The AMICA News Bulletin of the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors'Association AMICA International AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS' ASSOCIATION AMICA MEMBERSHIP RATES: NEWS BULLETIN Continuing Members: $20 Annual Dues Overseas Members: $26 Dues PUBLISHER New Members, add $5 processing fee Dorothy Bromage (Write to Membership Secretary, P.O. Box 387 see address below) La Habra, CA 90631 USA Change of Address: If you move, send the new address and phone number to the Published by the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors' Membership Secretary, Bobby Clark. Association, a non-profit club devoted to the restoration, distribution and enjoyment of musical instruments using INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS perforated paper music rolls. AMICA was founded in San Francisco in 1963. PRESIDENT Terry Smythe (204) 452-2180 Contributions: All subjects of interest to readers of the 547 Waterloo St., Winnipeg, Manitoba Bulletin are encouraged and invited by the publisher. All Canada R3N 012 articles must be received by the 10th of the preceding PAST PRESIDENT Robert M. Taylor month. Every attempt will be made to publish all articles of (215) 735-2662 general interest to AMICA members at the earliest possible 1326 Spruce St. #3004, Phildelphia, PA 19107 time and at the discretion of the publisher. VICE PRESIDENT Molly Yeckley (419) 684-5742 Original Bulletin articles, or material for reprint that is of 612 Main St., Castalia, OH 44824 significant historical quality and interest, are encouraged and will be rewarded in the form of AMICA membership SECRETARY Richard Reutlinger (415) 346-8669 dues discounts. (Chapter reports and Forum inquiries are 824 Grove St., San Francisco, CA 94117 excluded.) PUBLISHER Dorothy Bromage (213) 697-1545 ADVERTISING P.O. Box 387, La Habra, CA 90631 Classified: 10¢ per word, $1.50 minimum. MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Bobby Clark • All copy must reach the publisher by the 10th of the (New memberships and mailing problems) (803) 738-0567 preceding month. Payment must accompany order...... Make checks payable to: AMICA INTERNATIONAL. P.O. Box 172, Columbia, SC 29202 TREASURER Mike & Liz Barnhart • Checks or money orders from advertisers in foreign (513) 254-5580 countries must be drawn on a U.S. bank. 919 Lantern Glow Trail, Dayton, OH 45431 Display advertising BOARD REPRESENTATIVES Full page 7Y2" x10" $80.00 Founding Chapter: Howie Koff Half page 7%" x43Jo" 40.00 Southern California: Dick Rigg Quarter page 3'1u" X 43,4 " 20.00 Texas: Haden Vandiver Midwest: Vincent Ricca • Each photograph or half-tone $5.00 Philadelphia Area: Len Wert • We recommend display advertisers supply camera­ SOWNY: Jeff Depg ready copy. Copy that is oversized or undersized Rocky Mountain: ick Kroeckel New Jersey: William Baab will be changed to correct size at your cost. We can Iowa: Alvin Johnson prepare your advertisement from your suggested Boston Area: Sanford Libman layout at cost. Northern Lights: Lowell Boehland • All copy must reach the publisher by the 10th of the Sierra-Nevaaa: Bob Moore Chicago Area: Jerry Biasella preceding month. Heart of America: Ron Bopp • Payment must accompany order. Typesetting, layout COMMITTEES or size alteration charges will be billed separately. Make checks payable to: AMICA INTERNATIONAL. TECHNICAL, Mel Luchetti 3449 Mauricia Ave., Santa Clara, CA 95051 • Checks or money orders from advertisers in foreign HONORARY MEMBERS, Alf E. Werolin countries must be drawn on a U.S. bank. 2230 Oakdale Rd., Hillsborough, CA 94010 • All ads will appear on the last pages of the Bulletin ARCHIVES, Jim Weisenborne at the discretion of the publisher. 73 Nevada St., Rochester, MI 48063 Publication of business advertising in no way implies AMICA GOALS, Robert Moore 3100 Sagittarius Dr., Reno, NV 89509 AMICA's endorsement of any commercial operation. However, AMICA reserves the right to refuse any ad that AUDIO-VISUAL, Howie Koff is not in keeping with AMICA's general standards or if 4271 No. First St., #1, San Jose, CA 95134 complaints are received indicating that said business PUBLICATION, Dorothy Bromage does not serve the best interests of the members of P.O. Box 387, La Habra, CA 90631 AMICA according to its goals and bylaws. flMICfllnternationa'

Make your plans to attend and to participate

/ inAMICA's Tenth Annual Convention.

CONVENTION CHECKLIST _____ Have you made your convention reser­ vations? If not, hurry them along to James Doheny, 3625 McCormick Avenue, Brook­ field, n 60513. Have you made your Mart reservation for a full table [$20) or half table ($10) or common table ($1 per item)? Send these to Mike Schwimmer, 241 Harbor, Glencoe, 11 60022. ____ Have you made your hotel reservation? There's still time to reserve a single ($35 per night) or double ($42 per night) with the Bis­ marck Hotel, Randolph at LaSalle, Chicago, 1160601. . Have you packed your bags? No? Well get started!

SEE YOU AT THE CONVENTION!

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CHAPTER OFFICERS AMICA International News Bulletin FOUNDING CHAPTER NEW JERSEY Volume 20 Number 5 June 1983 Pres: Phil McCoy Pres: Edward Freyer Vice Pres: Isadora Koff Vice Pres: Oliver Vitakis CONTENTS Treas: Bob Wilcox Sec: Marge Vitakis Sec/Reporter: Jack and Dianne Edwards Treas: Lenny Finkel AMICA International 109 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Reporter: R. F. Groman People 112 Pres: Roy Shelso IOWA Rolls and Music 116 Vice Pres: Warren and Rosemary Deasy Pres: John Parker Sec: Holly and Peggy Hollingsworth Vice Pres: Bob Shimp Instruments 119 Treas: les Cordell SecfTreas: Mary Lou Shimp Technicalities 121 Reporter: Bill Toeppe Reporter: Jack Niewoehner News from the Chapters 124 TEXAS BOSTON AREA The Forum . 130 Pres: Dick Barnes Pres: Barry Kasindorf Vice Pres: Bob Smith Vice Pres: Charles Hazard SecfTreas: Betty Plonien Sec: Bill Koenigsberg Reporter: Tom Beckett Treas: Philip Konop The Cover: Lee Valencia contributed this portrait of MIDWEST Reporter: Donald Brown Rudy Erlebach. It was a full-page illustration in the Pres: Edwin Ward NORTHERN LIGHTS 1920 Mel-O-Dee catalog. See article by Lee in this Vice Pres: Ruth Owen Pres: Steve Leppa Sec: Lawrence and Margaret Frazer Vice Pres: Terry Goepel issue. Treas: Alvin Wulfekuhl Sec: Barbara Leppa Reporter: Sue Ricca Treas: Robert & Katheryn Dumas PHILADELPHIA AREA SIERRA-NEVADA 1983 Convention Pres: Bob Rosencrans Pres: Ken Winters Chicago Vice Pres: Barbara McCartney Vice Pres: Sonja Lemon •• •• Sec: Frank Basil SecfTreas: Audrey Winters July 14-17 Treas: Mac Taylor Reporter: Mel and Karen Locher Reporter: Bill Pilgermayer CHICAGO AREA SOWNY (SOUTHERN ONTARIO, Pres: Jim Edwards WESTERN NY) Vice Pres: Carol Dayton and Mabel Zivin AFFILIATED SOCIETIES Pres: Jim Brewer Sec: Bob and Gloria Taylor The Player Piano Group (England) Vice Pres: Jan Drewniak Treas: Bill and Dee Kavouras The North West Player Piano Sec: Alice Guhlow Reporter: Wynette Edwards Association (England) Treas: Jim and Chris Barley HEART OF AMERICA Netherlands Mechanical Organ Reporter: Fred Buchwald Pres: Ron Connor Society - KDV Australian Collectors of Mechanical ROCKY MOUNTAIN Vice Pres: Tom Hellstein Musical Instruments Pres: Jere De Backer Sec: Leonard Railsback Dutch Pianola Association Vice Pres: Bill Arthur Treas: Margaret Taylor Society of Friends of Mechanical Sec: Rae Burdette Reporter: Craig Brougher Musical Instruments (Germany) Treas: Art Tarr Reporter: Deane and Patty Fehrman <> 109 <> Conventionews

