THE MIICA NEWS BULLETIN 1__------_----The AMICA News Bulletin ..... Published by the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors' Association, a non-profit club devoted to the restoration, distribution and enjoyment of musical instruments using perforated paper music rolls.

Contributions: All subjects of interest to readers of the bulletin are encouraged and invited by the publisher. All articles must be received by the first of the month. Every attempt will be made to publish all articles of general interest to AMICA members at the earliest possible time and at the discretion of the Publisher, in the following areas: * Letters to the Publisher *Research Findings *Questions and Answers *Biographical Sketchesof Artists and Composers *Photographs, Old Advertisements *Technical Information * Anything elseof general interest to AM ICA

Advertisements: Personal adsare accepted by the AM ICA Bulletin Board. Businesses which are interested in placing ads must follow these rules: - Each ad wi II consist of one fu II standard pagein the bulIeti n. - Payment of $25 must be included with the ad copy. - Ads must reach the publisher by the first of the month. - Ad copy must be complete and ready for print. - At least 50% of the ad must consist of photographs or art work that will be of specific interest to AMICA readers. PUBLICATION OF BUSINESS ADVERTISING IN NO WAY IMPLIES AMICA'S ENDORSEMENT OF ANY COMMERCIAL OPERATION. However AMICA reserves the right to refuse any ad that is not in keeping with AMICA's general standardsor if complaints are received indicating that said business does not serve the best interests of the membersof AMICA, according to its goalsand by-laws.

I THE AMICA WHO & WHERE THE AMICA BULLETIN AMICA PRESIDENT PHOTOGRAPHS REQUIRING HALF-TONE Frank Loob Sam Thompson 219 Montecito Boulevard 6809 Iris Circle Napa, California 94558 Hollywood, California 90028 AMICA BULLETIN MUSICAL JIGSAW Ginny Billings, Publisher Ruth Bingaman Smith 1428 Liberty Street 206 Tuttle Road EI Cerrito, California 94530 San Antonio, Texas 78209 AMICA BULLETIN PAST ISSUES PARENT MINUTES & MEETINGS Dick Reutlinger Ginny Billings, Publisher 824 Grove Street 1428 Liberty Street San Francisco, California 94117 EI Cerrito, California 94530 NEW MEMBERSHIPS & MAILING PROBLEMS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES Dick Reutlinger, Membership Secretary Bob Pye, Editor 824 Grove Street 342 Leon Avenue San Francisco, California 94117 Kelowna, B.C., Canada MEMBERSHIP DUES & TREASURY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER Bob Whiteley, Treasurer Karl Petersen, Reporter 175 Reservoir 314 South Halladay Street San Rafael, California Santa Ana, California 92701 BULLETIN BOARD INSTRUMENTS Mel Luchetti, Advertising Secretary Bob Billings, Editor 3449 Mauricia Avenue 1428 Liberty Street Santa Clara, California 95050 EI Cerrito, California 94530 AMICA A'UCTION TECHNICALITIES Gar Britten, Auctioneer John A. Patten, Editor 642 Diamond Street 601 Penn Street San Francisco, California Pasadena, California 91104 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 2

MEMBERSHIP MINUTES by Sally Lawrence, acting Secretary OUR NEXT MEETING

The President , Frank Loob , called the meet ing to order at 9 :45 p.m. He asked for t he report from the nom­ DATE: Saturday, November 27 inat ion Commi ttee of t he newly established Founding 7:30 P.M . Chapter. Sally Lawrence reported that the following TIME: Roger Johnson persons had accepted nominat ions for the local chapter : 6380 Wisteria Way, San Jose Al f Werolin, President PLACE: Ni cholas Jarrett, Vice President Bill Whe rry, Secretary Joe Bogle , Treasurer Sally Lawrence, Reporte r . ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY COMING UP Frank asked i f there we re any further nomina t ions from the floor. There we re none and th e slate was unanimously San Fran ciscans and tmavel.l.ere t o the Bay Area, p l an elected. t o attend the t raditional and always exciting AMICA Frank turned t he meeting over to Vi ce Pres ident Nick Christmas party, to be held, as always , at the home of Jarrett. Nick annou nced t he dues fo r the Founding Chap­ Dick Reutl.inqer i n San Francisco . ter were to be collected and that the next meeting woul d Each guest i s asked to bring a t oken (Joke) gift with be at the Jones' home in San Franc isco , He adjourned the him... a maximum val ue of $1.00, please . Las t year your meet ing at 9 :50 p.m. pub Usher took home an envelop of lettuce bubbl e bath / Members attending we re Mr . and Mr s . Loob , Bill Wherry, So that Sally Lawrence and Dick can make approp riate Sa l l y and Dale Lawrence, Bob and Barba ra Whiteley, Dick plans , please RSVP to either of them during the evening. Reutlinger , Ginny and Bob Bill ings , Al and Linda Nielsen , THE DATE : December 11 (Saturday ) ; THE TIME: 8:00 p.m . ; Roger John son, Larry Mangus, Ni cho l as Jarrett and Don THE LOCATION: 824 Gr ove S ty-eat; THE COST (to cover r e­ Stroh, Bill Englund (vi siting from Seattle) , and guests freshments ) .' $2.50 fo r each per s on . THE CITY: San of the Loobs, Fr ancisco. See yo u there /

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NEXT AUCTION DATE SET FORJANUARY Ruth Bingcunan Smith examinee Bill Knorp 's Victor V by Gar Britten talking machine . She and Jarod Clark were t reated to OWl. ne.x.t Auction Lw:t, No. 15, will be. pubW he.d wa h an interes t i ng concert at Bi Ll. Knorp 'e ! Ruth has :the. Ve.c.embe.Jt BuUe.tin 60!l a mi..d-JanuaJz.y auction. written and asked t hat AMICA be th anked and given her We. would have. p~ e. 6~ e.d :to have. ~ auction in Nov­ love for t he gr acious hospitality she re cei ved during embe.Jt , bu:t by :the. .tUne. you membe.M wo uld ge.:t :the. w :t, her San Francisco visit . and ~e.:tMn YOWl. b-i..d6 , -i..:t would have. 6a.Ue.n ~gh:t -i..n :the. mi..d6 :t a6 YOWl. ChJU!., :tm1U pl0Jt6 . We. we.Jte. all, a a b-i..:t a.ppMhe.M-i..v e. aboiu: und-tng ou:t package;., -i..n :the. mi..dd.te. 06 V e.c. em b e.~, know-i..ng aboui; PO-6:ta..t c. o n 6~ -i.. on a:t :tha:t .tUne. 06 ye.M. e. e.e.e.e. e.e.e.e.e.e. e. e.e.e.e.e. e. e. e.

Rober t a Cherney gives Ursula Dietrich-Hollinshead a jade pin on behalf of AMICA during her visit to San Fr ancis co . Ginny Bi l l i ngs looks on, as Ursula charms everyone wi t h he r i nf ormality, f rankness and spirited discussi on . 3 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

Thanks, Gar, for all you've done to make the auction the success that it is and the fine event to at tend, be­ AUCTION #14 AT GAR BRITTEN'S HOME sidesl It's a tremendous job you've handled, prepar ing by Sam Thompson and tallying the auction lists and bid sheets, re ce i vi ng and redirecting over 500 items in a single auction, pro­ Shortly past 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 12, AMICA's viding refreshments of such magnitude, and opening your la rgest auction ye t began . Over 500 items , consisting home to AMI CAns as well. of rolls , a cat~log, a month ly bulletin, and even a jumbo Ampico, appeared and were to find new homes. .."",.,.,.,',.,',...... If vou haven' t attended one of these events, it's an e x c it i ~ g happeni ng , especially if you're involved in the b i dd i ng. He re ' s how the ac tua 1 auct ion proceeds. The auct ion­ OPEN LETTER FROM ROBERT BARTLETT ee~ Ga r Britten , seated at his desk by the front , "0 . w;ndow , calls t he item number and states, pen i nq at $3. 25." This means that the figure stated i s 25¢ higher t han the next highest mail bid (incidentally, all bids I recentl y purchased wha t was suppos ed t o be a Wil cox should be in in crements of 25d. If a person at the &White Symphony organ roll. It was in a W/W box labelled _ auction wishes to bid , he must raise by 25¢ and compete UX10087 Leonore Ove r t ur e U3. The roll was 1110087 in b idding with Gar, who will bid as the mail bidders ' Aeol i an grand! agent. Gar can bid only until he reaches the mail bid­ Since the W/W "o lls are 10-1/4" wide and the Aeolian der's maximum; for 25¢ more, the live bidder can get the gr and rolls are 10- 1 / 8" wide but with larger pins, I item. However , t he live bidder does not know the actual could not play the roll on my player, but I s us pe c t it amount the mail bidder has authorized. If no bids have woul d have worke d on my system. My conclusion i s t hat been received on an item, Gar states, "minimum bid of the Aeolian Company made rolls for Wil cox & Wh ite, or (the amount stated on the bid sheet)." If a person will that Wilcox & White made rolls for the Aeolian Company . bid this minimum, he will get it for that amount unless The roll numbers are identical in this case excep t for other live competition develops. the first digit, which is an "X" for W/W and an "0 " f or Hardly more than a dozen people attended this auction. Aeolian. Prices , too, were down. It was, however, a fun event. If anyone is interested, we could cross-reference Before the bidding began, an exciting feel ing of tense­ lists of rolls for both organs and ch eck further. ness prevailed and continued throughout the bidding. Not much live bidding actually transpired. Perhaps one out of 10 items received live bids. Thus the auction MNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNM proceeded rapidly and ended around 5:15 p.m. Now that it was time to relax: a t ime for friends to compare purchases; a time to enjoy the company of others with your same hobby. Gar 's baby grand Ampico "B" then sang forth as rolls were played. In the dining room, the table strained under a huge bowl of fresh fruit salad, del icious home-made cookies, an equally fine home-made cake, and other equally delectable edibles which Gar had prepared for those with an appetite. Oh, were they good!

An AMPICO Lioenee p late ! The owner is Oz Hayes of the San Fr ancisco Bay Area . photo by Bi.l.L Knorp .

Gar Britten stands beside his WiZUam & Mary art case baby Ampico "B" during his auotiion . THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

WHERE TO LOOK FOR SOME MORE ORIGINAL MATERIAL by Ken Snowden

I spent thisaftemoon browsing through old magazines art case models--some reproducing, some not--that would in the basement of the Lake Forest library and ran across make one who fancies the "Big Three" in art cases more many reproducer ads --Duo-Art, Ampico, Recordo & Welte. than a little envious. I think these ads app ear in There seemed to be quite a few in Country Life from issues from about 1928, but they may be a little earlier. ' 23 to ' 26. I wasn't able to look through the issues Reproducing piano enthusiasts who like to see anything f r om the '30s, so I don't know what exotic late models, musical put in an art case might be interested in the if any, are advertised t herein. One Ampico ad, either in Aeolian-Vocalian phonograph ads in C. 1924 Country Life the January, April, or May 1925 Country Life, has an magazines. Some of the machines are amazingly lavish espe ci al ly nice photograph of a Mason & Hamlin Ampico. and must have cost a small fortune when new. One that The Novembe r 1925 issue has a multi-page spread on the stands out in my memory is enclosed in a pseudo-18th Duo-Art Resi~ence Organ as well as the piano. The century Chinese cabinet on rococco gilt stand. AMICA September 1926 issue has an article about pianos, as members who are looking for ju~t the right thing to com­ pieces of furniture, I think, and shows several art plement their pianos might consider one of these. Re­ cases, some of which have reproducers in them. In the stored as carefully as the pianos frequently are, th~y October 1926 issue, the Duo-Art ad i s in the form of a would be worthy of the finest collection! playlet called "Luella Gets Her Duo-Art." [You people with access to the originals of some of Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, and these reproductions, how about dredging them up for House Beautiful are also full of reproducer ads. I t use in' the Bullet in?] ~ to me that all of these had WurliTzer ads showing

Urs ul a Dietrich-Hollinshead visited Bob and Roberta Ch erney during her recent visit t o San Francisco, and t reated t hem t o an impromptu performance on t heir S t ei nway Duo- Ar t .

