more than 50 facial and body actions
during each musical selection.3 Since
the pegs on the rotating drum system
could be replaced to create different
songs, some have argued Al-Jazari’s
robot band was one of history’s first
programmable computers.4
According to scholars, Al-Jazari
often built his contraptions using the
method of trial and error rather than
theoretical calculations. In his book,
he asserts he had built every one of the
100 inventions and his book is basically
a “do-it-yourself” guide. Often
he would credit former inventors for
their works from which he obtained
insight. For his musical automata, he
references Hibatullah ibn al-Husayn
who died in the year 1139. Al-Jazari
goes on to describe the improvements
he made to the work of his predecessors,
and explains a number of
devices, techniques and components
that are original innovations, which
do not appear in the works by his
predecessors.5
Some of his designs are so modern
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 39
that it is hard to believe they were built
eight centuries ago. Al-Jazari utilized a
complicated system of pulleys, levers
and weights to build his devices.6
Most importantly, he developed the
use of hydraulic switching devices in
which the flow of water alternated
from one large tank to another within
many of his devices. Professor Noel
Sharkey, best known from several
BBC series dealing with robotics, has
described the invention as one of the
first to have programmable automata.
By using a changeable drum machine
with pegs (cams) which bump into little
levers, the drummer could be made
to play different rhythms. Different
drum patterns were available if the
pegs were moved around.7 Sharkey
notes:
“Beneath the ‘drummer’ was a
rotating shaft (powered by falling
water) with pegs on it. As these
pegs rotated they pull on a lever that
raised the drummers arm and then it
dropped to hit the drum. The rhythm
and timing of the drumbeats was
entirely controlled by the placement
of the pegs. So to fine tune the rhythm
all that was needed was to drill holes
all the way round the shaft so that
the pegs could be placed in different
positions.”8
Many of the 100 inventions described
in Al-Jazari’s famous book have been
recreated by modern engineers.
Some are on display at museums
across the globe. The Istanbul Cezari
Muzesi (cezerimuzesi.com) displays
many replicas of his work while the
British Muslim Heritage Center hosts
displays and provides information to
the public. A wealth of information on
his many inventions can be found on
the internet and a copy of his book,
“Book of Knowledge of Ingenious
Mechanical Devices” is available for
sale on Amazon.com.
The impact that Al-Jazari, and
other Arab engineers of his time, had
on early robotics and automatons
has been summarized by Mark E.
Rosheim, author of “Robot Evolution:
The Development of Anthrobotics”
(1994) as follows:
An original illustration of the mechanism with captions by Dr. A. Golan, former
Director of Arab Excellence in Science and Engineering Initiative in Israel.
“Unlike the Greek designs, these
Arab examples reveal an interest,
not only in dramatic illusion, but in
manipulating the environment for
human comfort. Thus, the greatest
contribution the Arabs made, besides
preserving, disseminating and building
on the work of the Greeks, was the
concept of practical application. This
was the key element that was missing
in Greek robotic science. The Arabs,
on the other hand, displayed an interest
in creating human-like machines
for practical purposes but lacked, like
other preindustrial societies, any
real impetus to pursue their robotic
science.”9
One can certainly imagine the
entertainment effect of this automatic
musical instrument. Placed within a
boat and adorned with automatons,
it surely was a magnificent sight. As
guests of the sultan ate and drank
alongside a lake, they could only be
amazed as the orchestra played various
tunes for their enjoyment.
While few details of Al-Jazari’s life
have survived the ages, his work and
vision have. Despite being relatively
unknown by the general public, the
Closeup of flautist and others from
exhibit at the British Heritage Muslim
Center.
ingenuity and skill demonstrated in his
craft are widely respected till today,
and he is remembered worldwide as
a dynamic and talented craftsman and
engineer.
Search Al Jazari on YouTube.com
to find several videos explaining his
work.
Sources:
1. Andrews, Evan. “History Stories:
Seven Early Robots and
Automatons,” History, August 30,
2018. https://www.history.com/
news/7-early-robots-and-automatons
2. Golan, Avi. “The Musical Boat for a
Drinking Party,” The Book of Knowledge
of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.
3. Fowler, Charles. “The Museum of
40 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
A four-meter long replica of al-Jazari’s
Musical Boat, featuring a mechanical
“robot band,” on exhibit at the Ontario
Science Centre. (Photo courtesy the
Canadian Arab Institute)
Music: A History of Mechanical Instruments,”
Music Educators Journal,
October 1967.
4. Andrews, Evan. “History Stories:
Seven Early Robots and
Automatons,” History, August 30,
2018. https://www.history.com/
news/7-early-robots-and-automatons
5. Al-Jazari: Famous Inventor, Edubilla.
com-Global Education Needz, www.
edubilla.com/inventor/al-jazari
6. Al-Jazari: The Real Father of Engineering
Al-Jazari Biography, Inventions
and Facts www.famousinventions.org/
al-jazari
7. Ismail al-Jazari Wikipedia,
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Ismail_Al-Jazari
8. Tambini, Olivia. “The Forgotten
History of the 800-Year-Old Robot,”
Techradar: The Source for tech Buying
Advice. September 11, 2018. https://
www.techradar.com/news/the-forgotten-
history-of-the-800-year-old-robot
9. A7 Valery, J.P. “Fathers of Robotics:
Ismail Al-Jazari, December 7, 2017.
Robot Shop Community. www.
robotshop.com/community/blog/show/
fathers-of-robotics-ismail-al-jazari
A recreation for exhibition at the Istanbul Cezeri Museum. Found at: Rabia Icial
Turan. “Medieval Robots: How al-jazari’s mechanical marvels have been resurrected
in Istanbul,” Middle East Eye, Mar. 1, 2019.
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 41
Restoring a single-comb
forte-piano cylinder box
Photo 1 showing the top of the box in the as-purchased condition, including a cigarette burn and missing part of the brass inlay.
By Charles Wilson
In 1982, I was in the very early stages
of my fascination of music boxes. My
wife and I were looking for things to
place in our stall at the local antique
mall. We attended an auction in a
local strip mall and found a promising
music box. It was a large key wind box
with a really large diameter cylinder
that turned out to be a two-per-turn
box. It was in pitiful condition. The
end flap was missing, the sound board
was shattered and the case showed
signs of severe abuse. The inlay on
the lid was seriously damaged, with
half of the brass inlay missing. Most
important, the cylinder appeared to
have been abused, probably by unattended
children. A majority of the pins
were missing or bent.
We purchased the box for a very low
price. I could see that the repair of the
box would be a long time proposition
and would require me to gain a lot of
experience. We had met Nancy Fratti
on one of our trips and turned to
her in 1996 for repair of the cylinder.
She sent the cylinder to England for
repinning. It was returned with all
of the pins replaced, ground to the
original diameter and raked like it was
originally.
Over the years, I began to acquire
the various repair techniques I would
need to restore this box. I would occasionally
consider starting the repair,
and end up deciding that I was not
quite ready.
In 2016, I decided to get serious
about the box. I must apologize for the
poor quality of some of the photos. I
did not anticipate writing an article
about the box. By the time I started
documenting the processes, I had
replaced the sound board and end flap,
done some tooth repairs, and tuned
the comb. Photo 1 shows the top of
the box, including a cigarette burn
on the right side. Photo 2 shows the
mechanism, including tuning marks.
Another unusual feature is the end
flap lock. Normally, the flap is secured
by a hook, but this box went in a
different direction. In Photo 3, a little
pin was present in the flap area under
the lid. When the lid is closed, the pin
strikes the flap. I drilled a hole there
and installed a brass ferrule. The flap
is now secure.