You've read all about convention evening happen­ ings in past AMICA bulletins - the Thursday night Red Rose Ragtime Band, the Friday night 1920's Monster DeCap Dance and the Saturday night extravaganza, "Rachmaninoff Plays Chicago" concert featuring the American Chamber Symphony with the Ganzamania following. Well, that's not all! We've left the home collections for you to discover on your own. We're touring both the Chicago Theater and the Civic Opera House to hear the organs installed there. The Mart is open Saturday after­ noon for wheeling and dealing. And we have a variety of workshops scheduled all day Friday. Here are some of these. ED LISAUSKAS will host the workshop on restring­ ing pianos. Ed has had twenty years experience working in Chicago with all the major piano dealers. He specializes in piano restringing and structural and cos­ metic re building. DR. RON BOPP's topic is the Peerless Piano Player Company. He has always presented most entertaining slide programs on various interesting subjects in the coin piano field. BOB TAYLOR will help with the problems with Steinway cross valves. Bob is an airline pilot based in Chicago with an avocation in rebuilding reproducing pianos. TIM TRAEGER is Chicago Chapter's walking encyclopedia on Wurlitzer. He will conduct a workshop ,- on the Wurlitzer Band Organ and anything else you always wanted to know about the company. These workshops round out the planned activities for the 1983 AMICA convention July 14-17. We're look­ ing forward to seeing you then.

The Water Tower

.-

<> 110 <> 1983 CHICAGO CONVENTION SCHEDULE - TENTATIVE **BISMARCK HOTEL**

Wednesday Board of Directors Meeting July 13 Thursday Board Meeting Continued July 14 Registration, Hotel Lobby Tours (Wicker Park, Outdoor Art, and Chicago Architecture) and Open Homes Live Hot Jazz Concert and Program. Piano Salon Opens/Demonstrations/Reception Friday Breakfast July 15 Tour #1 Zivin Collection Group # 1 Workshops Tour #2 Zivin Collection Group #2 Workshops Tour #3 Zivin Collection Group #3 Workshops Tour #4 Zivin Collection Group #4 Workshops Reception Dinner Monster DeCap Dance (1920's Costumes recommended!) and Collection tours Saturday Brunch July 16 Program General Membership Meeting Mart Opens (Set-up available at 8:00 AM) Reception Banquet "Rachmaninoff Plays Chicago" concert featuring the American Chamber Symphony, Robert Frisbie, Conductor Ganzamania Concert - a tribute to the great Rudolf Ganz Sunday Tour, Chicago Theatre/Joint Function with CATOE July 17 Tour, Civic Opera House/Joint Function with CATOE Farewell Brunch Open Home Tours of Individual Collections, CATOE members invited :-:-,------:-::=-=-=-=-,--,-,------MART APPLICATION &. RESERVATION - We are planning a varied, extensive and exciting MART at this year's .,./ Convention! We have a very nice, large area available specifically planned to give potential customers plenty of movement so that they can easily see - and BUY - your wares! There will be one 4-hour MART session on Saturday only"'so that you won't have to concern yourself with overnight security or planning your Convention activities around a split-session MART. Full 8-foot tables are $20.00 each; V2 tables are $10.00 each. You may buy as many tables as you wish. SPECIAL! As an incentive to those of you who have only a few items to sell, we are introducing a "Common Table(sJ" where volunteers from the Chicago Area chapter will sell your merchandise for you! The cost is only $1.00 per item offered, whether sold or not. (We suggest that small items-of-a-kind such as rolls be sold as a lot). Although you need not reserve space for these items now, we would appreciate your giving us an indication on the form below of how many items you plan to bring so that we can provide adequate space for the "Common Table." So dig up what you don't want or need and bring it to the Convention! Remember: Your "trash" may be someone else's "treasure!" Please fill out the form below and send it in with your check as soon as you can. Space is necessarily limited, of course.------Reservations will be acknowledged immediately upon receipt. Mail CHECK and RESERVATION FORM to: Mike Schwimmer, Mart Chairman 241 Harbor, Glencoe IL 600e2

would 1 ike to reserve __full tables@$20.00each. would 1 ike to reserve _1/2 tables @ $10.00 each. My check is enclosed.

I plan on bringing items to sell at the "Common Table" @ $1.00 each. NAME ------ADDRESS------CITY STATE ZIP PHONE () ------' ------:'---.:._------Reproduce form and return with remittance payable to AM/GA/GR/GAGO Nominating Committee Report

The Board of AMICA has selected a Nominating Committee to present a candidate for the office of Pub­ lisher. This office is a one-year term and so requires an election each year at the Annual Meeting. /. The Committee members are: Robert M. Taylor Bill Eicher Jerry Biasella Dorothy Bromage Ron Connor Terry Smythe The Committee is nominating the incumbent, Dorothy Bromage, to this office. Dorothy has agreed to this nomination. If any members wish to nominate other candidates, they may do so in accordance with Section 4(b) of AMICA International By-Laws. The Nominating Committee is presently in the pro­ cess of selecting a candidate for the office of Member­ ship Secretary, which recently became vacant with the resignation of Bobby Clark.

Ron Bopp, Chairman

&&~&&&~ People

Standing: Ernst Parmondier. Rudy Erlebach. Seated: Aman- r ...... Rudolph Erlebach dine Parmondier. grandson Robert. Rudy's wife Dorothy. Mr.' by Lee Valencia and Mrs. Parmondier are the parents of Rudy's daughter-in­ law. Mrs. Marie Erlebach. Shadow Lake. New Jersey. around Tucked away in the pages of the 1913 catalogue of the 1949-50. Herbert Music Roll Company is a Ragtime Medley No. 81079 arranged by R. O. Erlebach. This listing marks the fort with Vincent Youmans and two other gentlemen earliest known work by an artist whose contributions to named Wilson and Nelson, not all playing at the same time, we trust. the field of popular piano roll music must surely ap­ proach those of Frank Milne and Lawrence Coole In the Mel-O-Dee and Duo-Art listings Rudy's name Mr. Erlebach's family has kindly consented to credits appear on the appropriate side of the hyphen. provide us with some information concerning his musi­ Mel-O-Dee bulletin May 1921 has photo of musical cal career. recital at the A. B. Clinton store in Hartford, Connecti­ Rudy's birthplace was Columbus, Ohio; date of April cut depicting Cliff Hess, Frank Milne, Frank Banta, 18, 1894. At the time of his employment with the Her­ Rudy Erlebach and Muriel Pollock amidst a swarm of keyboard instruments. bert Music Roll Company he also played trombone in the New York State National Guard band. In 1915 he The United States Copyright Journal lists Rudy's commenced work with the Aeolian Company, the ac­ "Review of the U.S. Fleet" as entry No. E-362577, date of knowledged leader of the music roll business. His May 20, 1915. Among his other compositions are earliest recordings at Aeolian were released on the "Dream of Eden," a waltz and "Keep 'Em Going," a Metro-Art and Universal Song Roll labels. Many of fox-trot. They were recorded for the Universal label. these were later released on the MEL-O-DEE label. During these years Rudy continued his musical educa­ tion by studying with Rachmaninoff, Paderewski and Universal Song Rolls were first introduced in Ferd' Grofe. January 1917. When George Gershwin marched himself into the studios as visiting guest artist to record the He also recorded under three pseudonyms: Dorothy entire first month's output, he was nominally assisted Herzog, Bud Earl and Robert Bach. On labels where by R. O. Erlebach. By the month of July, however, such credit is assigned to Erlebach and Herzog, it is actually a ...... goings-on had come to a halt and artist credits con­ four-handed treatment by Rudy. Early 1920 saw the start' tinued on a more equitable basis. In all, George and of a happy collaboration when the first of many fine Rudy recorded fifteen duets plus a monster medley ef- duets by Rudy and Frank C. Milne began to appear.