Jim Elfers , Clare Spence r , Roger Johnson, and Gar 's two dogs look ove r bid sheets at t he AMICA auction . 5 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

Vice President Nicholas Jarrett was born in England PRESIDENT FRANK LOOB INVITES AMICA TO HIS NAPA HOME and emigrated to America in 1960. Nick was employed for by Sally Lawrence, Reporter a short time with the Canadian arm of a food machinery The September meeting of AMICA at the home of the concern. In San Francisco, he joined a local mill equip­ Loobs in Napa found us listening on a lovely warm even­ ment manufacturer, until quitting to spend full time ing to music that filtered through the house from his with his partner, Don Stroh, on his income property. He Mason & Hamlin grand piano. There was a short inter­ lives in San Francisco in his beautifully restored 1909 mission for the business meeting, at which time the home. Nick has been treasurer of AMICA, and a member Founding Chapter officers were elected. Everyone enjoyed since 1969. the fascinating art objects that the Loobs have collected Bill Wherry, secretary, is a second generation Calif­ from around the world. ornian and is a real estate investor. He resides in Frank had promised a I ight repast. WHAT A REPAST! The Orinda, where he has lived since 1965. He joined AMICA wonderful late buffet incl uded sal ads, turkey, ham, in 1967. cheeses, wine, and a fantastic cake. This was a baker's Treasurer Joe Bogle was born in Centerville, Tennes­ dream . . . a baroque grand piano with its lid up, made of see, moved to South Carolina in 1941, and attended the frosting and with AMICA written on the fall board, university there. Joe was in the Army in Radio-Telephone decorated it! Beautifull Communications, serving in the South Pacific. Af t e rwa r d , Roger Johnson became very enthused with Frank's reed he accepted a job with General Electric Test Engineering organ, and played up a storm on it with both hands and Program, finally on permanent assignment in Erie, Penn. feet. He is living in San Jose and working for General Elec­ We all wish to thank the Loobs for the delightful tric Vertical Motor Plant as a factory sales engin­ evening and the superb hospitality they showed usl eer. Joe and his wife, Gerry, have been members of AMICA for about three years now. HIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIH Sally Lawrence, Reporter, is a native of Berkeley and has been a member since the founding of AMICA in 1962. She resides in Kensington with her husband, Dale. They have lived there for sixteen years. Sally was the Chair­ WHO ARE YOUR NEW OFFICERS? man of the First International Convention of AMICA in by Sally Lawrence, Reporter San Francisco in 1969. Dale and Sally helped put together the Automatic Musical Instruments Program given at the The first President of the newly defined Founding University of California in .1971 . Sally has also been Chapter, Alf Werolin, has been a member of AMICA since past Membership Secretary of AMICA, and is now employed 1966. The Werolins are originally from New York City. by Kaufman's Draperies as salesclerk and interior Alf worked before and during college for the Ampico decorator. factory, first in the Service Department installing Ampicos, and later as an instructor of the service men employed by the factory. In 1945 the Werolins moved to the Peninsula. Alf is now employed by Case and Company, Inc., an international firm of management consultants.

Ruth Bi.nqaman Smi t h playing Bi ZZ Knorp ' s Fis cher Ampiao grand. Jarod Clark listens. Photo by Bill Knorp.

Bi U Knorp stands by as Ursu la adds her s i gnature to numerous ro Us: Ampiao, Duo-Art, Apol.Lo , Reoordo. Jaro d Clark's Pontoul.l.ie was the s cene f or this great mee ting . THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 6 ------". :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: . IIIIII~ !1~1!~\_.i::~ 11111••111111 __·.!:·:! ------

MEMBERSHIP BIOGRAPHY: ALF WEROLIN, FOUNDING CHAFfER PRESIDENT Born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended schools in team), Sigmund Spaeth (lecturer on history and develop­ the East. Moved to Hillsborough, California, in 1945. An ment of musical tunes), Branson deCou (travel lecturer engineering graduate from Yale University and New York using Ampico for background music.) It was Al's job to Uni versity • see that the Ampico performed properly at these presen­ Married Marforie Trumbull in 1934, and have two tation concerts. He also travelled around the country as married sons, Jon Trumbull and David Bartlett. Jon is a special service representative to dealers selling and the San Francisco area manager for Women's Day Magazine, servicing Ampicos. and Dave is an account executive with Dean Witter in The depression of the early thirties changed Al's San Mateo. career plans. If the bottom had not dropped out of the Could say that Ai was born into the player piano bus­ piano and reproducing piano business, Al may very well iness, for when he arrived his father was engaged in have continued with the Ampico Corporation. Instead he manufacturirrg pianos and player pianos in such companies decided to pursue his engineering interest with particu­ as Chickering, Mason & Hamlin, Sohmer, and the Amphion lar emphasis on management's use of advanced industrial Player Action Co. Al's home was never without a player engineering techniques. After tl-{o years of gradua.te vork piano or a straight piano, and in later years a repro­ he received a Mechanical Engineering degree from Yale ducing piano. Many times these "reenacting pianos"--as and went to work for the Western Electric Company as a they were called in the late twenties--~ad experimental production engineer. Following a couple of years of devices hooked up to them, which AI's dad had designed factory work, he combined his engineering training and or had modified when he worked with Charles Stoddard in teaching interest by entering the management consulting developing and perfecting the Ampico. (Al's father field--his present occupation. Except for a five-year worked both in Rochester and Syracuse, New York, setting period as president of a west coast manufacturing con­ up the manufacturing processes for making the Ampico cern, Al has served for almost 30 years as a consultant mechanisms, and finally headed the Ampico Corporation to a great variety of businesses, such as: commercial Factory and Service Division in New York City, which and merchandising companies, manufacturing plants, installed reproducing player actions in pianos not manu­ schools, motion picture studios, professional associ-: factured by the American Piano Co. , and provided repair ations and firms--in fact every conceivable type of and maintenance services throughout the country for business except a piano manufacturer. He says he would Ampicos .) love to combine his early experience, present knOW-how, Marjorie, on the other hand, was raised in a home in and interest in good music--as reproduced by an Ampico, New York which had an A.B. Chase piano with a Duo-Art Duo-Art, or Welte, of course--by serving as a consultant reproducing mechanism it it. She, too, had developed an to some player piano manufacturer. Currently Al is Vice early love for good music through the medium of her President of Case and Company, an international manage­ family's wonderful instrument. Like many parents in ment consulting firm, and is in charge of their San those early days of reproducers, Marjorie's father and Francisco office. mother were sold on the idea that the Duo-Art would help He travels a good deal in his work--and Marjorie Marjorie and her sister learn to play the piano more frequently joins him. They are frequently found in an­ expertly--simply as a result of hearing great artists tique shops hunting for Ampico rolls and other "goodies" at the keyboard. or "junque." To date they have assembled a library of It is little wonder that Marjorie and Al love their about 800 classical rolls, but there are many they are Mason & Hamlin grand with a Model A Ampico demonstrating still looking for. its beautiful tone. They play it for their own pleasure Al, working with the other elected officers of the at meal times and use it as background music when Founding Chapter, hopes to bring recording artists to showing slides of their travels. our meetings such as: Ruth Bingaman Smith, Edgar During the last two years of college in New York, Al Fairchild (Milton Suskind), Rudolf Friml, and several worked during summer months for the Ampico Corporation other artists who have attended past meetings. Other in their "special installations" department. This was program ideas include artist vs. composer appreciation the organizational unit responsible for custom installa­ sessions, simple and routine reproducing piano mainten­ tions of the Ampico mechanism in unusual, special, and ance discussions, musical "run and games" quiz periods, other non-American Piano brand pi-anos. He assisted in and -- several Ampico Servi~eman training schools, working with Further, as is natural for any reproducing piano instructors like Carl Schneider (AMICA Honorary Member) owner, Al would like to see AMICA encourage the recutting and Edward Piquette. These schools were held allover of rolls, and the production of new reproducing rolls by the country--lasting about two weeks each--to train current-day artists. Looking even farther ahead, he hopes piano tuners and player repair men in the intricacies that some modern manufacturer might find it interesting of the Ampi co. and profitable to resume the production of reproducing Between college and graduate school Al travelled with pianos so that the pleasure AMICA members derive from some of the Ampico artists who staged demonstrations of their instruments can be shared by others not yet so the Ampico in various cities. Some of these artists~­ fortunate. and other professionals--included Ohman and Arden (duet

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INITIATES LOCAL NEWSLETTER by Ginny Billings Berkeley, Bill matured through various positions in the I was very much impressed to receive a new newsletter Southern California area. Recently the Chief Industrial put out by the Southern California Chapter of AMICA. For Engineer at Weber Aircraft, he left to become an Indus­ local consumption, it's put out very competently by Dave trial Engineering Consultant to the Weiser Lock Company. Patterson. Bill recalls his first interest in automatic musical In their first issue, they have included the up-coming instruments was at the age of around four or five; a local meeting, business to be dealt with, a personality neighbor had an Ampico grand. (He doesn't remember the sketch of a local member, a "for sale and trade" section, make or size.) The interest lay dormant for many years an events calendar, and a rolls-wanted list. Congratu­ until, in 1960, he saw an ad on a market bulletin lations for an attractive publication, Southern Calif! board: "Player Piano for Sale." The spark of interest burst into flame, and Bill bought an Ampico upright, VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAV then a Straube pumper. His current collection includes a Symphonique Ampico grand, a Gulbransen upright, and a Cecil ian push-up. MEMBERSHIP BIOGRAPHY: Bill's charming wife, Bobbie, has assisted him as BILL MINTZ, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER PRESIDENT Arrangements Chairman and has been instrumental in the planning and execution of Chapter meetings. Their teen­ age daughters, Ellen and Jeannie, and Minnie, the dog, Bill Mintz, a native of New York City, showed the complete the Mintz family. good judgment to convince his parents to move to Cali­ fornia before his first birthday. He grew up in Beverly ++++++++++++++++++++ Hills and West Lost Angeles. After obtaining a B.S. in Industrial Engineering at the University of California,