Photo 4 shows the tune card, which
seems to be a Lecoultre card.
As I was fine tuning the box, I
noticed two things. First, the melody
area of the box was fully chromatic –
all 12 notes were present. Secondly,
there was a large number of adjacent
teeth tuned to the same note, mostly
three or even four. This usually happens
with mandolin boxes. However,
this box did not sound like a mandolin
box. It sounded like a forte-piano box.
42 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Photo 2 shows the mechanism with restored cylinder in place.
Photo 3 shows the pin that secures into a brass ferrule to
secure the lid instead of using a hook like many other boxes.
Photo 4, showing the tune card, which is thought to be a Lecoultre card.
Looking at the tune card, I could see
an inked in notation that looks to be
“A escpression” on the top border.
It appears that the effect is produced
by doubling the number of
teeth plucked in the forte passages
of the melody and the chords. This
works to increase volume on double
comb disk boxes as compared to a
single comb – so why not here? I got
further proof of the theory when I
allowed the spring to run down. When
the box encountered a forte chord, the
governor came to an instantaneous
hard stop. I am surprised that Lecoultre
did not incorporate a flywheel on
the butterfly.
The thing I was most concerned
about was the repair of the brass inlay
on the top. I began the repair process
by taping plastic cling wrap over an
area of missing brass inlay. I mixed up
a gob of Bondo and mashed it over the
area, shown in photos 5 and 6. When
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 43
Photo 5, mashing Bondo into the brass inlay. Photo 8, after letting the Bondo dry, a jigsaw is used to cut out
the template that will be transferred to brass.
Photo 9, new brass pieces fitted to replace the old, but not yet
engraved to match the original.
Photo 6, applying even pressure to get the most detail from
the design.
Photo 10, showing the engraving done by a jeweler to match
both sides of the brass.
Photo 7, The resulting pattern in Bondo allows a new brass
inlay to be created.
44 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Photo 11 shows the completed box with new brass inlays and highly-polished top surface.
it had set up, I had the result shown
in Photo 7. By carefully jig sawing, I
had the rough piece shown in Photo 8.
Using this template, I cut out a brass
copy and carefully trimmed it to fit in
the recess. Photo 9 shows all of the
new brass fitted into the missing areas.
There was no way I was going to
try to do the engraving. Finally, at one
of our meetings, Al Zamba suggested
I check out a jewelry shop for an
engraver. When I got home, I did just
that. I found a jewelry shop that had an
associate who was a master engraver.
We discussed the process and I gave
her the lid and the new parts to be
engraved. She did a great job! You
have to look really carefully at Photo
10 to see any difference.
One other problem with the top
inlay was the pink enamel inside of
the brass inlays. It had shrunk into
fields of checkered bits. My solution
was to mix up acrylic paint to match,
paint over the enamel, filling in the
cracks, and sanding it level.
A few coats of French polish gave
a luster to the new “enamel” and the
brass. The finished box is shown in
Photo 11 above.
Editor’s Note: Photos of finished box and
a recording of the last two tunes have been
uploaded to the MBSI website in the photo
gallery. Please feel free to give it a listen.
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
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 45
Remembering the Stinson Organ Company
Phyllis and Don Stinson enjoying the sound of one of Don’s organs at a Mid-America Band Organ Rally in 2002.
By Hope Rider
Those of you who were acquainted
with my late husband, Frank Rider,
knew he was a collector at heart.
When we met, he was very interested
in antique autos. About 1966, Frank
and I, with our toddler son, visited
Nelis’ Dutch Village located in Holland,
MI. One of the attractions was
their magnificent Dutch Street Organ,
“The Golden Angel.” It sounded
wonderful and students wearing
traditional attire, including wooden
shoes, were dancing in front, putting
on a real show.
A little while later, we stopped into
an antique shop in Angola, IN, and
saw and heard an automatic piano.
We noted it was restored by Dave
Ramey and Tom Sprague of LaGrange,
IN. Intrigued, Frank went off to visit
the two piano technicians. Shortly
afterward, he started to lose interest
in antique cars and turned his full
Don Stinson in his workshop in 1997.
attention to automatic music, specifi-Frank and I soon became regulars
cally pianos and organs both large and at the Mid-America Chapter’s Band
small. Organ Rallies. Dan Slack hosted the
46 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
1983 rally, in Fremont, OH, and while
attending we met a young couple, Don
and Phyllis Stinson of Bellefontaine,
OH.
Don was a talented musician as
well as an experienced machinist and
carpenter. With Phyllis’ blessing, he
decided to make a career of rebuilding
band organs, for which there was
a reasonable demand at the time. A
large structure on their rural property
served as the shop. After a number
of years restoring organs, he decided
to try his hand at building one from
scratch. His first model was a copy
of the Wurlitzer Caliola. It was well
received at its first showing at a rally
in Coshocton, OH, hosted by Myron
Duffield.
Encouraged by the response, Don
continued to do restorations, but
became much busier creating new
instruments. He made and voiced
all the pipes and had a number of
employees to help with the rest of
the construction. To help decorate
the facades, silicone molds were
made from existing organs. Epoxy
“carvings,” once gilded and attached,
were hard to discern from the originals.
Eventually, he even made figures
using the same process. Some were
band conductors whose hands and
head kept time with the music. He
developed a line of particular Stinson
models, but of course would customize
anything. The organs kept getting
larger with the top of the line playing
special cut “Stinson” rolls or the
standard Wurlitzer 165 format. Many
of the organs were converted later to
operate on MIDI. Finally, there was
enough demand for Don to create his
Model 29, which came with a cart and
could fit into a van to take to events.
Customers included private collectors,
amusement parks, carnivals and
shopping centers. Many of the organs
had trailers purchased specifically for
them for transport and display. Don
was always on call and would pack up
his tool box as he flew to sites all over
the country. He even had a customer
in Mexico and one in Asia.
When interest in mechanical music
waned, so did the demand for Don’s
services. Deciding it was time to
retire, Don and Phyllis auctioned off
Performers at Nelis’ Dutch Village in Holland, MI, dancing to the “Golden Angel.”
Frank and Hope Rider with their Stinson organ at home.
the remaining inventory of the Stinson marches on, but due to the crafts-
Organ Company in the late fall of manship of Don and his company, the
2019. We all know that inevitably, time melodies linger on!
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 47
Building a Very Special Music Box
By James Kracht
I now own 45 music boxes. Each one of them has its
own history and special role in my collection. Reliving and
remembering how each of them came into my possession is
part of the joy and uplifting mood that I get when I admire
and listen to each one of them.
I am a relatively new music box collector, but a very long
time admirer. I don’t think there is any hobby that I could
enjoy more.
About six years into my music box collecting journey,
I was sitting in my restorer’s workshop. I remember
it was January 2018. I had long before decided to buy a
very special diamond for my wife for our approaching
50th wedding anniversary (sized to represent our special
number), so I started talking to Reg Smith about designing
and building a very special music box in which to present
that diamond. Hence, he produced an unbelievably elegant,
exquisite, heavily lacquered, inlaid, marquetry and burl
wood, oval small jewelry box of which he had three. They
were designed to hold a music box and a small amount of
jewelry. He had acquired them from the Musical Wonder-
house in Maine when it was going out of business. I knew
in a flash one of them had to be mine. But, like with the
rest of the project, I had to arrange for my son to pay for
the box, so that I could keep it a surprise for the upcoming
anniversary.