<> 112 <> the QRS label. Captivating is scarcely the word to de­ scribe them as anyone who has heard such gems as "When Did You Leave Heaven," "Sing Baby, Sing" or "Me and the Moon" will roundly attest. After his final recording of "Was It Rain" in February of 1937, Rudy's name disappears from the QRS label. One source lists a couple of titles that date after his final QRS title which are again on the Paramount label. Perhaps Rudy returned to that company until it ceased operations in late 1937. It was not their practice to list artist credits during their last issues. Rudy's family suggests he did not cease recording, so perhaps he continued to work under some of the many stock noms-de-scroll that QRS was in the habit of using through the years. In the closing months of 1947 his name once again surfaces on QRS artist credit. There remains a distinct possibility that many more titles exist other than the ones shown here but, for the moment, this information reposes in the QRS files. Some of these titles are still carried in the current QRS catalogue. Rudy continued his professional engagements and in the early 1950's was playing piano and accordion with a group led by H. Sebeck at the Castleholm Restaurant on 57th Street in New York City. In the years before his death at Fairview, New Jersey on May 5, 1955, Rudy continued to record for QRS and Robert Erlebach with Rudy, holding grandson Robert, [r. taught piano at a local music school as well, despite his North Bergen, New Jersey, back yard of home at 418 78th St., being in failing health. around 1947. So, some quiet evening, when all 'roundabout seems dull, begin sifting through the hoard of 88-note "pops" In 1925 Rudy left Aeolian to become the chief ar- material. After awhile you're bound to come up with an _/ ranger for the Connorized Music Roll Company and armful of selections by Rudolph O. Erlebach; possibly a continued his employment there when that company peach of recording like "Rendezvous With A Dream", was eventually taken over by Paramount Music Rolls. from the W. C. Fields film classic Poppy. Then, after That his output must have been prodigious is evidenced throwing that spooling mechanism into gear, merely by the fact that in 1930, in the month of March alone, he settle back and listen. You could hardly be in better is credited with no less than thirteen arrangements. company. At this time Rudy was playing piano with the Charles Nelson orchestra at the Stanley Theater in Jer­ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS sey City where singer Dick Powell's early appearances Special thanks is offered to Mrs. Dorothy Herzog also took place. In 1933, Rudy pl'ayed with the Bill Henry Erlebach, Mr. and Mrs. Robert f. Erlebach and Mr. orchestra at the Rustic Cabin in Englewood Cliffs. Robert Erlebach for their assistance in supplying the Crooner Frank Sinatra's name occasionally adorned the personal information on Rudy, together with photo­ bill. Rudy continued his professional engagements in graphs and manuscript. 1934 and 1935 by working with the Fabe Nicholson orchestra at radio station WAAT in Jersey City. Thanks to Dick Schlaich for generously providing the photocopy work and for his invaluable assistance In 1936 Rudy was holding down the piano chair with in locating Rudy's family, the story ofwhich could well Julie Wintz' group at the Top Hat, a night club! fill a page by itself. restaurant located at the Elks building in North Bergen, New Jersey. Julie had made a few successful band re­ cordings on the Harmony record label in the early A list ofrolls recorded by Erlebach is available. Send 1930's. requests to the Publisher, at address on Bulletin Rudy would also substitute on piano when called masthead. upon by Shep Fields. Shep, it seems, had some little The roll listings have been drawn from many .difficulty in keeping musicians, they being hard put, no sources: Mike Montgomery's compilation of George doubt, to meet the demands of the Rippling Rhythm Gershwin's recordings for the Aeolian Company; Ray scores. Siou, Bob Pye and friends for the Duo-Art titles; Ed In April of 1936 Rudy went to work for the Imperial Sprankle for providing the obscure Paramount informa­ ---- Industrial Company and during the ensuing year pro­ tion; Bill Bonnerand, again, Mike Montgomery for their duced a series of forty-one delightful arrangements for pioneer work with the QRS Word Roll series numbers. o 113 0 Exhibits of Rudolph Ganz &. Heniot Levy Memorabilia by Emmett M. Ford

When AMICAns attend the 1983 convention in Chicago, they may find three places of interest to in­ clude on their tour. Mrs. Esther Ganz, widow of Rudolph Ganz presented to the Newberry Library in Chicago, hun­ dreds of photographs, letters, papers, etc. of Dr. Ganz. Dr. Ganz made many fine piano rolls. '¥J:i Members will also want to visit the Chicago Musical College to see the bronze portrait head of Dr. Ganz, sculptured by Marie Zoe Mercier Greene. The bronze portrait was given to the college in a presentation De­ cember 12, 1953. It is a gift from Mme. Zoe Lassagne Mercier and her husband, Dr. Louis J. A. Mercier of Bos­ ton. Mme. Mercier was the first u.s. student of Dr. Ganz when he came to this country to live and teach. Mme. Mercier was on the faculty of the college from 1904 to 1910. Dr. Mercier is Professor Emeritus of French and Education at Harvard University and Radcliff College. The Rudolph Ganz Memorial Hall is Room 745 in the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan, in Chicago.

Mr. Felix Ganz, Dean of the college gave me a great l:rru'jl .\1(11(;". Chinlf!" n U)(lL!'lJ C ·\'\Z deal of information about his "Uncle Rudi." Another collection to see is the memorabilia of the Welte piano roll artist, Heniot Levy.! When I contacted Mr. Levy's daughter, Mildred (Mrs. Alexander Kipnis), for her reading of the biographical sketch of Mr. Levy, I suggested she offer the collection of her father to the library. She agreed and the collection went to the library ~~II~!~II~g in 1977.