EXCERPTS FROM HAROLD BAUER: HIS BOOK 1948 (Nerton) contributed by George Blau The new Grand Central Station built in 1913 caused taking infinite pains 111 the editing that was essential to many building changes in its vicinity,and Mendelssohn I In11, their completion, situated also on 42nd Street, was torn down, Most of the The final result was always somewhat discouraging in large businesses were then in process of 1110\'ing northward, spite of all this trouble, for the reason that the dynamics, and Steinway Hall on 14th Street, once the most important set to produce certain effects on the piano which was being auditorium in the city, had been given up. Stciuway & Sons used for such editorial purposes, varied when the record moved to 57th Street SOB1C years later, and Carnegie Hall, was played on another piano, This was due to minute dif­ opened by the youthful Walter Damrosch in 1891, was no ferences in quality of tone and in resistance within the action, longer too far uptown to attract the public. and there was no \\'ay of overcoming the difficulty. I fearncd The Aeolian Company, which had achieved rapid fame t\VO important principles in piano technique through the and untold wealth through the invention of the pianola, mechanical limitations of the pianola. One was the fact moved uptown to 42nc1 Strcct and constructed an CllOrI1l0US that tonal variety (i.c. difference in quality of piano tonc) building which housed not only their O\V11 products and is obtainable solelythrough control and combination of the extensive offices, but contained one of the 11l0St beautiful percussivesounds which result from the tapping of the fingcr auditoriums then in -existence, on the key,the tapping of the kcyon its base, and thc tapping The capacity of this han was about twelve hundred, and of the hammer on the string. Since the mechanical player it became, for nlany YC~l[S, the hOITIe of the New York Sym­ uses but one of these three faetors-nanlcly, the tapping of phony Orchestra, founded by Walter Damrosch, as well the hammer against the string--it follows that the human as the most fashionable auditorium for all organizations hand, which has all three percussive noises at its command, and individual artists who did not expect to fill the larger can varysound quality in a manner which is totally denied to spaces of Carnegie IIa11. Apart from IHy frequent public the machine, appearanccs there, I spent 111an)', nlany hours in the o!Iicc3, I am aware that some scientists, as well as S0111C dis­ editing and correcting the IXlpcr rolls on which D1Y per­ tinguished pianists, refuse to recognize the value of these formanccs had been mechanically recorded for the pianola, sounds in the production of piano tone; nevertheless, I later electrified and re-named the Duo-Art, have successfully proved to tuan)' of Iny colleagues that I made, from first to last, some two hundred records, when they convey expressive variety of tone to their per- THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 8

forrnaucc, thcy arc invariably making usc of these noises, promoters of the machine who assured us that familiarity altho ugh generally quite subconsciously. with music th rough mechanically rccorded performanccs Th e second thing I learned from the mechanical player would ultimately create audiences larger than had ever been was that it was best, in accentuating a single tone contained imagined. within a chord, to allow th is tone to precede the othe r tones It seems strange today to reflect upon the tremendous by a fraction of a second, instead of insisting that all tones cnergy that was expended in th e manufacture and sale of be played simultaneously. 111is had to be done in correcting all those machines and paper rolls. It is strange to recall th e paper rolls of the m echani cal record. The illusion of the number of public performances given thro ughout the simultaneity was perfect, and it sounded bett er that way, civilized world with the sale object of publicizing this pe­ so I introduced this method into my technical practice. culiar industry. And it is strange to th ink that nothing sur­ The most ambitious of the Aeolian Company's plans was vivcs of all that work. to prepare records of piano concertos for performance with Anel yet . . . am I justifi ed in saying that nothing sur­ symphony orchestras under the leadership of their regular vives? conductor. I believe I was the first to make such a record. We know today that the prognostications of a glorious It was the St. Saens Concerto in G minor. Following its new age of music which were held out by promoters of th e completion, it was performed at a special concert given at machine were not merely shadowy baits to induce us to the Academy of Music in Philadelphia by the Philadelph ia accept substantial financial rewards. \ Ve know now that Symphony Orchestra under thc direction of Leopold Sto­ the yoicc of the tempter was the voice of the prophet, and kowski. The -hall, containing invited gucsts only, was com­ we know th at the art of mechanical rcp.oduction of rnusi­ plctely filled, and I was placed "on view" in one of the cal performance has increased the taste formusic, the desire prominent boxes. for musical educat ion, and the att endance at concerts to Although quite familiar with the practice, already an extent that could not ha;:ybeen dreamed of thirty years adoptcd, of giving public performances of recorded music, ago. But in spite of tl ~ the th ought of mechanization still I still recall with a shudder th e strange fecling I experienced holds something alarming. And new inventions arc con­ when, the lid of the piano having been raised and the 0 1'­ stantly appcaring, chcstra and Stokowski having taken their places, the manager carne forward and said that Mr. Harold Bauer would now CONSTANCE MERING AND MURIELPOLLOCK play th e St. Sacns Concerto ill G minor. "You will sec Mr. by Bob Pye Bauer sitting in that box," he cont inued, motion ing toward me. The s l yly smi l ing f aces i n the pho t o belong t o t wo of the ladies of t he Duo-Art (and in one case, of t he Ampi co For one moment it seemed like a night marc. But the as wel l ) : Constance Me ring and Mur i e l Pol l ock . Thi s performance was a sensational SllCCCSS, and it was subsc- picture came to light on the cover of t he sheet music of . qucutly repeated by W aller Damrosch in New York, by a 1928 piano novelty, "Rag Doll," and beneath t heir Alfred Hertz in Sail Francisco, and by a number of other names is written "Columbia Recording Ar t i s t s . " No men- organizations in various countries where thc Aeolian Com­ pany had their representatives. Stokowski and Damrosch both told me that they had never been so nervous in accompanying any soloist. In making the record, all the shorter time intervals between piano and orchestra had been allowed for by blank sp3ces in the revolving paper roll, but for the longer intervals it seemed safer to arrange for the roll to be automatically stopped and started again by an electric butt on on the con­ ductor's desk. If the conductor kept strict time, there was no special diffi culty, but the habit of yielding to performers who required rhythmical freedom, together with an uncon-. qucrablc fceling of uncertainty regarding the machine, seems to have made it sometimes impossible for the conductor to follow the performance with the necessary mechanical pre­ cision. These performances took place at a time when the power and prestige of the Aeolian Company wasat its zenith. Some of us though t that participat ion in mechanical performances was almost suicidal, and we deplored the action of those ofour colleagues'who consented to make concert tours in which they played ducts with the mechanical piano player. . \Ve listenedwith mingled skepticism and hope to th e 9 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

COMING: A USELESS (BUT HOPEFULLY INTERESTING) DAGMAR NORDSTROM DISCOGRAPHY tion of rolls t but of course t both of these ladies were big names in piano rolls for years. Muriel Pollock made by Bob Pye her first appearance on Ampico near the turn of the And what in .the woJLld Is a V-fA c.ogfl.a.phy doin.g in. the 'twenties t moving to Duo-Art in 1921 but continuing to AMICA Bulie..:Un you a6k? FCUVl. not. It'-6 a -UAt 06 Jz.e­ make Ampico rolls for a short while thereafter as well; c.olLcLLng-6, none 06 which Wah eveJ[. Lssued, -60 you c.arr. nile Constance Mering made her Duo-Art debut in the mid­ U aJAJatj unden: TOTALLY USELESS INFORMATION. Loo/u"n.g 'twenties t and both continued to record rolls -- more thlLough th« "Vic:tolL Ma6telL Book" •••a wildly n~.:tJLati.JI!.g often singly but occasionally in duet("Rio Rita" from pubUCJLtion whic.h UA.a EVERYTHING neeonded 601t Vic.tolt 1927 is a glorious Mering & Pollock collaboration). SOt •• •UY1JA-6ued a6 well a6 Issued, I Wah astounded to .s ce I thought t let's get an article to write t as an excuse a lLe6eJLenc.e :to a lLec.oltcUng sess-ion eaJl1..y in. 1929 by to print the picture. Vuo-Mt dallLing, VAGMAR NORVSTROM. I netuded WM " Glad Muriel Pollock is married to a songwriter (I learned Rag Voll." None welle eVeJL M>-6ued • ••a q!dcR gla.rr.c.e at the this from Adam Carroll's biographical letter in an AMICA Index lLeveai.ed -6 eVeJLal mOlLe ltec.oltc:U..n.g -6 u-6ioYl-6 by the Bulletin)t and it wasn't difficult to send a letter to a lady• •.who made -6 cads 06 second» but to my knOWledge. reliable source who would forward it to her. Time passed neveJ[. had one seteas ed, WhethelL the»e weJte pJUvate Ite­ ••• and no reply. A second letter brought a reply to c.olLcUng-6 OIL Itejec.ted 60lt -6ome ltea6on. -- eUhelt tec.hnic.a.l sadden the many who take delight in her superbly played OIL aJr.ti.1,ilc. -- i-6 -6omething we may neveJt know. So be and remarkably well-coded rolls: Muriel Pollock is ser­ plLepaILed 6OIL a "6.iJL6 t"...a c.omplete UA t 06 u~-6 ued Ite.­ iously ill t and it would not be advisable to attempt any c.olLd6 made by a gal who made r6aJt too 6ew Vuo-AItt ltol.t6 further correspondence. to -6 uLt hell many admoien«, Knowing that Constance Mering grew up and attained her first fame in Sacramento t California (good old 1927 COMING UP NEXT, A COMPLETE LIST OF THE PIANO SOLOS Duo-Art catalogue), I called Sacramento information t and RECORVEV ACOUSICALLY BY ENRICO CARUSO IN 1905. found two listings for Mering. No Constance t but a call to Mr. Peter Mering brought a great deal of information from a pleasant gentleman who said "Constance Mering = was my Aunt," and told me that she had died "many years ago." Mr. Mering gave me the name and address of his MORE EDYTHE BAKER mother•••his father passed away a few yea~s ago but he by Bob Pye said his mother (since remarried) would likely have many Thr~ugh the kindness of AMI CAn Austen Graham in Edin­ recollections of her famous sister-in-law. A letter to burgh, Scotland, I am delighted to offer to fellow the former Mrs. Mering has so far yielded no reply. admirers of Edythe Baker's piano artistry, a tape dub As well as their rolls, Constance and Muriel made a of her first British record, issued in 1928, containing number of Columbia records of piano novelties--re­ Miss Baker's performances (both piano and vocal 1) of gretably not well recorded even for the late 'twenties liMy Heart Stood Stil 1" and "Birth of the Blues" -- the when they were made. In 1934, Muriel Pollock and Vee two songs which more than any others were identified Lawnhurst recorded for Decca -- then issuing its first with her during her British career. These are dubbed list of records -- and one wonders if perhaps Constance from Mr. Graham's original Columbia record, which he Mering had already died, and had been replaced by Welte purchased in 1928, when Miss Baker was introduced in artist Vee Lawnhurst. the revue, "0ne Dam Thing After Another." Any AMI CAns who would like a dub of this recording are invited to %@%@%@%@%@%@%@%@%@%@% send a 3" reel of tape, and it will be returned with two vintage Baker performances. For free, incidentally .

~• cu a a ...... 1:1 ..• ..• -=u ....a -u ....u ..a-=.. II -;o < THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 10

r==Ea5iiE&I!I~~E55Dte55JIi5iiilE!5ilIiEE55i!5I~Eiiiiii55i!5I'-"XiIx-xa:x:-"..- x-~•• ~"""''''r:wxwX-XEiLIIZ. B I I • ~ ~ G@f~~~ I ~~'1 K~fBE ~ ~ I .~ '~~A~~ ~J & COMPANY, Inc. 8 ~ Pianoforte Price f.:ist I (~NeWYOrk 8 ~ February, ]1)]4 ~ RETAIL PRICES ~ ~ lij GRAND PIANOS ~ GRAND PIANOS IB Siu Wood Price m Style Size Wood Price m~ 405 5'3" Mahogany $ 745 8 ~305 5'4" Mahogany l? 695 ~: 405 5'3" Walnut 795 G r.o"r::- r.:'." n"1 .• J - .. - -~ 481 Queen Anne 895 • Itt ".I;"'" V-.E .\atuUt. ''2C) hi fill . 5'8" \Valnut ~j 305 Queen Anne 5'4" Walnut 850 ~J n 4~6 Louis X'V' s-s- Waln11t, 1300 8'1 -- -- .------~ ~305 Louis XV 5'4" Walnut 975 ~ 410 5'8" Mahogany ~40 ~~ m310 5'9" Mahogany 895 m 411 6'8" Walnut 895 l.f!Ej ~ Wa10 5'9" Walnut 945 W 415 6'4" Mahogany 1300 ~