That night, the music box plan was born. An elegant
wooden jewelry box was perfect because for our wedding
I had given my wife a beautiful wooden “nonmusical” jewelry
box which was later stolen.
I knew the music box would play our song, “That’s All,”
which dates back to our 1968 courting days. I contacted
music box maker Jonathan Herz of TGE Herz Music Box
Company in Montpelier, VT. Jonathan is a music box
builder who uses techniques from the 19th century to build
modern-day music box cylinders, that will play whatever
music you would like. Jonathan agreed to build my movement
and pin the cylinder. First, however, the song had to
be arranged to play on a music box cylinder.
So, I contacted an arranger. In this case, it was Jack Perron
of HensTooth Discs from Peterborough, NH. I engaged
him to rewrite the song, arrange it and format it to be
pinned on the music box cylinder by Jonathan. Jonathan
purchased a Sankyo 72 note movement and began the
process of repinnning, tuning, designing, retrofitting and
completing the music box. What a beautiful musical jewelry
box it turned out to be. I remember my hands shaking
and my heart pounding as I removed it from the shipping
carton and played it for the first time. I was so pleased.
Then, because it was our 50th, or Golden Wedding
Anniversary, I took it to an engraver and had a beautiful
gold plaque made with two stanzas from the song and
appropriate names and dates inscribed. After mounting the
plaque inside of the lid and inserting the special diamond it
was ready to be presented.
My presentation followed a wonderful dinner at a fine
dining restaurant in Vero Beach, FL, with a few close family
members and friends. Upon returning to our oceanfront
resort, complete with 33 roses and some very expensive
champagne (which I was in desperate need of), she opened
the gift and immediately loved it.
So, the ring is now on her finger and the music box sits on
our buffet in our Miami, FL, home. It was an exciting and
fun project, and probably represents one of the craziest
things I’ve ever undertaken. But, its a wonderful portrayal
of both my love for my wife and my love of music boxes.
I thank my friend and restorer Reg Smith, music box
maker Jonathan Herz and music arranger Jack Perron for
giving us a gift that we will enjoy for the rest of our lives. It
is a real treasure.
48 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
In Memoriam In Memoriam
Rudolph (Rudy) Edwards, 1931-2020
By Lowell and Joanna Boehland
Rudy remembered as a child a
piano tuner coming to their home and
saying their player piano “would have
better tone” if he removed the player
mechanism. Rudy could still picture
the player mechanism was in the trash
pile.
His father had an automotive
repair shop in Whigham, GA, near the
Florida border. In high school, Rudy
repaired cars for himself. He became
a school teacher but was drafted to
work as a stenographer during the
Korean War. Rudy wanted to become
a dentist, but medical school was
cheaper at the time. During school he
met and married Norma. She became
his life-long companion and helper.
Working as a general practitioner
in Georgia included home delivery
of many babies (sometimes on the
kitchen table). Eventually, Rudy also
learned to employ general anesthesia
with ether.
He applied for an anesthesia residency
in Los Angeles, CA, and to his
surprise was accepted. Finishing that
residency in 1964, it was good-times
for the Edwards family. Los Angeles
was full of new, mostly empty freeways,
and experiencing a building
boom. Anesthesia jobs seemed to be
everywhere.
Their first home was in Anaheim,
CA. While visiting another doctor’s
home, Rudy heard a restored player
piano and knew he had to have one.
Then he needed a Mills violano. He
was completely amazed when he saw
the rows of violanos, nickelodeons,
orchestrions and band organs for
sale at Hathaway & Bowers. Then he
visited Carty Piano Co. (a restorer
for the Nethercutt collection) and
truly became a serious collector. He
Norma and Rudy Edwards with their Weber Brabo. (Photos by Lowell Boehland)
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 49
met other collectors in his area, like
Bill Allen, who, with Rudy, bought a
Wurlitzer Style 12 PianOrchestra, and
100 Scopitones that were warehoused
in San Diego, CA, for $100 each. Bill
also lent the violano roll of Italian
opera that Rudy had Don Barr recut
on his perforator while they visited.
This recut roll still remains on Rudy’s
Mills double violano as when I bought
it from him. He told me that early on
in his collecting he bought what is
now my violano from Orville Cooper,
a machinist who also made Mills
violano rolls. Rudy bought and sold
over 20 Mills violanos including three
doubles and a bow-front.
Soon, Rudy needed more space for
his collection, so in 1972 Rudy bought
a house in Villa Park, CA, allowing
for a large separate music room. This
space was ideal for future MBSI and
Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors’
Association (AMICA) meetings.
Other buildings were used for industrial
tools and old gas engines. His
favorite engine that he restored and
ran for people was obtained through
Terry Hathaway. It was a one cylinder
hit and miss 60-horsepower Western
originally running seven oil-well
pumps.
I met Rudy and Norma in 1980 on
a bus tour of their collection as part
of the AMICA Pasadena convention.
The American International Galleries
close-out sale was also toured that
year. The Edwards’s music room had
an addition and instruments were all
around including the Wurlitzer Style
12 PianOrchestra with Wonderlight.
The larger of two Arburo organs later
had MIDI added by their son, Steven,
as part of his electrical engineering
masters degree. We again met at the
1980 MBSI convention in Stamford,
CT, with Bill Edgerton unveiling his
Seeburg KT Special. In 1987 Rudy
called saying the multi-specialty medical
group he had retired from needed
an anesthesiologist and I could “have
his job.” I moved from Minneapolis.
The job didn’t work out. But I now
lived near Rudy and Norma and they
became family. Rudy influenced me
greatly. Today, I especially enjoy my
Weber Styria that was burned in Jerry
Cohen’s fire and which Rudy restored
Rudy and Norma with one of the more than 80 tractors they collected.
A Marilyn Monroe impersonator planted a kiss on Rudy’s cheek during his 80th
birthday party.
with the help of George Baker. Mike
Argain’s recent work on the machine
really makes it sound like a Weber.
Rudy was Mike’s first paying customer
and encouraged Mike to quit his tire
business to do restorations full time.
By the 1990s Rudy’s collecting and
restoring of musical instruments
slowed. Rudy wanted to move to
Georgia to work his father’s pecan
farm. There were some 700 trees,
many 70 feet tall, requiring work using
heavy equipment and irrigation. In the
end, Rudy and Norma decided to commute
between California and Georgia.
Rudy, who was now collecting old
tractors, used his diesel truck to haul
up to four tractors on his flatbed
trailer. The trailer featured a restored
World War II, two-speed hand-cranked
winch that he and Norma could use to
winch-up any old tractor Rudy found.
There would eventually be some 80
tractors collected.
EDWARDS | See Page 51
50 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Memories of mechanical music mentor Rudy Edwards
By David Reidy
Dr. Rudolph Edwards was my
mentor of mechanical music and a
good friend. Rudy, as he was known
to his friends, was a collector of anything
mechanical. He was especially
interested in mechanical and vintage
tractors.
I met Rudy in 1974 through his good
friend, Bill Allen, who was one of
the early collectors and also a good
friend of Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry
Farm. Rudy would tell me stories of
how he and Bill would scour the U.S.
and find fabulous instruments. One of
the special instruments I have in my
collection is a Style 12 PianOrchestra.
Rudy also had a Style 12 PianOrchestra
and he told me that he and Bill saw
one at Hathaway and Bowers in Santa
Fe Springs, CA. As they were driving
back to Santa Ana, CA, both men kept
thinking about the PianOrchestra. Bill
said to Rudy, “Let’s go back and buy
the PianOrchestra together. When
I get tired of listening to it, it will be
yours!”