'December, 1977 AMICA News Bulletin. r Who is this Person? i ~ [Amw« d"wh", in ,hi' Bullotinj ~ Facts from Ford ~. .~

Emmett Ford, avid historian, has contributed the fol­ lowing items concerning Rudqlph Ganz. ~ ~ Dr. Rudolph Ganz received many letters with his ~ name mispelled. The mispelling ranged from Janz, l ,C Gans, Ganx, Gant, Gauf, etc., but in his file is a letter which angered him as it was addressed to MR. RUDOLPH BANG. ~ ~ When some curious person inquired of Rudolph Ganz how it happened that he should be the recipient of ~ four honorary degrees, the answer, smilingly, was "You l, .. j see, I am well known for my patience." AMICAns who have Rudolph Ganz rolls and enjoy his musicianship, will be interested in a recording of ~l~II~l.~JI~~ two piano works Mr. Ganz made with a student, Parth­ enia Vogelbach. The recordings were made in 1956 by the Tiffany Recording Company. Compositions were of Saint-Saens, Chaminade, Schumann, Benjamin, Franck and Poulenc.

o 114 0 A Rewarding Search Ina studied in Winnipeg and received a degree from the Toronto Conservatory of Music. She left Winnipeg by Richard Gurevich in 1921 to continue her studies in Berlin with Xaver Scharwenka. After Scharwenka died (1924), she went to Interested in player pianos but need a break from New York where she studied with Percy Grainger. recovering pneumatics? Read on. The following story Ina lived in Leonia, N.J. where she led an active life highlights another fascinating aspect of this marvelous giving live and radio concerts and was involved in the hobby. A few months ago while I was visiting our illus­ Bergen County Oratorical Society and Music Depart­ trious leader Terry Smythe, he said, "Did you know that ment of the Leonia Women's Club. Ina Warrick Polson was from Winnipeg?" "Who the heck is Ina Warrick Polson?/, I promptly inquired. Well for She was married to John Eldon Filmore and had a son those of you like me who didn't know, Ina was a Duo-Art Sandy. A letter to John, now 90, provided me with the recording artist, born and raised in my home town of following additional information. Winnipeg, Canada! While Winnipeg certainly has a lot Ina was born in 1888 and died in 1947. John remem­ to be proud of and has produced its fair share of famous bered that Ina did have some player rolls, but they had people, Terry and I thought it was kind of unique and long disappeared. He related the following story which I special that a young girl from Winnipeg made it to New must pass along. York to become a player piano recording artist. After all, I doubt that there was a single Duo-Art piano in Win­ "You will be interested to know of a promotion or nipeg in 192 7. advertising performance in a Winnipeg Music store in which Ina took part. Aeolian player rolls by Percy Well, I simply had to find out more about this fas­ Grainger were played behind a screen with a live player cinating woman. The investigative process was both (Ina) filling in gaps purposely left blank. The object, of challenging and rewarding. I started by phoning a con­ course, was to convince the audience that the recorded tact at the local newspaper. He searched some historical and hand played passages could not be told apart. Need­ files and after coming up blank, suggested I contact two less to say, the live performer had to be thoroughly well-known local historians and the local University proficient and had to have studied the original player's School of Music. Three more blanks ... but try some recorded performances most carefully both as to style local music teachers. More blanks. Try some PoIsons in and timing in order to fill in the gaps as they came along the phone book. No luck. Stroke of genius: phone a without a break in the continuity of the performance." friend who works at the Provincial (State) Archives. My first break! John also told me that Ina achieved a lifetime ambi­ tion by becoming organist and choir director of a By searching old city directories, we came up with church, herself ... the Congregational Church of River Ina's family. Mother Jessie, father Alex, brothers Hugh Edge, New Jersey. Something that interested me was and Alex, sisters Euphemia and Laura. The family lived learning that both Grainger and Scharwenka visited the at 94 Cathedral Street and by searching the Winnipeg Polson home in Winnipeg while on tour here. John Women's Musical Directory, it appeared that Ina taught promised me copies of correspondence from both gen­ piano at home until she left the city in 1921. Not much tlemen which I am eagerly awaiting. else to go on. A further search of the directory indicated that brother Hugh was a lawyer. A call to the Law Soci­ So where does all this lead? Well for me, it was ety gave me the name of the firm his files went to when rewarding and certainly fun. I had the opportunity to he died. A call to the law firm gave me the date of death meet by phone, mail and in person many very kind and (1969) and the name of the last known relative. interesting people. I had the unique thrill that Ameri­ cans get when they hear a piano roll on a reproducing I called the relative, a nephew, Dr. Robert Polson grand and know about the person playing for them. Last who vaguely remembered Hugh but knew nothing of week, I saw the very piano (which I must admit ~as Ina. Figuring that wives usually keep closer family ties somewhat eerie), which Ina played and taught on. It IS a than husbands, I phoned his "better half" who was not beautiful Uxbridge Palace Grand which she donated to a much help but gave me the name of the executor of local church. Hugh's estate. A glimmer of hope. My thanks to Terry Smythe for starting me in this Ten phone calls later, I tracked down the executor, hobby and to all those people who helped me find Ina. Mrs. Watters, a grand old lady of 89 but sharp as the So, come on all you amateur sleuths (or professional proverbial whip. Mrs. Watters did not know anything sloths), let's find out more about those people who made about Ina but offered to contact some very old friends of all this player business happen. the family. A few days later, she phoned me back with my next exciting break; the name Gladys Polson, Ina's sister-in-law. Excitedly, I wrote Gladys [living in Belle- . vue, Washington) and anxiously awaited a reply. Bonanza! A beautiful letter from Gladys told me the following:

o 115 0 r~ I

Rolls and Music -:...

T

07169

It's Ti,btLike That land ~ I.)la"'·. . Blues I ~ / '''j 0211 © State Street I I 1 ARABE'SQ'U'E ....;! Cp. 59', No. 2 Arnold PLAYED BY ROBERT ARMBRUSTER 100' MAOti: IN u~ S. A.

<> 116 <> List of Roll Labels We would also like to know how many people would buy a book showing color photos of one of each of these by Ben Roth labels or would be interested in individual color photos at 75¢ each (discounted in quantity). In the book would I hope myfellow AMICAns will enjoy looking at this also be photos of beautiful roll boxes, such as ARTO roll ../ list. I will eventually have 4 x 6 color photos of every box, RHYTHMODIC, QRS Nursery Rhymes, etc., and label mentioned, for the fanatical collectors to buy. some beautiful leaders that some rolls had. Some really rare labels such as Red Star, Orient or In compiling this list, I have received help from Melodee-Gulbransen may be of interest for framing. If James Baker, Sol Goodman, Rich Murrey, and Dale any readers know of more names, please submit them to Rowe, for which I am truly grateful. My special thanks me, Ben Roth, Player PianoWorkshop, 233 West 21st St., to Mike Schwimmer and Joel Markowitz. New York, NY 10011. Ifyou would lend the roll to us, we would send you a free copy (photographl of that label with the returned roll.