~ GRAND REPRODUCING PIANOS ~ ! GRAND REPRODUCING PIANOS g ~~355 . 5'4" Mahogany 1295 J' 450 5'8" Mahogany 1130· ~ 1 3 5~ _ . 5'4" Walnut 1345 I 451 6'3" Walnut 1180 !IDla ~ ! 3 '{I J'~ ~~--~4J-": I 481 Queen Anne 5'3" Walnut 1300 if4im ~St;( 3'1~Y(;) ~ " y;~__ ~r ~:_~~s xv :::~' __ ';al~ut 1:~J mJ1i 1 ~?" ~~~ V 7 s- ! These prices are subject to the addition of I Y These prices are Sltbjcct to the additio·n of g ~I transportation charges ~I ( transportation charges B m Prices subject to clw,nge ioitbout. notice: ~ ~ m m8 Prices subject to change ncitbou: notice im ff;18 L 1IE!Ir:::::=J'::::a U=;---H=='JC5EU5 -. - fa -=ll::S-_==JI~:~==JP fi)1:::JI2Cf!'.2r::"~CD~GClDID~ ••CD~~O~~t~

EXCERPTS FROM PART III OF COURSE IN AMPICO SALESMANSHIP 1924 The Chickering and Knabe price- lists here reproduced are contributed by Doug Hickl ing. These lists were contributed by Doug Hickling formerly the property of E. S. Werolin and indicate VII: AVOID NEGATIVE IDEAS retail prices with or without the Ampico at the New York AND REFERENCES TO COMPETITORS store. The handwriting at the bottom of each list is tha t of Mr. Fred Rydeen and i nd icates the re ta i I prices Don't let any negative suggestion creep into the de­ of small upright non-reproducing pianos. You will note monstration. "Only the grand piano can get those that the Knabe price list has been overprinted to show effects," said an enthusiastic salesman as he was still lower prices which were in effect in the late demonstrating an Ampico grand. And thereby he killed 1930's. Although the Chickering price list has not been his sale, for it happened that when the question of overprinted, the prices .of Chickering pianos were main­ price came up, the grand was beyond the prospect's buy­ tained at a level $50.00 below the equivalent Knabe ing ability, and by this remark the salesman had made instrument, although the variation might be larger for anything but a grand seem inadequate. the longer pianos. In the same class are references to competitors. No 11 TH E AMICA NEWS BULL ETIN

salesman should ever drag a competitor's name into his Gittins and McCown both assured the publ ic that the dis cus s i on , nor make any direct reference to a competi­ financial affairs of the Estey-Welte Co rporation we re tor except in answer to a direct question or point by a in good order, and the move to the new offices and prospect t hat forces hi m to do so. Remember that t he studios in the Welte Building continued. The o rgan s a lon Ampico i s in a cZass by i t se Zf it is the onZy per fe ct was opened to the public in March and, beginn ing in Ma y, re-enact i ng instrument. AZZ statements f or its superi­ twice weekly organ recitals, played by mo st of the ority ehoul.d be expressed with ref erence t o a l.l. other leading theater and church organi sts, we re broadcast on repr oduci ng instruments--rather th an wi th reference t o radio station WEAF and othe r stations of the National W1Y one instrument. You will find all statements in Broadcasting Company . The organ was a large concert in­ Uni ts I and I I mad e in that way. strument of thirty-three ranks plus percussion, includ­ Of c our s e , when t he prospect refers to a competing ing a grand piano . All ran ks we re playable from a three i nstrument, or quotes a competitor, and asks a direct manual (cho l r-great-swell) Hope-Jones styl e concert ques t i on , i t is necessary to reply and to reply very console. The lower two manual s and pe da ls al so pl ayed s pe cifi cally and wi th facts . But then get back to your the echo organ. A separate recording console pl ayed only own instrument and t o your own sales presentation. Don't those ranks of the organ considered appropr iate for a launch out into a lengthy compa r i s on or into a statement res i den ce organ. I t a Iso had th ree manua 1s - - e cho , ac­ tha t the prospect might construe as an attack on com­ companiment, and solo--together with faciliti es for pe t i t or s . Your saZes presentation shouZd be aimed to recording and playing organ recordings. The o rgan was se ZZ Ampicos, not to adver tise compe tition, nor to re­ also equipped with a Welte "Selectra" or "Multiunit" fZe ct on other i nstruments, nor to sow any negative --the remotely controlled changer organ player mechanism suggestions i n t he prospe ct 's mind. holding ten ro1 Is. Although the organ was new, th e ornate organ screen of the former instrument was re­ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ tained. By July, Estey-Welte Corporation was in poor finan­ cial condition, its working capital having been depleted THE POST-WAR AMERICAN WELTE COMPANY, PART III as the corporation, after the drop in its stock values, found it difficult to obtain credit. On Augus t 1, 1927 , by Doug Hickling Estey-Welte Corporation was reorganized as a Delaware GITTINS RUNS OUT OF WORKING CAPITAL corporation and given a new name: Welte Compan y, Inc. Although the reorganization envisioned the ma rke t ing of $500,000 .00 in gold notes to suppl y wo rki ng capital, As the year 1927 began, a two page advertisement ap­ this was never done and the new compan y took over wi t h peared in Diapason announcing that the pipe organ no additional financing. business had been incorporated in New York as the Welte Robert Pier Elliot left to join the Aeolian Company Organ Company and that the Welte-Mignon Corporation would continue to manufacture the Or igi na l Welte-Mignon Barbara and Bob White Zey (AM1CA Tveasurer) pL'oud:y Autograph Reproducing Piano wi t h its l ibrary of Welte i.ispZay thei :r 192 ? ItaUc)J1 Renaissance Chi cker-inq Purple Seal Ar t is t Re co rds and to collect the reproduc­ AmpicFifth Avenue, next door to the St. Regis Hotel, a half block from Aeol ian Hall, and two blocks above their former headquarters. The new building featured an organ studio two stories in height wi t h its entrance on the main floor. An ornate Spani sh organ screen faced the avenue at the second floor level. I t was des igned by Gerald Holmes, the prominent architect of mansions, who also planned the organ studio, the piano display rooms above, and the offices of all of the Estey-Welte com­ panies on the upper floors. On January 14, 1927, Gittins announced in a letter to Estey-Welte s hareholders that s a les of organs had grown re markably in 1926 and that the company entered 1927 with enough unf illed orders to insure capacity production throughout the year. These shareholders, and Mr . Gittins also, received a rude shock less than two weeks later when, on January 25, Estey-Welte stock suffered a sharp decline on the Curb Exchange, the preferred stock dropping from 45-3/8 to 22 and the common stock from 18 to 7-1/4. It later developed that the dumping of large blocks of the stock on the market did not stem from a bear raid on the com­ pany , but rather from the fact that McCown & Son, the Philadelphia stockbrokers, had been forced to liquidate i t s Estey-Welte holdings when the loans of the broker­ age we re suddenly called . on October 1, 1927. That organization, which for years and General Manager of the new Welte-Mignon Corporation. had dominated the residence organ market, had decided Earlier, he had displaced Gittins as head of the holding to enter the church and concert organ fie lds and employed company. Robert T. Lytle stayed on as vice-president Elliot to manage these activities. and sales manager. The following month, under pressure from creditors, The creditors of the predecessor corporations were the directors of Welte Company , Inc. decided to apply given $100,000.00 in cash and $700,000.00 worth of for an equity receivership as the best way of protecting preferred stock and 28,000 shares of common stock in the the company and its creditors in the face of the lack of new corporation. Holders of preferred stock in Estey­ liquid capital. Robert Lytle, vice-president, announced Welte and Welte Co., Inc. were permitted to turn in that the corporation owed him $100,000 .00, mostly in the their old preferred shares and cash for a combination form of promissory notes, and Gittins, now apparently consisting mostly of common stock with a little prior only a director of the corporation, announced that the preferred stock. The common shareholders of the pre­ officers had a plan of reconstruction which would enable decessor corporations, including Gittins, received the liquidation of al 1 obligations. This was to be nothing. On paper at least, the new business appeared Gittins' last public statement as an official of any of to have its short-term debt situation under control-­ the Welte companies. the creditors having become shareholders--with con­ Despite the difficulties of the holding company, the siderably more in assets than in liabilities. various subsidiary corporations continued in operation while efforts were made to find them more working -$¢ $¢$¢$¢$¢$¢$¢$¢$¢$¢- capi tal. In March, 1928, Morton Lachenbruch Company acquired all of the assets and goodwill of the Welte Co., Inc. from the receivers and on March 27 incorporated the holding company in Delaware as the Welte-Mignon Corpor­ ation. It was generally believed that the duPont industries had obtained a major financial interest in the company. W. J. Webster, who had been a director of Estey-Welte Corp. since its founding in 1922 as well as of the Welte Co., Inc. became Chairman of the Board of Directors of the new company. He was also chairman of the board of duPont's Atlas Powder Company. W. E. Fletcher, also associated with duPont, became President

EoUs for t he Whit e leys ' Chi cker i ng Cl1'e s t ored i n this atrtraoti ue ro ll cabinet. Photo by BilZ Knorp .

KCl1'Z Petersen's Chickering Ampiao B. 13 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

REVIEWING THE REVIEWERI MORE ON DUO-ART ROLL RECUTIING by Lawrence Jacob Abbott by Frank Holland contributed by Bill Pixley Recently I enjoyed the novelty of discovering a series of reviews covering new This roll copying business had caused us trouble over piano roll and phonograph record releases in Outlook Magazine. The period covered is March 18, 1925 and the first issue each month through August 1927. here for some years as it seems it has you' over there. The reviewer is Lawrence Jacob Abbott. ' It has largely been exposed at last by me, and I was at the time accused of "attacking" the closed shop (Novembere 4~ 1925) programme when I first started it! I am glad to note SON.l4.TA IN C-SHARP l'4INOR~ "MOONLIGHT" (Beethoven). that it seems to be improving now. Played by Ignace J. Padereaeki., DUO-AHf. Our position here is similar to yours over there. Mr. T'ne calm and beautiful dignity of the fizast movement, Gerald Stonehi1l has not supplied any rolls to The Group the breatnleee lightness of the eeoond, and the agitated over here--nor will he listen to its wants--over the past ten years or so. In 1966 we had a dozen or so sig­ pooe» in the o1'LrUBhir..g l1pres to "- - al l aPe 'WonderfuZly interpreted by Paderewski in his perfozmanoe of the natures asking for Schumann's Papil1ons, played by famous "moonZight" Sonata. It is an unusually UJorthy Arthur Rubinstein, which was ordered. Nothing came. r-scording. At the PPG AGM held in the Museum in March, Papf.LLone tttttttttttttttttttt was played privately from a roll copied on the Medcraft's fine machine (made in 11 months since the previous AGM, so great was the challenge presented to the Medcrafts). YOUR PUBLISHER GOOFED ON THE WADE LIST! This created surprise in no mean way throughout the meeting. Dick Schlaich, who sent in the information on the I should like to add that Mr. Henry R. Heller has Herman Avery Wade IIA- II rolls, has pointed out to me that kindly consented, as President of The Aeolian Corpor­ I mixed up the numbers of the rolls rather dreadfully. ation, to become a Patron of the Museum, and that Mr. Herels the way they should go: beginning with A-Bouncer, Bernard Liles, Legal Adviser to The Aeolian Corporation, the column of numbers beginning with 302373 belongs in has given permission to The British Piano Museum to the S8-note column; the one beginning with 101097, in copy Duo-Art rolls in this country, for which we are the 65-note column; and the one beginning with 302372 most grateful. The facilities of this are of course moves over to the Themodist-Metrostyle column. ooopsl being passed on by our Solicitors to the Medcrafts, who are indeed very good friends of the Museum. 11111111111111111111 It is largely this shortage of supply of rolls which has led to the present position between the Museum and the PPG, and I feel that this explains the facts as QRS CATALOG TO BEGIN NEXT MONTH simply as is possible. +11+11+11+11+11+11+11+1.1+11+ We will delay in starting the first of many issues which will contain a numerical listing of QRS rolls until next month. Hopefully, in the interim, those of you who have the facilities to do some checking up will have S. ARCHER GIBSON AND HIS ROLLS written in to me and helped to fill in missing numbers. by Dennis Ferrara Some were listed last month; here are some more: There are many questions which arise in preparing a 1052 1054 1056 1059 1061 1092 1163 1197 1267 1053 1055 1060 rollographyon a particular artist. This is the case of 1057 1063 1114 1176 1212 1270 S. Archer Gibson. If welre going to do a thorough Job, and that's what Gibson is known to have recorded some standard weld like, of course, your help is needed herel Write AEolian rolls around 1910, before his Duo-Art series in to the Publisher, Ginny Billings, please. 1917. These rolls are the narrow type with regular piano roll spools. A listing at this time is very incomplete. 000000000000000000000 Gibson was also known to have recorded a series of Organ Rolls for the Estey Company; it is true that Gib­ son had an affiliation with the company as early as MORE PETE WENDLING COMING UP 1904. It seems that Gibson designed a standard radiating Wend 1ing-o-ph i 1es, .where are you1As mentioned in an pedalboard for the two and now rare three manual Estey earlier Bulletin ,wei re puttlng together a corrected Reed Organs. These "new" reed organs were announced as 1I supplement to the original Wendling 1ist,a new list of IIGibson Specials. Gibson appears throughout many old his Rhythmodik, QRS 100,000 series, and miscellaneous American Organist and Diapason magazines throughout the rolls played by him. However, there's no doubt at all late teens and early twenties, praising the tonal at this point that our infonnation is incomplete•••as beauty of Estey Pipe Organs. In checking with Hr. Laur­ yet, I haven't even had access to any original catalogs, ence W. Leonard, an Estey Organ buff, no titles or and thatls where you historians come in. How about cata1Og5 cou1d be found to 1ist Gibson i.n eve r mak ing looking through your catalogs and listing all Wendling Estey Organ Rolls. rolls you can find, and then rushing that information Gibson was al so known as a We 1te recording artist; in to Ginny Billings? 1111 organize it and publish it however,no information has become available to sub­ prontol stantiate these claims. It is the purpose of this article to 1ist the com- THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 14