Rudy and I had the same relationship.
I would wait for Rudy to call me
up and say “You know that piano you
like? Come on over and pick it up. It’s
yours!”
I would often have dinner with
Rudy, Norma and their son Steven.
Sometimes the whole family would
talk about their adventures in collecting
mechanical music.
Rudy by profession was an anesthesiologist,
but in his heart he was
a mechanic like his father. Rudy and
Norma had a farm and walnut grove
in Wigham, GA. This is where he
collected John Deere tractors. He
had one of the finest collections in the
state.
Rudy’s wife, Norma, is one of the finest
Southern ladies you will ever meet.
Steven, his son, is as gifted as his dad.
Rudy and Norma’s two daughters,
Sharon and Vicky, were always there
to assist their parents.
I will greatly miss my friend and
mentor of mechanical music.
MBSI annual meeting attendees listen to various mechanical music machines playing in the Edwards’s music room in 1985.
EDWARDS | From Page 50 lift-gated truck, but time ran out too the latest issue of Mechanical Music.
soon. First a fall at home, then two For a moment he became the old Rudy.
When Norma needed care for more falls that would require surgery. With energy and interest he asked us
Alzheimer’s, Rudy slowed down. He Rudy chose Hospice Care. During my to help him walk so he could recover.
promised a video interview telling wife’s and my last visit, Rudy’s son, With one of us on each arm, he took a
of the old-time collectors he knew Steven, arrived. We talked about col-step but then he collapsed. Eight days
so well and of collecting using his lecting and Rudy looked at photos in later, on March 15, Rudy left us.
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 51
In Memoriam In Memoriam
Mike Kinter, 1943-2020
By Bob and Diane Yates
One of the perks of belonging to
MBSI is meeting people who share our
interests, not only in automatic musical
instruments, but also in collecting
all sorts of unusual items, attending
operetta and musical theater performances,
and traveling throughout the
United States and around the world.
We met Mike and Penny Kinter for
the first time in 1972 at the Crete, IL,
MBSI annual meeting. They were on
the bus that Bob captained as we led
attendees on a trip around Chicago, IL,
having never been to that city before.
Mike told Bob that when Bob took off
his wig, Mike knew this was someone
he wanted to get to know better.
For almost 50 years, we shared
many wonderful times. It turned out
that both couples liked operetta, and
every summer we met for a week at
the Ohio Light Opera in Wooster,
OH. We saw theater productions in
New York City, Niagara on the Lake,
London, Naples (FL) and Pittsburgh.
We attended Magic Lantern Conventions
in several U.S. cities. We visited
mechanical music collectors across
Europe together. Especially memorable
was a trip to Russia, a country
we never thought we would visit. I
don’t think we ever missed an MBSI
annual meeting since that one where
we first met. Mike was a great travel
companion, knowledgeable and witty.
We treasure the shared times we spent
with the Kinters over the years.
Editor’s note: Following are some additional
notes compiled from various sources:
Mike graduated from Michigan State
University with a degree in education
and communication, performing
stand-up comedy in his spare time.
He taught speech and drama classes
and directed the school plays at Andover
High School in Bloomfield Hills,
MI, for 10 years. During the 1975-76
school year, Mike moved his family to
Marshall, MI, where they purchased
a downtown storefront He commuted
nearly two hours each way to
Bloomfield Hills for the remainder of
the school year, but then resigned to
finish renovating the storefront with
Penny. They opened The Mole Hole
in 1977. The store quickly became a
downtown Marshall destination for
residents and tourists alike. Mike
and Penny placed a restored 6-rank
Barton Theater Organ in the middle
of the store which has been played by
an organist for every holiday season
since. In 1978, the Kinters renovated
the back of the store to create their
Christmas Shop and later opened Mr.
Mole’s Card Shop in the building next
door. During the Home Tour weekend
each year, Mike played his band organ
outside the store.
In 1987 a fire devastated the store
just before the Christmas season.
Mike and Penny persevered and
repaired the damage, which included
rebuilding and enlarging the scorched
pipe organ and adding a Kimball Tibia
and Tuba to the original Vox Humana,
Stirg, Diapason and Stopped Flute
pipes. The console required new
keyboards, re-engraving the stop tablets
and a complete refinishing. The
organ is now equipped with a digital
playback system, but a house organist
entertains each holiday season.
In 2012 Mike and Penny turned over
the ownership of the store to their
daughter Kristin Holbrook to “retire.”
Mike was still a daily fixture there
until he became too ill to continue.
Condolences
WE WANT YOUR STORY!
Every mechanical musical instrument has a tale to tell. Share the history of people
MBSI has also learned long-time
who owned your instrument before you, or the story of its restoration, or just what
member Thomas B. Fairey has passed
makes it an interesting piece. Send stories via email to editor@mbsi.org or
away at age 95. Our deepest sympa
mail your story to Iron Dog Media, 130 Coral Court, Pismo Beach, CA 93449
thies are extended to his family.
52 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
In Memoriam In Memoriam
Charlie Moore, 1952-2020
By Rich Dutton
I am writing to report the shocking
and sad news that Charlie Moore
passed away suddenly and unexpectedly
in his sleep this past weekend
(April 11, 2020) in his hometown of
Dallas, TX.
As many of you know, Charlie and I
were close friends and (after the also
untimely death of Todd Augsburger
in 2011) probably the two people in
the world who were most interested
– fanatically interested – in cob roller
organs and their music. Our friendship
went back more than 20 years. I
remember many years ago now giving
a talk on the music that appeared on
roller organ cobs at a Musical Box
Society International annual meeting
and at the end, I said something
about the possibility of making new
cobs. Charlie and his father Walter
(who was also a mechanical music
enthusiast and specialized in restoring
organettes) surprised me by standing
up and coming forward with a brand-
new cob they had made, featuring the
tune “I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf
Clover.” It played perfectly. Everyone
present was astounded, and that was
the beginning of Charlie’s cob-making
career that eventually extended to
making hundreds of new cobs with all
kinds of music on them, all perfect.
I have always considered Charlie
a true genius and his ability to
design and implement his pinning
machine to make perfect new and
reproduction cobs was amazing. He
had an encyclopedic knowledge of
the sometimes minute changes that
were made in the four decades roller
organs were manufactured and could
usually pinpoint just from looking
at the particular design and parts of
an organ the approximate or even
exact year it was made. After Todd
Augsburger’s death, Charlie took over
what had been his rollerorgans.com
website and he also made and sold
original, new and reproduction roller
organ cobs, both 20-note and 32-note,
through his honorrolls.net website.
Charlie and I enjoyed sharing information
about new discoveries we both
made about the very fine points of
roller organs and cobs, and we would
also be in touch whenever one of us
came across an unusual machine that
might be of interest to the other or a
cob that the other one did not have in
his collection.
Charlie was extremely helpful and
generous to me in this regard. He
also, at my request, made a number
of new Grand cobs containing pieces
of mostly classical music that I chose
and was extremely patient in making
changes I suggested in individual
notes in the MIDI recordings he sent
me as we worked together to finalize
arrangements. Many of these cobs
are amazing! In addition, he made a
turquoise blue plastic cob on a 3-D
printer for my wife that plays just as
well as any wooden one.