Atlas 10. Uni-Record Ged's 1. Atlas 11. Uni-Sold Giacini Spec. 2. A-R 12. Universal Giudice Spec. 3. Acme 13. Triumph (English) Globe [Phila) 4. Bamberger American Piano Co. Gloria 5. Eclipse 1. Ampico Grausso 6. Emkayl 2. Ampico Artigraphic Griffith 7. Harmony 3. Ampico Stoddart Gulbransen 8. Hermann2 4. AP.C. 9. Landay 5. Rythmodic Harmonic 10. Metro 6. Rythmodic Red Label Herbert - Excello 11. Ray-Dio 7. Rythmodic Solo-Elle Hit (Not Imp.) 12. Regent Harmony 13. Ritz Biondo Special HarMel 14. Simplex Hupfeld 15. Supreme Cable Nelson 1. Animatic 16. Wissner Capitol 2. Phonola Abbate Spec. 1. Supertone 3. Duo Phonola ../ Accenist 2. Brillante 4. Tri Phonola Ace Caruso AC.M.C. Cecilian Ideal (Rose Valley PA) Agovino Challenge IdeallPlaza) Altoona Chase & Baker-Lyon Ideal (Rollos Artisticos) (Spanish) 1. Master CIano Special Imperial· 2. Superba Columbia 1. Imperial Autochord 3. Victory 1. Red Seal 2. Boston Store American 2. Orpheum 3. Broadway Angelus Melodant Artistyle Connazional 4. Diamond (Wilcox & White) Connorized 5. Fairview Ant-Pusat's Special 6. Hit Apollo De Luxe (AM.R.C.) 7. Marionette (Rep.) tRee.) 1. Arista Dominant 8. Recordo 2. Venus Duo (QRS-IMP) 9. Red Star Aristo - Temponome (English) 10. Rialto Aristokrat 8-T-8 11. Rothchild Artempo Electrova 12. Solo Carola Artisong E. T. Paull's orig. orch. player roll 13. Symphony Artistone 14. Weile Special Artistyle Famous International Artona Favorita 1. Melotone Aeolian Filmusic 2. Pennant 1. Duo-Art '1. Picturoll 3. Sublime 2. D-A Audiographic 2. Pop 3. Eighty Eight Note . F.I.R.S.T. (Italian) Jewel 4. Metro-Art 1. Fabb Juelg 5. Metrostyle 2. Italiana ./ 6. Mel-O-Dee 3. Rulli Kimbal 7. Meloto (Eng. Univ.) 4. Sonori Klean Kut 8. Pianolists Library 5. Traforati 9. Themodist Metrostyle o 117 0 L'lnsuperabile Rose Valley L'Emp (French) 1. Ideal 1. Le 2. Mono 2. Edition 3. Unico (Ital.) 3. Musicale Rollos Nacionales (Mexico) 4. Perforee Rossi Little Wonder Royal Rushworth (Eng.) [Aeolian?) Madrid - Oriental (Spanish) Russo Majestic Marvel Standard THAT SPECIAL ROLL Mastertouch 1. Arto Meloart 2. Electra Melographic 3. Globe (N.J.) Needed for July Convention Mendelssohn 4. Humana Will be returned Mignon (Not Welte) 5. Perfection Duo-Art #6823-4 Mongillo Special 6. Play-A-Roll "Etude Caprice," Op. 14 No.4 (Ganz) Musical Specialties 7. Singa Played by Rudolph Ganz Musicnote - Keynote 8. Volo Welte #C3045 Serenate "Prelude" (1) La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin National Schettino (2) "La Puerta del Vino" (Debussy) 1. Auto Inscribed Sherman-Clay Played by Rudolph Ganz 2. Hand Played (Custom Accomp.) Jim Edwards 3. Master Solo Style 38W140 Hunting Trail, Batavia, IL 60510 Nat'l Automatic Music Splendor Staffnote Onix (Equador) 1. Hitz Original 2. Playrite A-Roll, G-Roll or O-Roll Orient Starck (mfg. by IMP.) "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" Otto Higel ICan.) Sterling Don Teach Super Rolls 3019 Highland, Shreveport, LA 71104 Palazzolo Starr Pagano Selected QRS r<"'~ Paramount - Savoia "I'm Through" Alector (Greek) Syncronized Art Reblitz Peerless Box 7392, Colorado Springs, CO 80933 Pennino Tesio Special Pianostyle - Majestic Trionfol Aeolian #2148617 Pollice Melodee #301533/301545 Pampa u.S. . Universal 1. Perforacion 1. Auto Art Aug. Mel. Art. #91656/7 2. Argentina 2. P.E.P. "Romeo & Juliet," Parts 1 and 2 3. Musical 3. Emblem Ben Roth 4. Pava United 233 W. 21st St., New York, NY 10011 5. Autopiano Verdi Duo-Art #67319 Q.R.S. Veris's "The Music Box" 1. Artecho Victor Played by Leginska 2. Arranged VictorialBest (Spanish) Dorothy Bromage 3. Autograph Virtuoso PO Box 387, La Habra, CA 90631 4. Autograph Hand Vocalstyle 5. Bluebird Played 1. J. Donat Langlier 6. Concert Series Voltem (Wilcox & White) 7. Kimbal Electramatic ~ 8. Recordo Welte Mignon -&> 9. Rythmodic 1. Deluxe 10. Solo Elle 2. Green 11. Story Roll 3. Purple 4. Red IS THERE A SPECIAL ROLL YOU WANT? Republic - Acme Willert, Chas. 1. Send as much information as you can to Dorothy Brom­ ~ R.G.S. age, Publisher, AMICA News Bulletin, P.O. Box 387, La .. .. Rollo Mexico Habra, CA 90631 .

1. Emkay = M. K. = Max Kortlander. 2. Herman = Herman Kortlander <) 118 <) I nstrutnents

The Chimes of Santa Catalina Island by Martin Jeffries

I thought you might be interested in a picture of our automatic musical instrument, such as it is! About myself, I'm a new member of AMICA, my wife, Faith Joy, and myself (Jeff) have had a home here for a number of years and as any visitor to the island will tell you we on the island have one of the world's out­ standing sets of Deagan Chimes. (Westminster, twenty pipes with piano keyboard). They fell into disrepair a few years ago and when they worked at all they were less than accurate, before a day, I still have a long ways to go to get the restoration falling silent for over two years. complete. Then last summer an old resident of the island set This is another reason I write to you, hoping that about trying to repair them and I offered to help. I once sometime in the future you might make mention of this represented Dimep, a Brazilian manufacturer of Tower project in the News Bulletin so that if anyone else Clocks & Westminster Chimes. knows of other Deagan Tower Chimes, working or not, This gentleman (Joe Bums age 75) is a summer resi­ they might contact me. I have a complete wiring di­ dent of the island so when he left the island in Sep­ agram but almost no parts but will be happy to help tember I took over and intend to restore this great old others if I can. instrument to its original glory. Faith and I have the office supply store on the island The chimes tower was built in 1925 by Mr. Wrigley, (across from the post office) and live here the year round -the owner of the island at that time, and it remains so if any members of AMICA visit the island I will be today one of the Wrigley family's prized possessions on happy to give them a tour and demonstration of the the island. Earlier this year Mr. Paxton Offield (a Wrigley Deagan Chimes. (The Chimes Tower is closed to the family member), the manager of the Santa Catalina Is­ public.) land Company, and I struck a deal where I would take I enjoy the News Bulletin and was pleased to see care of the chimes on a long term basis and they would Deagan on page 46 of the March issue. repair, repaint and maintain the building. Perhaps this letter will help us find others that also We are now well into the project and where we again enjoy the giant pleasures of Tower Chimes. Martin Jef­ have the instrument working, the chimes peal 12 hours fries, P.O. Box 2279, Avalon, CA 90704.