plete titles of S. Archer Gibson on AEolian Duo-Art 3591 Ponce Estrellita (7/1929) Organ Rolls. The number on the left will be the actual 3594 Bohm Calm as the Night (3/1929) AEolian catalog number; this will be followed by compos­ 3599 Adams The Bells of Saint Maryls (11/1929) er, title and a recording date (if this recording date 3600 Dvorak Humoresque (9/1930) is known). 3601 Nevin Mighty Like a Rose (11/1929) No doubt co 11 ectors wi 11 find II re- tekes" on a 3615 Handel Messiah: He Shall Feed His Flocks particular roll. One good example may be found with 3616 Handel II Pastorale Symphony AEolian roll number 3562. The selection is entitled 3617 Herbert Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life (5/1930 "Russ ian Crad1e Song" by 11 Yj insky. It seems that the 3618 Adam Cantique de Noel (1/1930) melody is on the clarinet stop. Now on AEol ian roll 3629 Chopin Nocturne in E Flat, Ope 9 (7/1930) number 3571, we have the same selection recorded again 3630 Hutcheson Sarabande, Ope 10, No.3 (7/1930) by Gibson; however, the melody is on the flut instead 3631 Hopkins Siciliano (7/1930) of the cl ari net. 3634 Rees That Was You and Only You 3032 Wagner Tristan: Liebestod 3636 Tr-adlt lone l The Star Spangled Banner 3476 Brahms Waltz in A Flat 3637 Rimsky-Korsakoff Song of India (12/1930) 3477 Bach Air - from Suite in D 3638 Brahms Wiegenlied, Ope 49, no. 4 3478 Beethoven Minuet in G 3643 Foster Swanee River (NOT FOR SALE) 3487 Rimsky-Korsakoff Romance in A flat & Ten Old Carols 3646 Rubinstein Romance in E Flat for Chimes 3647 Redner 0 Little Town of Bethlehem 3494 Core11 i Pastorale - from Concerto Grosso #8 3648 The First Noel 3496 Faure Afte r A Dream 3649 Taft Serenade (3/1931) 3497 Chopin Prelude in C minor, Ope 28 3651 Handel Arioso (3/1931) 3498 Ma1deren Le Tango du Reve 3656 Wagner Bridal Procession March (3/1931) 3501 Kalmann Countess Martiza: I III Keep on Dream- 3664 Mendelssohn Spring Song (7/1931) ing 3503 Cadman There a re seve ra 1 1arge IIgaps II in the numbe ring At Dawning system in the AEolian Duo-Art Catalog. No doubt a col­ 3507 Mendelssohn Athalia: War March of the Priests 3508 Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, Part 1 (11/1928) lector could attribute missing numbers to unpublished 3509 Brahms SapphicOde, Ope 94, No.4 materi al . 3510 MacDowell S. Archer Gibson made the majority of the AEolian Landing of the Pilgrims Duo-Art Organ rolls. One can conclude that he was cer­ 3511 Grieg I s Sol veg Song - from Peer Gynt Sui te tainly varied in his musical approach to both classical (9/1929) and popular music. Gibsonls style was certainly musical 3512 Speaks Sylvia in this strictest sense of the term. He stated many 3513 Chauvet Andantino times his ideas on musicality and the organ. Here is a 3514 Spanish Ay, Ay, Ay brief statement taken from an interesting article dated 3515 Martini Andantino (January, 1929) September 1, 1912, from The Di~ason Magazine; Gibson 3516 Nevin Day in Venice Suite: Gondoliers had sound advise and it seems even fifty years later his 3517 Kreis ler Schoen Rosmarin wish has not been fulfilled: 3521 Schubert Serenade 3522 Massenet Elegy Today, those organists who are musicians (unfortun­ 3524 Gounod Serenade - Chantezl (11/1928) ately in the minority) recognize that the idiom which 3525 Schertzinger Marcheta (9/1928) Bach carried to its highest development does not stand 3526 Raff Cavatina, Ope 85, No.3 (9/1928) for what it did in the day of the great masters. 3528 Lefebrue-Wely Hymn of the Nuns (11/1928) Until the organists as a class can stand comparison 3530 Sinding Sylvelin, Ope 55, No.1 for musicianship with the average orchestral first 3534 Delbruck Berceuse in A violinist or first horn player there is little hope for 3535 Widor Serenade (January, 1929) the general aCknowledgment of the profession today as 3536 Henderson Burlesca Americana:Birth of the Blues worthy of the devotion of a musical genius of the very 3537 Massenet Oh, If Flowers Had Eyes-Aria1(7/1929) first rank. 3541 Spiritual Deep River (7/1928) In conclusion, let me sum up in saying that I see 3550 Hogan Retrospection (5/1927) many organists making a failure of their work where they 3556 Barnby Crossing the Bar (11/1) have ample ability to succeed, simply because they lack 3557 Now the Day is Over (3/1921) the courage to blaze a trail for themselves. They 3558 Pierne Dans 1I cathedral (7/1927) hesiate (hesitate) to leave the beaten track. As a re­ 3561 Ramona (4/1927) sult, they lead the lives of musical "HACKS" instead of 3562 SEE NOTE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ARTICLE artists. 3563 Dvorak Silhouette, Ope 8, No.2 I trust that the day may soon come when the name 3564 Karganoff Waltz Minature, Ope 10, No.2 "organist" will stand for all that is highest and best 3565 Kjerulf Lullaby, Ope 4, No.3 in music and his work will command a living comparable 3570 Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, Part 11 with any other profession. At present, in the hetero­ 3571 SEE NOTE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ARTICLE geneous state of organ building, organ playing and organ 3574 Dykes Hymn for Those at Sea (7/1929) music, we who take ourselves at all seriously have but 3577 Schubert Moment Musicale, Ope 94, No.3 (9/29) one motto to guide us--''Work.'' Let us work together and 3581 Chopin Prelude in B Minor, Ope 28 (9/1930) in that w~ lies success. 3582 Schubert Litanies for All Souls Day (5/1929) Anyone who is fortunate to own several rolls played 3584 Grieg Ave Maria Stella (5/1929) by Gibson realizes the truth in the statement that 3590 Molloy Lovels Old Sweet Song (1/1931) IIG i bson ce rtain 1y played in the I grand manner • III ever. Vincent Price made an English movie entitled, To prepare a complete critical review on the Gibson "Docter Phibes ." The march is played th roughout the rolls would require the complete collection. The follow­ movie on a large English organ. The movie is full of ing comments were made after hearing a few Gibson rolls music and weird methods of killing people. produced on AEo 1ian Organ, Opus 1444. A fu tu re arti cl e Gibson certainly plays it with "a l l the stops will give the complete history on this fine residence out. II Tempo on the ro 11 is rna rked 60; however, 45 organ with 3 manuals and 62 ranks. seems to fit the composition. 3032 - Wagner - Tristan and Isolde: Liebestod 3503 - Cadman - At Dawning A fine transcription of Isolde from the last act. A beautiful IIditty.1I The roll demonstrates flutes This roll demonstrates the string division of the with a solo clarinet. organ. Again, I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Rollin 3507 - Mendelssohn - Athalia: War March of the Priests Smith in his help and assistance on old articles con­ An old favorite composition of the liLa Belle cerning the AEolian Organ and S. Archer Gibson. Epi que ,!' The IIMarch l 1 today has lost its novel ty; how- e¥e¥e¥e¥e¥e¥e¥@¥@¥e¥e

HAND-MADE XYLOPHONE PLAYER AITACHMENT by Bill Bonner

When Bill Bonner mentioned that he had constructed a to think up my own idea. This ended up modifying and xylophone attachment for his player, I asked him to recovering old Schulz pouch pneumatics, and was done by share his experience with AMI CA. Sounds funl adding another hole to the fixed half. I then mounted two tracker-bar sized connectors to each hole. On the The following tmdertaking was inspired by my hearing inside of the working half I added a small piece of a HiFi record of a Nelson-Wiggon Music Maker, with leather, to shut off the passage to one of the nipples. xylophone. The song was "Sweetheart 'Trail," taken from The pouch of the AEolian stack is tubed to this con­ the master of the QRS 4912. The end results were well nection. To connect the repeater to the striker pneu­ worth. the months of effort that went into the project! matic, I mounted a foot from an H.C. Bay pneumatic with 'Here are the ingredients: The xylophone bars are of maple. They were cut and a bushed end, and then hooked up standard connecting rods. At the threaded end, for mounting to the repeater, tuned from the raw lumber; tuning was accomplished by I used the metal type of feet used in Simplex actions. carving away the reverse side of each bar. The carving When the pneumatic goes forward, it shuts itself off away resulted in a Loiaer pitch, due to the increased by pulling the pouch pneumatic closed, thus shutting "Speaking length" of the bar. The final tone was reached by a comparison with the same note on a piano. off the outside air to the pouch. It can be adjusted for fast or slow repeat, and can be set up to function The knockers were made from small door knobs; their faster than the factory models. wires are from drop-action-type workings. Back check The tubing from the free connection on the repeaters blocks serve to mount the wires to the pneumatics. The runs to a rail with fittings mounted in it; this fits box that houses the xylophone is made from 1/4" mahogany plywood. over the keys. There are leather pads on the portion of the key that is directly beneath the fittings. When the The pneumatic tier is from an old scrapped-out key is depressed, the valve operates. This method was AEolian 3-tier player action (one of the other two tiers a lot easier than trying to "Y" into the valve wells. had termites in it). The tier is motmted so that the A "Y" hookup would have been next to impossible, as the pneumatics are in a vertical position; thus the valves unit is connected to a Simplex piano. have to function in a horizontal position (AEolian The undertaking was very rewarding and money-saving actions have vertical working valves). The pneumatics (the TOTAL cost was unde-r $20.00)! That sure beats I used came from a scrapped Schulz player action. None putting out a fat $240 to the outfit that sells the~ of the original pneumatics were still with the Aeolian "factory made." Forgot: the tmit is operated by a Lee action, and the Schulz ones are a more desired length and width. silent suction unit, while the piano is run on a separate unit. It totals 38 bars, 12 of which are dis­ The most difficult part involved the construction of connected or connected depending on the key in which :epeaters. Several methods were tried, including using the roll is played, and also on the type of music being the standard slide block type. However, due to not played. having precision equipment or materials, I was forced ¢c¢c¢cc¢¢¢¢¢ec¢¢¢¢¢¢ THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 16