I last saw him in person at the MBSI
annual meeting in Rockville, MD, last
August. A few months before that, he
and I and my wife, Marlene, journeyed
to St. Joseph, MO, to spend a few days
identifying and inventorying more
than 1,000 roller organ cobs accumulated
over many years by a mechanical
music collector there. About a year
before that we made a similar trip to
Palmer, MA, to do the same thing for
another collector there. Charlie also,
on one occasion, came to New Jersey
and spent a few days visiting us at our
home here. In between get togethers
we were in frequent touch, usually by
email and occasionally by phone.
I assume that because of the corona-
virus epidemic there will be no public
funeral for Charlie at the present time,
but I am in touch with his brother and
will provide any further details I learn
in this regard, especially concerning
any memorial service to be held at
a later date when the epidemic has
subsided.
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 53
The Musical Box Society of Great Britain announces the publication of two new books
Published in September 2018
The Musical Box Society of Great Britain announces the publication of two new books
Published in September 2018
100pp Hard Back ISO A4 format [8.27” × 11.70”; Profusely illustrated in
Supplement to
colour throughout with Additional Illustrations of Models, 89 Additional Lid
The Disc Musical Box Pictures Additions to Lists of Models, Patents, Tune Lists & Serial Numbers;
Compiled and Edited by Combined Index of Images in the original book and its Supplement.
Kevin McElhone
Originally published in 2012 and still available The Disc Musical Box
ISBN 978-0-9557869-6-9
is a compendium of information about Disc Musical Boxes, their Makers and
their Music; profusely illustrated in colour throughout with Illustrations of
each Disk Musical Box Model, and with Catalogue Scans, Lists of Models,
Patents & Tune Lists.
Supplement to
The Organette Book
Compiled and Edited by
Kevin McElhone
ISBN 978-0-9557869-5-2
100pp Hard Back ISO A4 format [8.27” × 11.70”; Profusely illustrated in
colour throughout;Additional Illustrations of Models; Additions to Lists of
Patents, Tune Lists & Tuning Scales; A New Section on Trade Cards;
Combined Index of Images in the original book and its Supplement.
The Organette Book is a compendium of information about Organettes,
their Makers and their Music. Originally published in 2000 but now out of
print although second-hand copies are occasionally available in online
auctions.
************************************************************************************************************************
For all MBSGB Publications, please refer to the Musical Box Society of Great Britain website for further details including latest
availability, discounted prices and information on how to order. -www.mbsgb.org.uk
54 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Ben’s Player Piano Service
Repair and restoration of air powered mechanical music
devices of all description.
Player pianos
Reproduing pianos
Dance organs
Fairground organs
Nickelodeon pianos
Original historically
Correct techniques
And materials used
Throughout in the
Rebuilding process.
Benjamin R Gottfried
464 Dugan Road, Richfield Springs NY 13439
Bensplayerservice.com 315-858-2164
WWW.REEDERPIANOS.COM • 517-886-9447
Specializing in the Restora on and Retail of Fine Pianos
Available Reproducing Pianos:
Chickering •Marshall & Wendall •George Steck
Mason & Hamlin •Knabe •Aeolian
»QRS & AMPICO MUSIC ROLLS«
“Where Fine Pianos
Are Reborn”
Fine Art & Antique Consignments
The highest level of customer service plus private,
professional and confidential transactions.
120 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
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 55
COLLECTION DISPERSAL – I
can find new
homes
for your treasures.
Large or small
collections.
Call
for a
confidential
consultation.
RESTORATION SUPPLIES – Check out
my
online catalog for disc and
cylinder box restoration
supplies, including
jewels, governor gears,
tools, damper
and
tip wire, mylar
dampers, paper goods and
more!
CYLINDER AND DISC BOXES –No
lists…let me know what you’re looking
for! Some
are
restored, many
are unrestored.
Many
‘small’
pieces,
including
snuff
boxes,
bird cages, some
Reuge
boxes, etc.
BOOKS –
over 200 titles
of new and used books
in
stock.
E-mail
for listing.
REPRODUCTION TUNE CARDS – Over
80
reproduction tune
cards, single and multi
color.
Email
for catalog, sent in pdf format.
DISCS –
Over 9,000
original
discs
for many
brands
and
sizes.
Reproduction discs
available.
What do you
need? I
can e-mail
you listings
of what I
have.
Stay safe everyone!
Preston Evans (Opportunities Auction)
September 4-8, 2020 – four full days
Preston Evans (Opportunities Auction) is back with a selection of the best
antiques and collectibles found anywhere in the country.
We have an outstanding assortment from many categories of fine antiques and
collectibles including a wonderful collection of Musical Novelties, etc.
This four day event held takes place September 4th-8th, 2020. The cost of our
brochure is $20 and serves as your ticket to the show. Alternative seating options
are explained in the brochure. You may elect to email presto434343@yahoo.com
or simply send check or money order to Karen Braswell, 110 Clarksville Ct.
Macon, GA 31210 and your brochure will be on its way.
All items sold AS IS WHERE IS. 10% buyers premium applies
Please see website for more specific details regarding our schedule.
The Hundred Pearl Lute, French,
late 19th century. This finely crafted
cloisonné musical lute with strings
of twisted gold is a adorned across
the front with 108
genuine pearls surround
ing the body and tuning
pegs. A ‘shoulder strap’
double gold chain permits
it to be worn as a piece of
jewelry. Beautifully
executed cloisonné cover
all surfaces of the
instrument.
Included in this watch collection is a
gold-encased Solomon Watch, keywind
circa 1785, French. A beautiful example of
late 18th century watchmaker’s skill. The
watch itself is smooth gold with a Roman
and Arabic numeral porcelain face that
removes from the velvet lined outer case.
The outer case is an elegant creation of
repoussé and chasing of soft gold. It depicts
the Biblical Judgement of Solomon narrative
from the Hebrew Bible in which two women
claim motherhood of a baby and Solomon’s
wisdom prevails. A true work of art, left
with no apparent signature.
Auction)
The Encore Automatic Banjo:
Designed and marketed circa
1900 by the American
Automatic Banjo Company of
New Jersey. Only about 20
survive intact today. A coin
operated music roll mecha
nism driving an electrome
chanical series of fingers
faithfully recreates a variety of
selections, five to a roll. The
beautiful oak cabinetry
accurately reflects the grand
machines that once adorned
the music halls of 120 years
ago. Measurements are
6-feet-10-inches tall by
24-inches wide and 25-inches
deep.
Call, email or
send $20 via USPS
to get a brochure
showing all items
offered for sale
at the auction.
19th century French Barrel Organ Clock, ca.
1884: Magnificent in stature, this rare musical
clock is topped by a bronze eagle perched on
an alabaster plinth that sits above a carved
fluted column containing the clock. The base
beneath the column houses a small barrel
organ behind thin silk panels. The
music from the small wooden flute pipes is
activated by the clock striking 12. A weight
on a pulley descending through the column
propels the musical mechanism. Clock
mechanism is inscribed: SL 1/9 ’83. The
lower base cabinet is decorated with a gold
ormolu scene of Venus flanked by angels
and cherub. The clockworks have had
every gear and bearing cleaned, polished,
and adjusted. The complex musical
movement has had equal attention to
detail while still retaining the beautiful
cabinet’s original patina.
www.PrestonOpportunities.com
(678) 296-3326
119 Peachtree Pkwy.
Byron, GA. 31008
just under the sign for theBig Peach Antique Mall
An Excellent Auction of Automated Music Machines
Presented by Stanton’s Auctioneers
The Collection of Andrew & Harriet EllisAn Excellent Auction of Automated Music Machines
Presented by Stanton’s 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 – go 4-1/2 miles northwest of Hastings M-37 to the sale site or approx. 20 milessoutheast 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 acquiredand 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.