o 119 0 Universal Player Piano Co. joints separate, as is so often the case with wood. The all-metal stack with neoprene gaskets was developed in by Raye McCall short order. A great achievement, in addition to the metal stack itsef, was the concept of screening the It isn't often that any of us today have the privilege of bleeds so that they could not plug up and cause a note to being close enough to the development and founding of stick. To this end, a strainer screen which separated the a piano company to know some of the interestingdetails tracker bar holes from the bleeds was installed. As a and history of its inception. further measure that no bleed hole would ever plug up, The Universal Player Piano Company is a newcomer the stack was designed so that the bleed hole remains to the American player piano scene, and its founder and accessible from the outside and can be cleaned or developer, Mr. Richard Carty, is a personal friend of opened by a non-skilled per.son with an ordinary paper. mine. He has been kind enough to supply us with the clip or w,ire. The stack mechanism was machined to details of the development of this new player unit. In very exacting star..-iards by Roland Kennard, an inde­ order to avoid missing any details, I will pass on the pendent mac!iinist and player enthusiast who, like the information just as I received it. The article as here Carty people, performed beyond the call of duty. printed was written by the office staff of the Universal The foot pump concept was an extension of Luther Player Piano Company, to whom I am indebted for the Joy's initial efforts. Iver Becklund engineered the bal­ information. ance between the foot pump, its reserve capacities and Universal Player Piano Company was started during the player stack. The combination of all the various the Summer of 1977 by Richard Carty, David Saphir, efforts and engineering produced a fine player Don Barr, and Al Grossman. Essentially, it continued mechanism. It was remarkably small. In order to dem­ (after a short lapse) the work of the American Player onstrate the potential worth of the mechanism, Luther Action Company. The concept of our player mechanism Joy placed it in a standard Knabe console piano. When had its roots in the Richard Carty organization. The Aeolian Corporation examined the Knabe player piano, Carty organization, owned by Richard Carty, has been in they, like everyone else, were truly amazed to see how the player piano restoration business since 1950. As part neatly the entire package went together. of their regular activities, they restore reproducing With the initial engineering basically completed, pianos, nickelodeons and orchestrions. Over the years, Dick Carty caused a partnership to be formed under the they have attracted the finest group of pneumatic in­ name of American Player Action Company, with the strument rebuilding talent available anywhere in the following named persons as its partners: Richard Carty, world. No small part of this wonder is related to Dick Joe Feenstra, Luther Joy, David Saphir, Donald Barr and Carty's philosophy of impeccable workmanship and Albert Grossman. The purpose of the partnership was to ­ service beyond the call of duty. One of Dick Carty's raise sufficient capital for the purpose of building a associates was Luther Joy, who for several years repaired test-run of fifty pianos for the purpose of proving the old player pianos. He became disenchanted with the feasibility of the system. The partners contracted with primitive and complicated concepts and toyed with the Aeolian Corporation for fifty studio pianos. Dick Carty idea of developing a no-nonsense player mechanism placed an independent order for eleven Nickelodeon which would be easy to build with present day technol­ cases. The pianos were delivered and in due course the ogy, trouble-free, no problem to service and tune. To this player mechanisms were built and installed. The first end, Luther Joy worked in the spool box area and even­ players were delivered on February 28, 1977. tually obtained a patent covering his work. As Luther Joy's interest in developing a new player was mounting, Just after the fifty player pianos were completed, the he interested Dick Carty in support of this development Carty organization pursued the construction of the ele­ project. To this end Dick Carty made his shop available ven Nickelodeons, which were eventually placed in for 'the project' and supplied both his own expertise and commercial establishments. The reliability of the Carty that of other of his personnel. 'The Project' began to Nickelodeon further confirmed that the basic stack de­ elicit interest among the personnel of the Carty organi­ sign, which was initially put into the player pianos and zation and much was contributed by them out of pure later into the Nickelodeons was virtually perfect and interest in the primary goal, i.e., to build the highest trouble-free. About one and one-half years after Univer­ quality, most trouble-free player piano, and easiest ser­ sal Piano Company commenced player production, vicable mechanism ever built. The transmission and many people who had seen the Carty Nickelodeon reversing mechanism was developed by Iver Becklund wondered if Universal would ever produce a Nick­ and was so unique that a patent was issued in the con­ elodeon. This idea was furthered and the first Nick­ nection. He also contributed greatly to the basic en­ elodeon was made by Universal and introduced at the gineering and design of the stack. Although the first NAMM Show at Disneyland in January, 1978. spool boxes were made largely of wooden parts, it was It can be said at this time that all of the parties always believed by the Carty organization that a metal involved learned a lot from the experience, which was spool box was truly the way to go. It would never change their only compensation for a sizeable financial loss. shape or 'come loose at the joints.' Mr. Carty's experi­ They realized that in order to succeed with a project of ence with old wooden stacks out of players built from this nature, better production techniques would be re­ the tum of the century to the 30's convinced him that if quired, as well as labor-saving tooling. A main purpose a stack could ever be built out of metal, it would be the of the venture was to prove to Aeolian Corporation that way to go inasmuch as the metal could not leak and the the concept of the player mechanism was viable and

0120 0 could be tremendously beneficial to them. Contractual and Campbell regarding a meeting to discuss the feasi­ arrangements were made with the partners whereby bility of their manufacturing player pianos for us. Don Aeolian Corporation would be licensed on a royalty Barr and Dick Carty visited the Kohler factory in basis to utilize the parts and engineering then owned by Hickory, North Carolina, and met with its powers that the partnership. The Aeolian Corporation exercised its be. The reception was lukewarm at best because a dozen option to cancel the contract and at the time, com­ years earlier, Kohler and Campbell had a bad experience mented that the new concept would be more costly than trying to produce and market a player piano. To dampen what they were using, and that the cost increase would our hopes, and yet be polite, Kohler and Campbell indi­ not be accepted by the consumer. cated that they would go along with us for an order of The partnership was in a quandry as to what to do 250 instruments. The number seemed absolutely from this point forward. It seemed as though no other monumental and the partners thoroughly discussed just piano manufacturers were interested in pursuing the how long it would take Dick Carty and David Saphir to project, and hence it was in limbo for several months. get rid of the pianos through their retail operation, and Don Barr interested Albert Grossman, his law partner, to their piano retailing acquaintances. The partners David Saphir and Dick Carty in taking another try and were quite cautious and concerned, but took the bold going into the player piano manufacturing business. step and ordered the pianos. The manufacturing was to be done under the direction Don Barr set about to develop the metal spool box of Don Barr, with some assistance from David Saphir. and make other design changes which would enable the Dick Carty was to lend his reputation and expertise to mechanisms to be reliably assembled with non-player the project and establish quality standards, etc. David experienced personnel. The development process has Saphir, a multi-store piano retailer, used his best efforts never really ended, and changes for the better are con­ to get a manufacturer to build pianos for the new com­ stantly being made and pursued. The story of success pany, which was to be called, 'Universal Piano Com­ from this point on is well known among everyone in the pany.' To this end, arrangements were made with Kohler field, from manufacturer to retailer.