completely intact, to restore. However, due to their DO IT YOURSELF MONTH CELEBRATED scarcity and also the fact that the majority of the "B" grands are quite small and somewhat hampered tonally, I hadn't found anything suitable. It didn't take long for This issue's Technicalities section is devoted the idea to strike me of how marvelous this piano would entirely to unorthodox but apparently successful be wi th a model "B" Ampico properly installed i n it. conversions--pumper to Ampico, new Kawai to Ampico, and After some discussion with the Hoopers and explaining Duo-Art (stripped) to Ampico. I hope this will rouse to them my tentative plans for the Kawai, an agreement more of you to write in to your Technicalities editor, was reached and I purchased the piano at a considerable John Patten•.. opinion differs widely as to the success discount. of such a venture, the morality of changing an original At this time I wasn't absolutely positive I'd really design, the choice of parts to be used, and on and on. be able to succeed in installing a model "B" Ampico in Have you done something similar to this? How about the piano, but I had looked the instrument over fairly telling us about it? Have you suggestions? Complaints? well several times and couldn't at least see any immedi­ The Bulletin will be healthier and more dynamic if we ate features of the Kawai that would cause the project can hear divergent points of view! to be unfeasible. Also, just the enthusiasm I felt for the project was so great that I knew this alone would be a tremendous asset. Now that I had the piano and was anxious to begin BELIEVE IT OR NOT : with the project, I needed one more item: a model "B" KAWAI AMPICO "B" CREATED Ampico mechanism, and it didn't take me long to real ize by Doug McGee the difficulty of locating a complete "B" works without a piano. After inquiring allover, writing letters, and The idea of instal I ing a model "B" Ampico mechanism advertising, help finally came from an AMICA member in in a present-day straight grand piano occured to me a Minneapolis who put me in touch with a piano technician little over two years ago at which time I was doing in that city who had only weeks before removed a com­ piano tuning and related work for the Hooper Piano Com­ plete Ampico "B" mechanism from a late Chickering grand pany of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The Hooper Company had in at the request of its owner . I purchased the mechan ism, their show-room a new 6'8" Japanese bui It Kawai grand, which was complete in every respect, and then soon be­ finished in ebony. One day I was ordered to tune this gan with the project. piano along with other work at the store. Upon complet­ The first major step in proceeding with the work was ing the tun ing of the Kawa i, I sat down to play it that of installing the stack. Of course I realized that briefly and found myself fall ing madly in love with the not only would this be the biggest and most challenging tone of this instrument. I t was so rich and the base so part of the whole operation, but I also felt that once deep and lush! I had the stack successfully installed in the piano, I For many months previous to this time, I had been would then know for certain that the whole project was interested in finding a good model "B" Ampico grand, feasible, since install ing the rest of the Ampico com-

Voug Mc.Ge e'.o modiMed 7' Kawai p-taJ1O wfU ch he hcu 6J...:tted wUh an. Amp-tc.o "B" mech~m. 17 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

ponents would not have to be related so critically to short. I placed the new maple strip in back of the piano the piano itself. Extensive dismantling took placel I action, which was of course out of the piano, and pro­ soon had the front of the piano up on temporary wood ceeded then to attach the flange fingers to the new bracing as I had just about everything, including the strip in accordance with the arrangement of the keys of entire key-bed and front legs, removed. A one-inch thick the action. When this was completed, I temporarily re­ strip of hard wood which was securely laminated to the assembled the decks back on the stack and positioned the bottom of the cross-beam had to be removed. This strip flange-finger array on the stack accordingly. With each served only as a piece of wood to which the back of the striker hanging down from each flange-finger, I was able key-bed had been screwed, and of course, since the back to determine exactly where the individual pneumatics of the key-bed was to be cut away for the stack, this should be placed on the decks. This I went over several strip would no longer be necessary. The main reason for times until I finally arrived at what I felt was the removing this strip of wood was that if left there, it very best arrangement. I now was ready to begin the would be in the way of the stack, preventing it from actual reassembly of the stack. Of course I hoped with being placed up close enough to the back of the keys. great anxiety that it would turn out exactly as I had Splitting this strip of wood away from the cross-beam figured. It did, and I soon had the piano assembled back with hammer and chisel was no picnic, but it did come together and the stack installed. off quite clean and I was very much relieved when this Actually, at the time the key-bed was removed from operation was completed. the piano, I also placed the metal rollers on the under­ Upon examining the pl ano action, I was ve ry pleased side for the drawer tracks and routed out the channel to find that the backs of the keys extended beyond the for the drawer tortion bar. Thus, right after reassembl­ back-rail felt strip about an inch. The back of the ing the piano and installing the stack, I was also able action frame was then trimmed off immediately back of to properly attach the drawer under the key-bed. Since the back-rail felt strip, thus exposing that last one the case of the Kawai is quite wide, I was very pleased inch of each key, which the stack strikers would hit. that there was no space problem between the two front Now that the back of the action frame was properly cut legs as far as installing the stack and drawer was away, it was then set in the proper position upon the concerned. . key-bed, which was cut away from the piano also. The With the stack and drawer successfully installed, back of the key-bed then had to be cut out to line up felt that I had accomplished a lot and had gotten the with the cut-out back of the action frame. So this was most difficult portion of the project over with. I then traced in pencil. and through the use of both table saw turned to installing the various smaller components for and sabre saw, the proper section was cut from the back the Ampico under the sound-board area, and this was of the key-bed. quite enjoyable since there was a good amount of room Now that the action frame and key-bed had been pro­ between the wood bracings. However, the wood braces perly cut out, the next step concerned the pneumatic under the piano were arranged so that there was no place stack itself. I completely dismantled the stack, cleaned between the bracing large enough to install the pump. off the decks, recovered the pneumatics, and also tended So I decided to install the pump and electric motor to necessary work on the valves, expression pouches, etc. separately from the piano, and constructed a very heavy It was at this time that I realized the problem I was up oak framework wherein the pump and motor were placed in against. The stack I had found had come out of a rather the same horizontal position as they would be if in­ small Chickering grand and I was preparing to install stalled in the piano. I did remove the compartment from this stack in the Kawai, a much larger instrument with a the side of the pump containing the spill valve, cres­ much larger and more spread-out action. In other words, cendo, and amplifier, and installed this up under the the distance from the lowest to the highest Ampico­ sound-board so that the only pneumatic connection nec­ played notes on the Chickering was several inches short­ essary from the piano to the pump and motor housing is er than that same distance on the Kawai. This distance a 1" supply hose. I also made a black cloth cover for I'm speaking of here is, of course, at the back of the the pump housing, and this, placed under the piano with keys. I realized, therefore, that not only would the the black hose and two electric cords going up into the arrangement of the strikers and pneumatics have to be piano, is very neat looking and unobtrusive. changed on the stack to fi t the key arrangement of the I was able to install the sustaining pedal pneumatic Kawai, but in addition to this, the entire arrangement in the same way that it's most usually installed on most of pneumatics and strikers would have to be IIspread-out" model "BII grands: immediately to the right of the in order to encompass the more spread-out action of the damper-lifter rail. I certainly was pleased at how Kawai. Since the stack was origin~lly designed for the nicely this worked out. Of course installing the soft small Chickering, I was really holding my breath, so to pedal device was a different story, as this took con­ speak, in hopes that- the new spread-out arrangement of siderable figuring. The piano fortunately already had strikers and pneumatics could b~ accomplished within the a one-p iece, conti nuous hamme r ra i I cove red with fe It, length limit of the stack. I certainly had some doubts but completely stationary, of course. So I had to re­ for a while, but after figuring and re-figuring various move the rail, remove the stationary mountings, and de­ arrangements of strikers and pneumatics, I realized that vise hinge brackets, which I made from thin gauge strap I could include all 83 note pneumatics plus ~~e five iron. Also the hammer-rail had to be made morer igi d so lost motion pneumatics within the limits of the stack, that it wouldn't bend and wobble when moved up and down. but this worked out so closely that if the key spread I obtained a long piece of aluminum "L" s trlp and lami­ of the Kawai had been another 1/4 11 wider, I would have nated the wood hammer-rail to this with Epoxy glue. This had to sacrifice a playing note and of course this was did the jobl Although I was quite concerned how it'd all the last thing I wanted to do. turn out, the installation of the hinged hammer-rail was A new maple strip had to be cut, to which the flange a complete success as soon as lid finished it and I was fingers attach, since the original strip was much too pleased to find that it worked up and down very freely THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 18

and stayed straight and level, no matter where it was It has now been a little over two long years th at i picked up. I installed the operating pneumatic directly have had the piano. I t all began one evening whe n I was under the key-bed in front of the stack, and dev ised a visiting Mel Shores in his home in another part of Los push-rod from the pneumatic up past the stack and then Angeles. Our conversation had drifted to large pianos, connecting wi t h the hammer-rail. Re- rout i ng the pedal probably due to Mel's Welte Vorsetzer and 9' Sohmer, trap-work was al so qui te a prob lem, I wai ted to do th i s which we were playing. Mel related how Jim Mi I ler had after all of the Ampico had been installed; hence the re mentioned see ing a 9' Steinway Ampico some time ago in W2JS ve ry little roorn to work with , but it di d tu rn out the California Theater in San Bernadino. I was intrigued ve ry s a t is f ac t o r i ly . although the thought of acquiring it hadn't formed a t Thi s wo r k of installing t~ e Amp ico in the Kaw a i was that point. I went to Mel's phone and called Jim; I had done in my spare time and was ca r r ied on over about an to satisfy my curiosity. e ight-month per iod. It would be impossible i n th is As I recall, Jim ver ified that he had seen the big art ic le to .go into the details concerned wi t h this in­ Steinway . It was then being used by some concert associ­ s t all a t io n , and the various ot he r pro blems that had to ation for concerts and he thought that it was an Ampico. be so lv e d . I don't believe I've been engaged before in Now my curiosity was really aroused. Jim had been able any project of any type that ever caused me to become as to tell me who ma i nt a i ned the piano so I began by cal ling enthus iastic and determined as this did. I'm very him. Shades of Liberace, if t he owner wasn 't the Steppan­ pleased to sa y also that the re sults of my labor are Baldwin agency in San Bernadino. I talked wi t h Mr. equall y i f not more satisfying than I had anticipated Steppan, the proprietor, who related that the piano was in the beginning. While others have also recently per­ on a lease-option to a college student, but the s t ude nt formed th is same bas ic operation , I woul d predict that couldn't afford to buy i t . I drove to San Bernadino , e x­ we wi l l cont inua ll y see more and more of thi s type of amined the large ins t r ument , whi ch filled t he student' s thing. The supply of f ine original reproducing pianos small apartment, and as the price was reasonable, bought i s quickl y becoming exhausted as everyone is well aware . it. Now I had to sell my Fischer grand to help pay f or The solution to this problem could very we l l be the i n­ the Steinway. I really ha t ed to , as it had been rebui It stal lation of spare mechanisms i n straight pianos ! onl y years previousl y by Mel and had performed t he who le time to my great pleasure. It was a clean, one own er [@]O[(all 0[@] O[@l 0[@] piano (sounds like a car ad), and my first reproducer . I placed an ad in the paper I work for as photo-en- graver cameraman , the Lo s Angeles Times, and sol d i t t he REBIRTH OF A 9-1/ 2' STEINWAY REPRODUCER third wee k . Incidentall y, a woman in the first wee k want ed it but didn't show up again until after th e third by the owner, Sam Thompson week, and by that time I had sold it to John Rucci oni . At that time, John was attempt ing t o buy hi s deceased While Dave Saul was heading t he "Instruments" section father 's house , but complications wi t h other named bene­ he as ked me if I woul d wr i t e an article wi t h considerable ficia ries in the famil y prevented him from taking detail about my piano. At that time th e piano, a 1920 possession. So I "stored" the Fi scher in my I i v ing room St e i nway stripped and disguised former Duo-Art, was in for si x mont hs or so . the process of being rebuilt. I agreed to do so upon its As I already had a good sized collection of Am pi co successful completion. rolls, and as I want e d to own but one piano, i t seemed logical to rebuild the piano to play the Ampico system. The modi fied and re bui lt St eimJay Duo -Art stack used in Sam Thompson's piano. Pneumat ics have been r elocat ed to accom­ Clare Spencer gets a hand from Mel Shore s. modate the big piano. Polylon used on pneumatics . 19 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