Read over this general list of the items
being sold and I am sure you will agree
that offering is worthy of your attention.
Rare
Edison
Class M
with 5”
mandrel
Rare Multiphone Banjo Model
coin operated 24 cylinder
phonograph
Symphonion Eroica triple disc music
box in the Haydn Model, an extremely
hard to find example.
AUCTIONEERS & REALTORSSTANTON’S
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
Stanton’s 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 firm has the
experience to properly handle the job right for you. Steven E. Stanton, (517) 331-8150, Email – stevenEstanton@gmail.com
Another clock top
music box
One of 4 Regina Changers Symphonion Eroica Symphonion Musical Rare Rosenfield
1 of 3 Regina
Grandfather’s Clock phonograph Hexaphones
Regina Bell box Cylinder Orchestral music box
w/table
Symphonion station box One of the many Reginaphones
Large Edison Advertising Banner, 9-1/2 ft. long
one of many carved case
music boxes
Another Edison Opera
European hand crank machine
Watch our website for nearly 1,000 pictures to be posted.
Also, if you would like to receive a free catalogfeel free to contact our office.
Rare Multiphone
Mira console decal
model music box
1 of 2 Wurlitzer Wagon
Wheel jukeboxes
683
Rare Berliner Strap
Reproducer, original
AUCTIONEERS & REALTORSSTANTON’SSteven E. Stanton
(517) 331-8150
Michael C. Bleisch
(517) 231-0868
144 South Main St., P.O. Box 146 • Vermontville, MI 49096
Phone 517-726-0181 • Fax 517-726-0060
e-mail: stantonsauctions@sbcglobal.net
website: www.stantons-auctions.com
The Collection of
Andrew & Harriet Ellis
FOR SALE
readers have ordered several copies. Get
THE MART
your copy today for $99 plus S/H. MECHANIRESTORED
MUSICAL BOXES Offering a CAL MUSIC PRESS-M, 70 Wild Ammonoosuc
Display Advertising Dimensions and Costs
Dimensions 1 issue 3 issues* 6 issues*
Back Cover 8.75” x 11.25” $600 $540 $510
Inside Covers 8.75” x 11.25” $450 $405 $383
Full Page 7.25” x 9.75” $290 $261 $246
Half Page 7.25” x 4.5” $160 $144 $136
Quarter Page 3.5” x 4.5” $90 $81 $77
Eighth Page 3.5” x 2.125” $50 $45 $43
Add a 10% surcharge to the prices shown above if you are not a member of MBSI.
*Display Discounts shown above are calculated as follows:
3 consecutive ads 10% Discount
6 consecutive ads 15% Discount
CLASSIFIED ADS
• 47¢ per word
• ALL CAPS, italicized and bold
words: 60¢ each.
• Minimum Charge: $11 per ad.
• Limit: One ad in each category
• Format: See ads for style
• Restrictions: Ads are strictly
limited to mechanical musical
instruments and related items and
services
• MBSI member’s name must
appear in ad
• Non-members may advertise at the
rates listed plus a 10% surcharge
PLEASE NOTE:
The first two words (or more
at your choice) and the member’s
name will be printed in all caps/bold
and charged at 60¢ per word.
Mechanical Music
Mechanical Music is mailed to all
members at the beginning of every
odd month — January, March, May,
July, September and November.
MBSI Advertising Statement
It is to be hereby understood
that the placing of advertisements
by members of the Society in this
publication does not constitute nor
shall be deemed to constitute any
endorsement or approval of the business
practices of advertisers. The
Musical Box Society International
accepts no liability in connection
with any business dealings between
members and such advertisers.
It is to be further understood that
members are to rely on their own
investigation and opinion regarding
the reputation and integrity of
advertisers in conducting such business
dealings with said advertisers.
variety of antique musical boxes, discs,
orphan cylinders, reproducing piano rolls &
out of print books about mechanical music.
BILL WINEBURGH 973-927-0484 Web:
antiquemusicbox.us
THE GOLDEN AGE of AUTOMATIC MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS By ART REBLITZ.
Award-winning classic that brings historical,
musical, and technical information to life
with hundreds of large, vivid color photos.
We guarantee you’ll find it to be one of the
most interesting, inspiring, informative books
you have in your library–or your money back.
Everyone has been delighted, and some
Rd., Woodsville, NH 03785. (603) 747-2636.
http://www.mechanicalmusicpress.com
*47 O ROLLS* and approximately 500
88-note piano rolls. Contact ROBERT
WERTH at (208) 920-3453.
MILLS VIOLANO – Looks and plays beautifully
after $4,000 plus professional restoration
which included new bow wheels, bow motor
rewind/rebuild, new rectifier, new violin
weights, etc. Parts nickel plated. Attention
to detail included new decals, antique light
bulb, etc. You’ll never find one this nice for
the substantially reduced price of $19,995.
ALL ADS MUST BE PREPAID
We accept VISA/MC and Paypal.
ADVERTISING DEADLINES:
The 1st day of each even month:
Feb., Apr., Jun, Aug., Oct. and Dec.
Display ads may be submitted
camera-ready, as PDF files, or with
text and instructions. File submission
guidelines available on request.
Errors attributable to Mechanical
Music, and of a significant nature, will
be corrected in the following issue
without charge, upon notification.
SUBMIT ADS TO:
MBSI Ads
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
(253) 228-1634
Email: editor@mbsi.org
62 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
Rare walnut cabinet. Roll library included.
Must see to appreciate. HERB BRABANDT
(502) 425-4263/ johebra3@twc.com
MARVELS OF MECHANICAL MUSIC – MBSI
Video. Fascinating and beautifully-made
film which explains the origins of automatic
musical instruments, how they are collected
and preserved today, and their historic
importance, MBSI members and collections
are featured. $20 USD. Free shipping in the
continental U.S. Additional postage charges
apply for other locations. Purchase now at
www.mbsi.org
WANTED
WURLITZER LX. Also wanting 151/2-inch
Regina Style 216 or 217 bell music box.
Contact: DON KROENLEIN, (217) 620-8650
fbac@one-eleven.net
SERVICES
REPRODUCTION POLYPHON discs; Catalogs
available for 19 5/8”, 22 1/8”, and 24 1/2”.
DAVID CORKRUM 5826 Roberts Ave, Oakland,
CA 94605-1156, 510-569-3110,
www.polyphonmusic.com
SAVE $’s on REUGE & THORENS MUSIC
BOX REPAIR & RESTORATION – MBSI
MEMBERS RECEIVE WHOLESALE PRICING.
40 + Years experience servicing all makes
& models of cylinder and disc music boxes,
bird boxes, bird cages, musical watches, Anri
musical figurines, et al. All work guaranteed.
We’re the only REUGE FACTORY AUTHORIZED
Parts & Repair Service Center for all of North
America. Contact: DON CAINE -The Music
Box Repair Center Unlimited, 24703 Pennsylvania
Ave., Lomita, CA 90717-1516. Phone:
(310) 534-1557 Email: MBRCU@AOL.COM.
On the Web: www.musicboxrepaircenter.com
Display Advertisers
2 Renaissance Antiques
54 Mechanical Organ & Clock Works
54 Musical Box Society of Great
Britain
55 Ben’s Player Piano Service
55 Cottone Auctions
55 Reeder Pianos
55 Bob Caletti – Music Box
Restorations
55 Grinder Gordie
56 Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd.