Technicalities

White Keytop Replacement ting a thin layer on both the key and the key top. Push the keytop down between the cardstock "guides" and by Abti Peta;a push the keytop forward to get good contact on the front face of the key. Use a smooth block the shape of the front While key is in piano pry off old keytop and front and wide section of the key and clamp it down to the keybed old glue. Scrape and sand smooth. Sand surface of the with light C-clamp pressure. I used to use contact ce­ new one-piece keytop and front. File notch and sides of ment for this job, but with two glueline surfaces at 90° keytop to be the same width as the wood key. Wedge there is no easy way to insure good contact pressure on 3 x 5 card stock (.007" thick) in the spaces on both sides the vertical joint. The keytop would have to move for­ of the key for its entire length. Use the same number of ward and down approaching the key at a 45° "glide thicknesses on both sides. This forms a guide to put the angle" to make sure both horizontal and vertical joint new keytop exactly in the center of the key. I used a slow (surfaces) made contact at the same instant, a neat trick setting glue (3 to 4 hours) Duro "plastic Mender" put- that I didn't care to try.

o 121 0 Note: The first three parts of this series have appeared ing normal playing. If there are two reservoirs, the one in previous issues of the Bulletin within the Rolls and equipped with a cutout device for quick accents Music section. [another thing that rebuilders sometimes discard!) should be about % collapsed during normal playing, and the other reservoir should be in the same state during soft playing. In recovering a reservoir, there is a common tendency to use too much cloth; this is because the Getting the Most Out of Your 88-Note Rolls original cloth stretches over the years from the spring tension. A few makers used webbing inside to prevent Part 4 this from happening - a good example for rebuilders to follow. by Jeff Wood Pneumatic Roll Drive Motor - This component actually serves two important functions: one, obvi­ The concluding article of this series again stresses ously, is to drive the roll, and the other is to continually that if the best possible results are to be obtained in bleed air into the system so that quick accents may be rebuilding a player action, airtightness is not enough. obtained without too gradual a decrescendo following All components must, in addition, be constructed and them. The motor is, in effect, a device for metering the regulated to work together harmoniously, with friction flow of air through the governor. It must do this as and inefficiency reduced to an absolute minimum. accurately as possible; otherwise, tempo fluctuations­ some so subtle that they may not be recognized for what Pumping Bellows - Sometimes a simple thing like they are - will detract greatly from one's enjoyment, oiling the pedal bearings and mechanical linkage to the even to the point of making the instrumentseem harder bellows can make a noticeable difference in pumping to pump. To achieve proper results, each pneumatic in ease. But other potential difficulties are not so obvious. the motor must be covered with absolute uniformity. The inner flap valves are probably the most often ne­ Unfortunately, the variations that are typical of glected source of less-than-optimum performance. amateur work cannot' be tolerated here. Sticky and Their leather, althoughwell-preserved in contrast to the poorly mating slide valves are another source of trouble. outer flap valves, invariably has stiffened with age and Both valves and block may have become warped or in many cases was really too thick to begin with. If scored, in which case resurfacing is necessary. If the everything else were in perfect condition but the inner wood shows signs of being oily, it will have to be cleaned flap valves stiff, the efficiency of the action as a whole with a volatile solvent such as acetone or MEK and could be cut in half, with much energy absorbed as air re-graphited. Should the motor have ever been inten­ passes from reservoir to bellows and frustration result­ tionally oiled as a means of lubrication, this cleaning ing from trying to produce quick accents. The best re­ operation may have to be repeated every few weeks or placement leather is the type recommended for the months until all the oil has surfaced and been worked inner valve facings on Standard Pneumatic Action out. Oil on the crank-arms is a less detrimental prob­ stacks; even though this is considerably more expensive lem, but oil here tends to gradually migrate to where it than so-called "flap valve leather," it is well worth the shouldn't be. The Cable Company recommended "un­ difference in price. Oftentimes, a perfectly good set of salted beef tallow" for crank-arms, but modem silicone bellows will have to be recovered in order to gain proper lubricants make this recommendation ridiculous. access to the inner flap valves. This is particularly true of Aeolian actions, where stronger-than-usual valve Sustaining Pedal Device - This handy little gadget, springs, exceptionally thick leather and (in many in­ which not all players have, is known to gulp large struments) smaller-than-average holes for air passage, quanitities of air in its normal operation. Most of this compound the problem tremendously, giving actions by energy is spent needlessly because of the extreme dis­ this maker a reputation for being "hard pumping." Bel­ tance the pneumatic must collapse to cope with poorly lows of most makes generally have cardboard forms regulated dampers. glued to the inside of the cloth to keep it from "blowing Automatic Tracking - Most double-acting out" from the pressure generated as the bellows closes. pneumatic tracking devices were built with air passages The forms are not absolutely necessary for this purpose constricted at some point to prevent rapid operation and are commonly omitted by rebuilders. But since which not only wastes energy, but may cause the roll to their use does, in addition, contribute greatly to the ripple and extranotes to sound. Ifthese constrictions are "feel" and responsiveness of the action, the bellows­ absent or enlarged to compensate for leaks, the matter forms should be re-used or replaced. If a newly­ needs attention. recovered bellows doesn't like to close completely, the Miscellaneous -"Ifanything can go wrong, it will". outside creases should be moistened slightly and the There is no limit to the number of simple to extraordi­ bellows clamped tightly shut for several days. If this nary situations which can adversely affect the perfor­ doesn't solve the problem, age-weakened return springs mance of a player piano. Common sense is much more may need replacement. The strength of these springs desirable than vast quantities of theoretical knowledge. does not contribute to hard pumping, because it is natu­ Before rebuilding a stack that looks to be in good condi­ rally balanced by the weight of the legs and feet. tion, be certain that the reroll cutout valve is operating Reservoir - As illogical as it may seem, the fact is as it should. And so on. Be thorough, and at the same that weak reservoir springs make for hard pumping. time, know when to leave well enough alone. Generally Ideally, the reservoir should be about % collapsed dur- speaking, doing the job right takes only a little longer.

<> 122 <> Standard Pneumatic Action Company, 638 West S2nd Street, New York

cA Playerpiano - 'The Ideal Graduation Gift

Contributed by Dick Merchant ~ NeIL's 'rolO the Chapters ~

weather (with severe snow storms on Donner summit .­ SIERRA.NEVADA necessitating chains and long delaysJ had some influ­ ence on keeping our Nevada members by their own firesides, because none were there.

U Outing" at Oroville We arrived at the Dewey home at 1 p.m. and were shown about the house, which reflected David and Lin­ by Karen Locher da's diversified interests. They like anything from nostalgic steam-driven paraphernalia to modem com­ On Sunday, April 24, Sierra-Nevada Chapter mem­ puters, and we observed pictures of locomotives on the bers met in Oroville (for the first time) at the home of walls and enjoyed examining the old steamboat in the David and Linda Dewey. We always seem to mention garage, with its 1867 engine. Among the other interest­ the weather in our AMICA news articles, and the ing collectibles were two player pianos awaiting restora­ weather provided plenty of interest on this unpredicta­ tion in the garage (and one restored one in the living ble spring day, when April "showers" came down in room) and the couple's 1931 Model A Ford Coupe, which torrents, and nature even provided us with a brief but David is restoring and which, when started, sounded as furious hailstorm, drastic enough to make a complete smooth as a well-oiled sewing machine. coating of white on the ground in a very few minutes. We enjoyed a lovely potluck luncheon. The Deweys' Perhaps the weather and the distance kept some of little cockatoo was a colorful addition as he presided our AMICAns at home, for the total attendance, includ­ over all from atop his cage near the table. Alter lunch we ing guests Craig and Phyllis Dewey, was 13, compared to visited the shop where David works restoring vintage an average attendance of about 20. Undoubtedly the cars for an advanced collector. In various stages of repair

.,:;....-...... ,

Silverplating! Not on your tintype! Those lamps, the radiator The Chinese temple about400feet from the restoration shop. and everything else that looks plated on the car is solid silver.

!"