Contrary to earlier information, the piano was originally "doorknob's" lateral motion controls tempo. Rewind, a Duo-Art. silent forward, advance-play. And lastly, motor. Mel was swamped rebuilding reproducers at this time, The spool box controls are: sustaining pedal on/off, so mine had to wait. After a while I began bringing Am­ Ampico on/off, and repeat. pico and Duo~Art parts which Mel had gathered to the The hooking up of the control lever linkages, as well shop, and under his guidance, rebuilt them. Little had I as designing and bending them, was no easy thing. Some comprehended the vastness and complexities of this under­ are multi-angular acting, and quite complex. They're taking. My knowledge of the mechanics of a reproducing enough to try the patience of a person familiar with piano could be put in a thimble. The complexities also Duo-Art linkages, as was Clare. scared me so that I feared I would do things wrong and A set of Ampico primary valves was used before the be unhappy with the results. stack to insure good repetition. It is excellent. At about this time Clare Spencer, also working at The Duo-Art air motor was retained and runs effort­ Dick Carty's, entered the picture. Clare's life revolves lessly from its own Ampico pump. Another Ampico pump around reproducing pianos. He is musically very sensi­ provides vacuum for the remaining needs. Both pumps are tive, plays, and possesses that artistic temperment. He mounted in a remotely located Duo-Art basement pump box is a true perfectionist who will spend hours and hours and are driven back to back (one running clock-wise, the on some small item, insignificant to others, just so other counterclockwise) by the original motor. Inciden­ that it is perfect. Without doubt he is the slowest, tally, these pianos originally had two internal pumps. most meticulous, experienced reproducer rebuilder in Los For quietness, a model IIB II pedal valve block was Angeles, but his pianos play to perfection when he is used. finished with them. Soft pedal compensating pneumatics were found and Clare saw the Qig Steinway and saw a challenge before attached to the two previously unequipped expression him, He owns a marvelous Steinway 1I0RII himself and pro­ uni ts. bably felt a bit closer because of this. As he later Endeavoring to learn of the piano's past, I wrote to said, he wanted to see it done right and play well. You Steinway and Sons. A prompt reply from the vice president can see from this that his life centers around pianos. stated that they merely sold pianos to AEolian, who re­ Just over a year ago Clare decided that he would re­ sold them. In reply to my question of the number of this build the stack. We had a stack Mel had acquired from size piano that was made, the reply was, livery few.!' I another 1920 Steinway, but it was not wide enough. We have since learned of two others, and perhaps four. Kay also tried two or three other Duo-Art stacks, but none is currently rebuilding another 1920 serial number were as wide as the original had been. The Steinway 201835; mine is 201022. He obtained his from a very old stack with the relocation of several pneumatics would do deserted mansion. Fortunately, his piano was complete the job. This wasn't a simple task, especially with and original. He is presently restoring it with all the C1are 's attention to detail, but it was surmounted. care it deserves. The other 9-1/2 ' Steinway Duo-Art is Fortunately, thanks to an earlier Bulletin article, owned by The International Piano Library. Unfortunately we had contacted the owner of a sister piano, AMICA it suffered considerable fire damage in their fire, and member Kay Harmed, Jr., in Illinois. From Kay we received currently awaits funds for rebuilding. wonderful cooperation with needed information, such as A fourth piano is a part of a large pipe organ in­ the size of the stack pneumatics and the number and scale stallation in Minnesota, or was it Wisconsin? of each size. Although I have not seen the fifth piano, a thoroughly __ While on the subject of the stack I must mention what reliable source has told me of its existence in a Clare gleefully refers to as the "tom toms." To solve wealthy home in Los Angeles. It is decorated, painted, the problem of valve seating, Clare punches a very thin I be 1i eve, and I donlit be1ieve funct ions as a pl aye r . circular shaped piece of leather and covers the valve Does anyone else know of any others -- for sure? I would with it. To do so, only the sides of the valve receive 1ike to know I a coating of glue. The leather punching is positioned on Of other brands, Anaheim High School had and perhaps the face of the valve and a circular punch, just larger still has a stripped 9 ' Chickering Ampico like Ivan than the face of the valve, is used to press the leather Shapiro's--but this one had liThe Ampico" in large letters snugly against the valve's sides as the punch moves down on the curved side. Bernard Comsky of Comsky Pianos here the sides. The result is a free-floating piece of leather remembers removing the player from a 9' Mason & Hamlin covering the valve head yet glued to its side. This makes "A," years ago. Ralph Jensen had its mutilated stack the valve's seating _insensitive to position and solves last year when I visited him. Although Ralph wasn't the that frequent shortcoming. one who did the dastardly deed, he said that the stack The stack is easily and precisely positioned by the was the same size as that of a regular Mason & Hamlin. use of registration pins attached to the piano body, This piano in all probabi 1i ty sti 11 remains somewhere which protrude through perfectly matching holes in the around Los Angeles. stack's end plates. Thus it is an easy matter to remove Please excuse a bit of digression, but my rough draft and replace the stack exactly as it has been, and this didn't quite mesh correctly. I 'll tell about the condi­ has been done many times making adjustments. tion of the piano when I acquired it, work up to what It was decided to utilize the above key spool box and happened to it since, and wind up with a subjective front controls to retain the original appearance. We report on performance••• used the older Duo-Art spool box with the white tempo When I acquired the piano it had already been rebuilt indicator. The spool box was reworked to accept the Ampi co tracker bar wi th its "ears!' sti 11 functional. and refinished, and in all probabi 1i ty stripped at the same time, around 1962. At that time new Steinway From left to right the front controls are as follows: hammers and unknown dampers were put in, plus restring­ three pos i t ion 1oudnesscont ro 1, br i 11 ian t-med i urn-sub­ dued. Bass-treble accent controls. The nostalgic ing, etc. The person who did the work, though highly respected in h is area, now deceased, did not pe rform up to his usual local reputation. The hammer 1ine was lost. Furthermore, the dampers didn't function properly. This is now corrected. New Steinway hammers and new Steinway HARDMAN-DUO SPINET CONVERTED TO AMPICO dampers we re installed with the correct hammer I ine re­ by Robert Bissell established. Keith Hardesty, who handled the piano work, even improved upon the Steinway dampers in the lower notes, whi ch at first failed to dampen properly. The action was thoroughly gone through and regulated. The piano itself is a Hardman Duo spinet, purchased The piano originally came with a hammer-rail lift, early in 1966 as a demonstrator. I traded in an electric but th i s was gone when I acquired it. Keith fabricated organ on it (incidentally, I had traded the same dealer a beautiful I ift from a piece of angle aluminum, which an old Cornish pump organ in on that some three or four gave a ve ry flat, rigid and light lift. It i s operated years previously). by a large direct acting book-shaped pneumatic which Well, getting back to the piano--it has a Standard Clare rebuilt specially for this appl i ca t ion . He spent pneumatic action, with the stack below the key bed, several days on this one aspect and was finally delighted hence space somewhat a problem. This is a foot-pumped with the results. job. I had added a sustaining pedal pneumatic and a re­ As I mentioned, when I obtained the piano it had been roll pneumatic several months prior to attempting a disgu ised as a "stra i ght " piano. The double legs charac­ conversion. I finally horse-traded around and got an old t e ri s t i c of most re produce rs had been updated with Marshall &Wendell, badly beat up, and of course, the singles. The spool box cover had been replaced with a usual -- many missing strategic parts, particularly both new sol id cover. The fold-down f ront cornice, which crescendo units , an d one regulator valve block. Both in­ folds down to expose the front controls, had been sawed tensity valve uni t s also gone. I secured a pair of and screwed into permanent placement. A beveled piece crescendo units f r om Larry Givens, and built the second of wood underneath covered the opening through which the regulator block. Built up two sets of intensity pneu­ stack operates. Tub i ng holes and cutouts had been filled . matics, but not on valve regulator blocks as per 1920 The first step accompl is he d in restoring the original on . By now I had decided the old M & Wwas not worth the appearance was in locating a set of Steinway Duo-Art expense involved to restore it; a friend meanwhile wan t e d legs. Legs from an OR Steinway were obtained from to buy it to put in a little "Mission" church--I said Ke i t h ' s shop. Ref inished ebony, the legs looked terrible "OK, so I stripped all the remaining Ampico accessories wi t hout the skirts, but beaut iful diagrams of these we re from it. The old upright went to Al t ur as . That had been provided by Kay Harmes and new ones were fabricated. in­ an electric pumped model. c identally , all Steinway Duo-Arts use the same size legs. I came to the conclusion that converting my Hardman Of the three legs,S of the 6 dowels were in perfect presented a very interesting challenge, but there, I had alignment, as were all 8 screw holes! a piano that was wor t h adding to. The Hardman already A new front cornice and other wood parts were easier had soft pedal bass and treble pneumatics in the upper to replace, but all were involved and costly. case with split hammer rail, controlled by buttons on Little by little, and believe me when I say it seemed the key board front. I made up a pneumatic assembly from like an eternity, the piano progressed unt il two months an old striker pneumatic, with a piece of sponge neo­ ago it played its first notes. Since then Clare has prene on the movable board of same to uncover two holes experimented with changes in several things. A model "B" in a block when #3 T hole was opened. The two holes, of sleeve valve amplifier was tried, but resulted in the course, tubed to the soft pedal pneumatics pouches. loss of the " human feel" that the "A" amplifier yields This arrangement is to maintin the original individual in this installation. A temporary vacuum cleaner for a control with the buttons when regular rolls are used. pump produced the first sounds, giving way to suppl i ­ About the same action as the Ampico A cancel pneumati c. mental assistance by a Duo-Art pump on the piano part. A light spring holds the sponge pad against the holes Finall y the two Ampico pumps we re connected and the when the pneumatic is not collapsed. These are Teed into mechan ism again regulated. The Duo-Art pump worked we l l , the tubes from the buttons. inci dentally. Perf~rmance results are gratifying. A delicate light Bob B.[6,t,ae.',t, HMdman Duo wfUch hat> been. :tJtan66oJrme d Pian is simo , the test of a good reproducer, is beautifully -i..n:to aJt Amp-i..c.o. rendered. The reproducer responds quickly to intensity changes, thus accent ing wel I . And there is ample power for fortissimo passages. Pressures range from 5 to 28 inches. The repetition is all that could be desired. The only thing needed now is more use o n the new hammers, but they are improving and wil I I iven up with more use. Briefl y stated , the project was a complete success and our "tongue in cheek" apprehension has given way to "oohs" and "aahs" as the nuances, trills , accents, and heavy bass chords roll along! ----

VAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAV 21 TH E AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