57 Nancy Fratti Music Boxes
58 Preston Opportunities
59 Preston Opportunities
60 Stanton’s Auctioneers & Realtors
61 Stanton’s Auctioneers & Realtors
67 Marty Persky
68 Auction Team Breker
Add a photo to your ad!
You know the old saying, “A photo
is worth 1,000 words!” Well, it’s
only $30 per issue to add a photo
to your classified advertisement in
the Mart. That’s a lot less than 1,000
words would cost. A photo makes
your ad stand out on the page and
quickly draws a reader’s interest in
the item. Email your advertisement
with photo to editor@mbsi.org or
call (253) 228-1634 for more details.
Have you tried the MBSI online
classifieds? It’s quick and easy to
place your ad. Pay with Paypal and
see your ad on the website AND in
the journal. Go to www.mbsi.org
and click on the Classifieds link to
get started today.
Advertise in The Mart
Have some spare parts or extra rolls taking up the space where you should be
installing your next acquisition? Ready to trade up, but need to sell one of your
current pieces first? Get the word out to other collectors by advertising in The
Mart, an effective advertising tool at an inexpensive price.
Fill out the form below and mail to MBSI at 130 Coral Court, Pismo Beach, CA
93449. Call (253) 228-1634 with questions.
Name Phone
Text of ad
Each One
Reach One
New Member
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 63
OFFICERS, TRUSTEES & COMMITTEES of the
MUSICAL BOX SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL®
OFFICERS
President
Tom Kuehn
4 Williams Woods
Mahtomedi, MN 55115
kuehn001@umn.edu
Vice President
David Corkrum
5826 Roberts Avenue
Oakland, CA 94605
musikwerke@att.net
Recording Secretary
Linda Birkitt
PO Box 541
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693
scarletpimpernel28@yahoo.com
Treasurer
Edward Kozak
3615 North Campbell Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
kozak@seldenfox.com
TRUSTEES
Bob Caletti
Ed Cooley
Dave Corkrum
Sally Craig
Wayne Finger
Matt Jaro
Tom Kuehn
Mary Ellen Myers
Clay Witt
MBSI FUNDS
COMMITTEES
Audit
Edward Cooley, Chair, Trustee
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
Matt Jaro, Trustee
Endowment Committee
Edward Kozak, Treasurer, Chair
Edward Cooley, Trustee
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
B Bronson
Wayne Wolf
Executive Committee
Tom Kuehn, Chair, President
David Corkrum, Vice President
Clay Witt, Immediate Past Pres.
Sally Craig, Trustee
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
Finance Committee
Edward Kozak, Chair, Treasurer
Wayne Wolf, Vice Chair
David Corkrum, Vice President
Edward Cooley, Trustee
Peter Both
Marketing Committee
Bob Smith, Chair
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
Judy Caletti
Meetings Committee
Matt Jaro, Chair, Trustee
Judy Caletti
Tom Chase
Cotton Morlock
Mary Pollock
Rich Poppe
Membership Committee
Chair, TBD
Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee,
Southeast
Linda Birkitt, Southern California
Gary Goldsmith, Snowbelt
Christine Hopwood, Golden Gate
Julie Morlock, Southeast
Rob Pollock, Mid-America
Dan Wilson, Piedmont
Gerald Yorioka, Northwest Int’l
TBD, East Coast
TBD, Great Lakes
TBD, National Capital
TBD, Sunbelt
Museum Committee
Sally Craig, Chair, Trustee
Glenn Crater, National Capital
Ken Envall, Southern California
Julian Grace, Sunbelt
Richard Simpson, East Coast
Museum Sub-Committees
Ohio Operations
Emery Prior
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES
Publications Back Issues:
Jacque Beeman
Regina Certificates:
B Bronson
MBSI Pins and Seals:
Jacque Beeman
Librarian:
Jerry Maler
Historian:
Bob Yates
Nominating Committee
Dan Wilson, Chair
Clay Witt, Immediate Past Pres.
Bob Caletti, Golden Gate, Trustee
Sally Craig, National Capital,
Trustee
Judy Caletti, Golden Gate
Judy Miller, Southeast
Rick Swaney, Northwest Int’l
Bill Wineburgh, East Coast
Publications Committee
Bob Caletti, Chair, Trustee
Steve Boehck
Dave Corkrum, Vice President
Christian Eric
Kathleen Eric
Terry Smythe
Publications
Sub-Committee
Website Committee
Rick Swaney, Chair
Julian Grace
B Bronson
Don Henry
Knowles Little, Web Secretary
Special Exhibits Committee
Chair Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee,
Southeast,
David Corkrum, Golden Gate
Robert Ebert, Mid-America
Jack Hostetler, Southeast
Judy Miller, Piedmont
Wayne Myers, Southeast
Rick Swaney, Northwest Int’l
MBSI Editorial Office:
Iron Dog Media
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
editor@mbsi.org
Members can donate to these funds at any time.
Send donations to: General Fund (unrestricted)
MBSI Administrator, Endowment Fund (promotes the purposes of MBSI, restricted)
PO Box 10196, Ralph Heintz Publications Fund (special literary projects)
Springfield, MO 65808-0196. Museum Fund (supports museum operations)
All manuscripts will be subject to editorial review. Committee and the Editorial Staff. are considered to be the author’s personal opinion.
Articles submitted for publication may be edited The article will not be published with significant The author may be asked to substantiate his/her
or rejected at the discretion of the Publications changes without the author’s approval. All articles statements.
64 MECHANICAL MUSIC July/August 2020
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Date Event Location Sponsor
Sept. 25–28, 2020 Second Annual Global Piano Roll meeting Switzerland
When will your chapter meet next? Holding a “virtual meeting?” Let us know!
Send in your information by Aug. 1, 2020 for the September/October issue.
Please send dates for the Calendar of Events to Russell Kasselman (editor@mbsi.org)
CONTACTS
Administrator Jacque Beeman handles back issues (if available) $6;
damaged or issues not received, address changes, MBSI Directory
listing changes, credit card charge questions, book orders, status of your
membership, membership renewal, membership application, and MBSI
Membership Brochures.
P.O. Box 10196
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax (417) 886-8839
jbeeman.mbsi@att.net
CHAPTERS
East Coast
Chair: Elise Low
(203) 457-9888
Dues $10 to Roger Wiegand
281 Concord Road
Wayland, MA 01778
or pay via PayPal, send to
treasurereccmbsi@gmail.com
Golden Gate
Chair: Jonathan Hoyt
jenjenhoyt@yahoo.com
Dues $5 to Dave Corkrum
5826 Roberts Ave.
Oakland, CA 94605
Japan
Chair Pro Tem: Sachiya Sasaki
Vice Chair Pro Tem: Naoki Shibata
Lake Michigan
Chair: Aaron Muller
(847) 962-2330
Dues $5 to James Huffer
7930 N. Kildare
Skokie, Illinois 60076
Mid-America
Chair: Rob Pollock
(937) 508-4984
Dues $10 to Harold Wade
4616 Boneta Road
Medina, OH 44256
National Capital
Chair: Matthew Jaro
(301) 482-2008
Dues $5 to Florie Hirsch
8917 Wooden Bridge Road
Potomac, MD 20854
Northwest International
Chair: Rick Swaney
(425) 836-3586
Dues $7.50/person to Kathy Baer
8210 Comox Road
Blaine, WA 98230
Piedmont
Temp Chair: Dan Wilson
(919) 740-6579
musicboxmac@mac.com
Dues $10 to Dan Wilson
4804 Latimer Road
Raleigh, NC. 276099
Traveling MBSI Display
Bill Endlein
21547 NW 154th Pl.
High Springs, FL 32643-4519
Phone (386) 454-8359
sembsi@yahoo.com
Regina Certificates: Cost $5.