The tracker bar from the old Marshall &Wendell is Now here is my gripe--these plastic valves on the the type shown in the 1923 Ampico Inspector's Book. So stack. Speaking of the Gulbransen , these are scarcely wishing to retain the Standard tracking system, I drilled any better, being cemented on with an epoxy-like cement. two little holes in their proper place on each end and And the pneumatics appear to be cemented with t he same soldered in nipples on the back. Works fine. With no kind. I had one bad valve when I divided the stack, but protruding ears, my piano will handle some pretty well managed to remove it and repair it while I had the stack chewed up rol1B wi thout tearing them further. Since my out. I had to build up again on the shelf with wood spool box is shorter, I could not use the original ears dough, wait for it to dry, then level down and re-cement th a t were made of light brazing rod anyway. the valve back. Now two others have gone belly-up. I am I ccn turn off my re-roll separately with one of the a firm believer in removable valves. origi nal Amp ico switches and as my stack only has 80 I am considering taking the same step a man did when playing not es , I can play any kind of roll as well as he installed Ampico B in the new Steinway grand (Vestal 88 note rolls. About this time someone will ask about House Organ), build a new stack and fit the Amphion the stack , and the answer is, "Yes, I divided it, and valves to it, installing a complete new set of striker put a nipple on the treble end." pneumatics--just using the poppet wires with their ears The soft pedal pneumatics were originally tubed to and the hardware from the old one. the stack, so I changed the tubes to the elbows on the If anyone has suggestions as to removing these de­ valve blocks to unregulated air, same as the Model A fective valves with the stack in piano, I would book shows. The nipples from the stack, I then tubed to appreciate it, as I seem to see several months go by the l ittle reservoirs which were in the upper ends of before I would have the new one ready to install. the original case. These were the ones with the long coil springs. I had to mount these in the bottom of my " .."""...... II "" II " " II case. These, however, are not now tubed up. Information I have been able to gather to date indicates that these were not on the Hai nes Bos. and the Marshall &Wendell foot-pumped versions. Also no re-roll pneumatic, nor the re-regulator pneumatics. Another thing: I understand that the crescendo valve springs were much lighter, due to not as much suction developed in a foot-pumped bellows. For much of this information I am indebted to Mr. Charles E. Schubert of Eas t Syracuse, N.Y. I was in turn referred to him by Mr. Roehl of Vestal Press. Then I see on page 17, last paragraph of Aug. '71 AMICA Bulletin that reference is made to a Marshall &Wendell Marque Ampico wi t h single valve stack. Mr. Schubert, in his letter to me, does not mention this. Now, as to my intensity valves-- I made these up from materials from the primary valve chest from an old stack. Thes e, however, are Model "B" type , four valves instead of seven. These are tubed to their pneumatics as per 1919 Ampico reference book. I have the cut-out pouches on their under-sides much the same as the con­ ventional Model A. They get their suction from the same nipple on r egul a t or block as the original. The Ampico or Auto switch in the spool-box simply admits atmosphere to these pouches and cuts off suction to the intensity pneumatics as per Ampico Mar que blueprint and shuts off soft pedal wi th i t.

The HaIldman-Vuol Amp.i.c.o c.onveM.i.on'.6 .i.n:tvu.OIt, de.6.i.gned and c.on.6 .:tJtucted by RobVtt &.6.6 eU 06 OltO v.uu, Cali6. THE S.R.TURD.lIY EVENING POST

THE ILLUMINATING EXPERIENCE of a MUSIC TEACHER with the ~DUO-ART~ PIANOLA possible to reprodu ce to the life th e pe rformance of the great pianists . Chicago, I an. I O, I 9I9 . O n t he way h ome that night C an you take 6:04 train this t houg h ts of ev.ening ? H/allt you to hear Symphony with inv isible soloist. The Possibilities of I .C.H. the Duo-Art Piano in mu sical education kept crowding HE telegram puz zled me through my mind. What could I own pleasure III my work and III . somewhat but sent me scurry­ not accomplish in my piano-teaching add ition T ing for the 6:04 tr ain to Ch i­ with one of these instruments, with cago. How often have I blessed its great album of tone-portraits­ I Have Doubled "J. C. H." for sending me that wire. each a perfect replica of the most in­ The Chi cago Symphony O rchestr a spired playing of a great genius! My Income! was at its best. The soloist ? Just a The next day found me in Chicago In numerous ways the Duo-A rt beautiful Steinway Gr and Piano! The arranging for the purchase of a Duo­ helps me with my pupi ls. By com­ orchestra piayed th e opening bars, the Art Piano. I couldn't afford to buy parison- by going ove r and over the conductor touc hed a button, and as if by it outright, but by turning in myoId differen t passages at varying temp os, by the mag ic the piano becam e inves ted with piano and arranging moderate month­ constant inspiration of hearin g the piano at its ly payments the instrument with a best, by the actual example of the playing of the The Spirit of masters, it has prove d an unending source of pleasure and profit. O ccasionally I give a little a Great ArtiSt! talk in my studio to pupils, their parents and friends On ((~(Iu si c al Appreciation," "History o my utter amaze ment th at won­ of Mu sic.! " uContemporary Masters of the T derful instrument, u ntouched by Piano," etc. , and for the purposes of illustration hum an hands, played th e gr eat con­ the Duo -Art impersonates Paderewski, Hofmann, certo in perfect sy nchrony with th e Bauer, G anz, the great women pianists such as orchestra; the expression, th e rich, Carreno, Novaes, and Leginska. Also the most noted exp onent' of the modern sch ool suc h as sing ing to ne, the masterly bravura Prokofieff and Arthur Rubinstein and lor lighter spe lling H arold Bauer in unm istak­ moods the best D ance music of the day , played able musical characters. Yet Bauer carefully selected list of Record-Rolls by the past masters in their line, are included in himse lf was that very evening playing were sent to my hom e a tew days later. the repert oire of th e Duo-Art Piano. to an audience hundreds of miles away! In the eight weeks since then, Every person engaged in the pursuit of musical Du ring the intermission I read in instea d of a score of half-int erested education should have a Du o- Ar t Piano. In a short time it will be found indispe nsable. th e program th e story of how the mus ic pupils, I have a large class of Aeolian Company has, with infinite young people, eager and progressive, T he D uo-Art is obtainable in the Steinw ay , Steck, Stroud and famous Weber Pianos. G rand pains, and the vast resources which it who say th at the hour s spe nt in my and U pr ight . C atalog and address of nearest has at command, devel oped the player­ studio are th e happ iest of thei r time . Ae olian branch house or representative se nt on piano prin ciple until it has become I have increased immeasu rably my request. The AEOLIAN COMPANY LONDON ' PARIS AEOLIAN HALL, NEW YORK CITY MADRID' MELBOURNE Makers or the Aeoliall-Vocalion--the Phonograpt: Supreme-Largest Manufacturers of Musical Instruments til the World Masters are currently in preparation for a number of highly important additions to the library of music rolls for the Ampico reproducing piano -- including, (for the first time in thirty-five years), new recordings of keyboard performances of living pianists, as well as additional music rolls transferred to Ampico expression from Duo-Art originals. For your copy of this new catalog, write to:

LARRY GIVENS, WEXFORD, PENNSYLVANIA 15090 The-Golden Age of Automatic Musical Instruments is, sadly, gon e forever. Fortunately, a small but rapidly growing number of enthusiasts - AMICA members being excellent exam ples - are now recognizing these instruments and are preserving them by care and restoration. The instruments that brought happiness in the "good old days" are coming to life again to thrill yet another generation. . , . . At Hathaway and Bowers, Inc. we maintain a representative inventory of antique automatic musical instruments of all kinds. If you're visiting the Los Angeles area, we welcome you in person. If you are distant we invite you to "shop" by means of large illustrated catalogues we regularly issue. In fact, mo st of our customers order in this way (our shipping department has a seeming­ ly endless procession of crates and cartons headed for exotic places!). Our catalogues regularly sell for $2 each, but to acquaint you with H&B we 'll send you a free copy of our new Catalogue No. 14 on request. This is truly a special offer and is limited to AMICA members only. If you see an instrument of interest we'll do our best to: (1) describ e it accurately and give you an honest appraisal of its condition; (2) price it so that it will be.an excellent value, even with shipping added to Australia or to Europe (we have many active customers in both places, incase you're interested); (3) give you advice and help with the restoration or, il desired, give you an estimate to rebuild it in our own shops; (4) perhaps most important of all··· we'll t reat you as we ourselves would like to be treated. To sum it up succinctly, "We think you'll like the Hathaway and Bowers, Inc. way of doing business." Whether you want a $4 hi-fi record or a $400 music box or a $4000 orchestrion or a $40,000 museum exhibit, we believe we can offer you the best buys in the business. We must be on the right track, as our business has grown steadily over the years. If you're one of the many AMICA members who has helped, we say Thank You. If you haven't yet tried our quality and service, we invite you to contact us today. We think you'll like what you find here. ..----Terry Hathaway HATHAWAY and BOWERS, Inc. --·11975 EAST FLORENCE AVE. --- SANTA FE SPRINGS, CALIF. TeL (213) 94i-8774. Office hours: Monday - Friday 9 to noon; 1 to 4 pm .A ppoi ntment aduisable.

The reproduction of the original advertisement appearing on the next page is contributed by an AMICA member. The Bulletin space for it has been donated by Hathaway and Bowers. . INDEX - NOVEMBER

INTERNATIONAL, pp. 1-4 INSTRUMENTS, pp. 10-12 Who &. Where ..•...... •.. • ... •. • ...... ••.. 1 Chickering &. Knabe Pr ice Lists ..... •. ....•... ••• l0 Next Meeting ...•.. , •...... •.....•..•...... ••. 2 Excerpts from Ampico Salesmanship, VII 10 Membership Minutes 2 Post-War American Welte Company, Part III...... • II Annual Christmas Party Coming Up 2 Nex t Auc t ion Da te Set fo r Jan uary . • . •. •. • . . . . . •• 2 ROLLS &. MUSIC, pp. 13-15 Auction #14 At Gar Britten's Home . ....••... •. •. . 3 Reviewing The Reviewer ...• .• •...... •.•.•..... 13 Open Letter from Robert Bartlett • ...• .. ..•...... 3 Your Publisher Goofed on Wade List! ...... • •.. ••13 Where to Look for More Original Material ...... •. 4 QRS Catalog to Begin Next Month •.•..•.•.... .•... 13 More Wendling Com ing Up 13 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER, pp. 5-6 More on Duo-Art Roll Recutting 13 President Loob Invites AMICA to His Napa Home . •. 5 S. Archer Gibson & His Rolls 13 Who Are Your New Officers? 5 Membership Biography : Alf Werolin , Chapter TECHNICALITIES, pp. 15-21 President .••.•..••••. •.•...•••..•••••.•••.••• 6 Hand Made Xylophone Player Addi tion 15 Do-I t-Ycurse l f Month Celebrated ..••.....••...• •. 16 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER, p. 7 Kawai Ampico "B" .•••..••••.•..•... .•...... •... 16 Membership Biography: Bill Mintz, Chapter Rebirth of 9-1/2' Steinway Reproducer .•..•••.. •. 18 Pres i dent •• .....••••. •.....•....•.. • •.••.. ••. 7 Hardman-Duo Converted to Ampico ••.. •.•.• •...• ••.20 So. Calif. Chapter Initiates Local Newsletter••• 7 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, pp. 7-9 Excerpts from Harold Bauer: His Book •••••••.•. •. 7 Constance Mering &. Muriel Pollock 8 Coming : Dagmar Nordstrom Discography ••••.•.•••.• 9 More Edythe Baker ••...•.• •.•.••••.••.•.••.•••••• 9

13 UL LET IN Ginny Bill i ngs AMleA Publ isher AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS' ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 77525, San Francisco, Ca l l forn ia 94107

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DATED MATERIAL