B Bronson
Box 154
Dundee, MI 48131
Phone (734) 529-2087
art@d-pcomm.net
Advertising for Mechanical Music
Russell Kasselman
Iron Dog Media
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
Phone (253) 228-1634
editor@mbsi.org
CHAPTERS
Snowbelt
Chair: Tracy Tolzmann
(651) 674-5149
Dues $10 to Gary Goldsmith
17160 – 245th Avenue
Big Lake, MN 55309
Southeast
Chair: Jack Hostetler
(352) 633-1942
Dues $5 to Clay Witt
820 Del Rio Way Unit 203
Merritt Island, FL 32953
Museum Donations
Sally Craig,
2720 Old Orchard Road
Lancaster, PA 17601
Phone (717) 295-9188
rosebud441@juno.com
MBSI website
Rick Swaney,
4302 209th Avenue NE
Sammamish, WA 98074
Phone (425) 836-3586
r_swaney@msn.com
Web Secretary
Knowles Little
9109 Scott Dr.
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone (301) 762-6253
kglittle@verizon.net
Southern California
Chair: Robin Biggins
(310) 377-1472
Dues $10 to Diane Lloyd
1201 Edgeview Drive
Cowan Hgts, CA 92705
Sunbelt
Chair: Ray Dickey
(713) 467-0349
Dues $10 to Diane Caudill
4585 Felder Road
Washington, TX 77880
Copyright 2020 the Musical Box Society International, all rights reserved. Permission to reproduce by any means, in whole or in part, must be obtained in writing
from the MBSI Executive Committee and the Editor. Mechanical Music is published in the even months. ISSN 1045-795X
July/August 2020 MECHANICAL MUSIC 65
HALF PAGE
HORIZONTAL
7.25” x 4.5”
QUARTER
PAGE
3.5” x 4.5”
EIGHTH
PAGE
3.5” x 2.125”
Mechanical Music
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 63, No. 3 May/June 2017
Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 63, No. 1 January/February 2017
DISPLAY ADVERTISING DIMENSIONS & PER ISSUE COSTS
Dimensions 1 issue 2-3 issues 4-6 issues
Back Cover 8.75” x 11.25” $600 $540 $510
Inside Covers 8.75” x 11.25” $450 $405 $383
Full Page 7.25” x 9.75” $290 $261 $247
Half Page 7.25” x 4.5” $160 $144 $136
Quarter Page 3.5” x 4.5” $90 $81 $77
Eighth Page 3.5” x 2.125” $50 $45 $43
Non-members pay a 10% surcharge on the above rates
Display Discounts shown above are calculated as follows:
3 consecutive ads 10% Discount
6 consecutive ads 15% Discount
FULL PAGE
8.75” X 11.25”
(0.5” bleed)
7.25” x 9.75”
(live area)
PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
ISSUE NAME ADS DUE DELIVERED ON
January/February December 1 January 1
March/April February 1 March 1
May/June April 1 May 1
July/August June 1 July 1
September/October August 1 September 1
November/December October 1 November 1
Mechanical Music is printed on 70 lb gloss
paper, with a 100 lb gloss cover, saddle-
stitched. Trim size is 8.25” x 10.75”.
Artwork is accepted in the following formats:
PDF, PSD, AI, EPS, TIF. All images
and colors should be CMYK or Grayscale
and all fonts should be embedded or
converted to outlines. Images should be a
minimum of 300 dpi resolution.
Email les to:
mbsi@irondogmedia.com
USPS or Fed Ex to:
Iron Dog Media, LLC
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
Mechanical Music is mailed to more
than 1,500 members of the Musical
Box Society International six (6) times
per year.
PRINTING & ARTWORK SPECIFICATIONS
CIRCULATION
ALL ADS MUST
BE PREPAID
The Musical Box Society International
accepts VISA, Mastercard and online
payments via PayPal.
Contact MBSI Publisher Russell Kasselman at (253) 228-1634 or editor@mbsi.org
CLASSIFIED ADS
• 47¢ per word
• ALL CAPS, italicized and
bold words: 60¢ each.
• Minimum Charge: $11.
• Limit: One ad in each
category
• Format: See ads for style
• Restrictions: Ads are strictly
limited to mechanical musical
instruments and related
items and services
MARTY PERSKY
Instrument Brokering & Locating / Appraisals / Inspections / Free Consultation
Welte 4 Concert WurliTzer Mandolin PianOrchestra 33 Popper Felix
Mortier 84 key Café Hupfeld Helios II/25 Violina Orchestra
Jaeger Brommer
42’er Violinopan 20’er Automaton
45’er Niemuth
Bacigalupo Visit: www.Mechmusic.com Mills Bowfront Violano
Call: 847-675-6144 or Email: Marty@Mechmusic.com
for further information on these and other fine instruments.
Polyphon Style 4 Automatic Disc-
Changing Musical Box, c. 1900
Sold: 20.720 / $ 22.380
Mills Violano-Virtuoso,
Mills Novelty Co.,
Chicago, c. 1925
Sold: 15.100 / $ 16.300
Lioret No. 3 Weight-Driven
Phonograph, c. 1897
Sold: 25.660 / $ $27.710
Musical Clown Acrobat
by Roullet et Decamps,
c. 1900
Sold: 10.075 / $ 10.880
Narghile Smoker Automaton
by Leopold Lambert, 1920s
Sold: 12.950 / $ 14.245
Rare “Piece à Oiseau”
Musical Box, c. 1890
Sold: 31.485 / $ 34.635
Walking Vintage
Automaton by Gustave
Vichy, c. 1880
Sold: 17.630 / $ 17.800
Singing Bird Jardinière Automaton
by Bontems, c. 1890
Sold: 15.110 / $ 16.620
Black Forest Flute Clock by
Ignaz Schoepperle, c. 1840
Sold: 8.420 / $ 9.090
Rare Empire Timepiece with
Organ, probably Christian
Ernst Kleemeyer, c. 1800
Sold: 9.700 / $ 10.475
››Mechanical Music‹‹
31 October 2020
The Leading Specialist Auction for
Closing date for entries: 1 September 2020
– Illustrated are just a few of our highlights from last sales in 2020 –
Free consignment shipping to Germany – if delivered or sent to our location in Garden City Park,
NY 11040 (10 miles east of JFK Airport)
Free shipping for any major consignment from the U.K.! You just pack – we do the rest!
For more highlights and videos, visit www.Breker.com/New Highlights
or youtube.com/auctionteambreker
Fully-illustrated bilingual (Engl.-German) COLOUR Catalogue available against prepayment only:
Euro 28.– (Europe) or elsewhere Euro 37.– (approx. US$ 44.– / Overseas)
(Bank draft, cash or by Credit Card with CVV and expiry date: MasterCard/Visa/AmEx)
☛ Consignments for Future Auctions Always Welcome! ☛
– The Specialists in »Technical Antiques« –
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Japan: Murakami Taizou, Tel./Fax (06) 68 45 86 28 * murakami@ops.dti.ne.jp · China: Jiang Feng, Tel. 138 620 620 75 * jiangfengde@gmail.com
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Consignments are invited for our new
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