The old steam boat with its 1867 steam engine. Note the red Tapestry Hall inside the Chinese Temple. These two pictures smoke-stack between David Dewey eJ Doug Mahr. The third show only a small fraction of this very large and interesting person is Rick Simms. complex behind the main ternnl~. o 124 0 were the following cars, plus others: A 1927 Rolls Royce Roadster found in the Fall River-Burney area; A 1932 P-2 RoUs Royce from England; A 1929 Model A Ford; A Mercedes Star from the 1960's; A 1938 V-l2 RoUs Royce ../ built for a member of the House of Parliament, contain­ ing a very deluxe bar plus a stationery compartment; A 1937 V-l2 Phantom III Rolls which, unfortunately, had been rolled after having been beautifully restored, and a 1972 Jaguar. FolloWing the vintage car tour, we dashed through the downpour to a fabulous nearby building, one of three Chinese temples in California. It was fascinating to be conducted on a tour through the beautifully preserved sanctuary which had been erected when Oroville was mainly a Chinese community, with a population of about 12,000. We then toured the adjacent museum where we saw many beautiful objects of art donated by Gertrude Anderson, Betty De Bacher, Art Tarr. Chinese people and others - the list covers everything from exquisite temple banners to "candeliers," lac­ querware, bronzes, ivories, and wearing apparel, to pup­ pets from the operas performed at the Chinese theater in Oroville. No pictures could be taken because of security reasons, so we purchased the accompanying snapshots, Unfortunately, our own snapshots taken that day were . not very good. Those who missed our April 24 meeting missed a very interesting and pleasant day, Our thanks to Linda and David for making it fun to rememberI Our next meeting will be held Mayl1 at the Lochers' home in Auburn.

Andy Holocek playing Feurich piano. ROCKY MOUNTAIN

A "Piano Lesson" by Jere De Bac1t.er

Saturday afternoon, March 12th, brought fifteen of the Rocky Mountain Chapter AMICANs and their guests to Chris Finger Pianos in Niwot, Colorado. Our meeting format was educational, ~\her than entirely social, and we got right down to business shortly after 2 PM. \ First a little background on our host. ChJ;iS Finger is a man of many talents. He owns and operates the most complete piano remanufacturing facility in'"the region, which includes soundboard installation, pi'nblock in­ stallation, piano refinishing! and action rebuilding. Pete Levine, Gordon Krieg, Ray Dougherty. (Chris prefers the term remanufacture rather than re­ to ask./I The title of the lecture was suggested by Jere De build when describing his shop! as the term remanufac­ Backer, and is perhaps a little confUSing, but Chris was ture seems to more accurately describe the complete job able to sort it out and present an informative program that Chris and his technicians, Hank Lea and Steve for all. First, we talked about proper maintenance for a _. Coltrara perform.) Chris also is a Registered Craftsman piano. This included tuning and voicing, with informa­ in the Piano Technicians GUild, and a former music tion about how often it should be done, and why a piano educator. should be tuned. Chris explained that a soundboard is in The topic of our discussion was "What you always a continuous state of change, and that a piano goes out of wanted to know about your piano but didn't know how tune because the crown in the soundboard and bridges o 125 0 -:~

Chris Finger. Chris Finger, Gordon Krieg.

Ray Dougherty, Jere De Backer, Chris Finger, Gordon Krieg, Guest, Jere De Backer, Chris Finger, Pete Levine's son, Art Carol Musser, Art Tall. Reblitz, Ray Dougherty, Art Tall.

continually change due to the expansion and contrac­ tion. This is only one reason to regulate. Even brand new tion of the wood, caused by changes in temperature and pianos often need action regulation and certainly after humidity. being played a few years, they need re-regulation. Many people didn't realize that there are other rea­ But, I don't play so why should I spend money reg­ sons for tuninga piano other than to please the ear. Also, ulating the action was a question hypothetically raised what the tuner does, such as the four main steps in a fine by Chris, who then explained that the player tuning, pitching the piano, setting the temperment, mechanism can't play the piano any better than a tuning octaves, and tuning unisons, was news to many pianist is capable of playing it, so ... if the action ham­ of us. Chris demonstrated his work with tuning and pers the performer, it will also hamper the player voicing as he spoke, making the technicians work much mechanism. Did you ever try to get that Duo-Art to play less of a mystery. just a little softer, when you know that the mechanism But, isn't tuning enough? No, is the answer Chris is capable of it and the piano still misses notes, or else gave us. The good tuning pleases the ears, but does just keeps playing too loudly. It's likely that unless the nothing for the touch and feel. This lead us into the piano has been regulated recently, it just can't do it. Try topic of action regulation and hammer filing. Chris playing the same music by hand and see how soft you demonstrated the many intricate parts of the piano ac­ can get. tion, both grand and upright on action models from After an hour or so of seeing the inside of some various piano companies. Filing the hammers can add pianos, we had an opportunity to hear a fine pianist at life to the tone and sound of the piano when done well, work. Andrew Holecek, who is a CU student and sales­ as we saw with a narrow strip of sand paper. The felt on man at the piano shop demonstrated a fine Feurich hammers is in layers and peeling off the thinest layer of Piano from Germany. The craftsmanship in these in­ "dead" felt from the top even on a brand new piano can struments is breathtaking. Also, the cabinet woods a1'""""'" bring out amazing results. IUsually brightens and exotic, and the sound is out of this world. Chris had jm,. clarifies the sound.) When a hammer is reshaped (re­ returned from Germany where he visited both the stored to original shape) it can change the delicate rela­ Feurich and Grotrian piano factories. What an opportu­ tionships of the action parts, requiring action regula- nity! We hope to hear more about his trip and maybe see some slides at another date. <> 126 <> Resuming the meeting, the topic centered on when a one of the most exciting theatre organists today. Hector, piano should be rebuilt or remanufactured. The number a native of Buenos Aires, at the age of 5 was advanced of answers to this question are as many as there are enough in his music, that he took over the organ job of pianos; however one major judgement might be: what is his Dad. Most of the parishioners had no idea that the the standard of quality desired? Do you want your piano enhancing music of the Mass was provided by such a to be as good or better than new, or are you satisfied with young musician. ./ its present condition. Some basic criteria are age, un- With funds in the Olivera family very short, Hector's - tunability, or deterioration from climatic conditions or father worked at extra jobs to provide for lessons for his abuse. We looked at some newly installed soundboards, talented son. After years of saving money for a trip to the the white spruce shining, with just the right amount of "land of opportunity" Hector was finally able to reach crown, (Soundboards have a convex shape, called his dream of coming to the U.S. Upon his arrival in New crown.) It was easy to see the benefits that new wood York, he had only $1.49 left of his savings. brings. While in America, Hector "found" the theatre organ The time we had was shortto learn all about pianos, and the rest is history. Today Hector is acclaimed as one but Chris did a great job of sharing some of his knowl­ of the most talented and exciting organists of the theatre edge with us. There are many people who would like to organ. The concert in Denver was highlighted by selec­ learn more about the instruments they so highly prize, tions from Bach to Big Band sounds of the 40's, to con­ but do not realize the opportunities for doing so. A temporary selections. Hector is famed for his outstand­ booklet recently published, which is perfect for the be­ ing pedal work. His encore was "Flight of the Bumble ginner and I feel a must for all piano owners is called Bee" with the main melody entirely played on the pedal Your Piano etJ Your Piano Technician. It was written by board. This selection, which has become "Hector's Virgil E. Smith, and published by Kjos West, Neil A Kjos, song" was absolutely unbelievable and had everyone on Jr., Publisher, San Diego, California. Mr. Smith writes the edge of their seats in amazement. His final number this book with the best possible perspective, that of was a very moving "Battle Hymn Republic." piano teacher with Bachelor and Master of Music de­ grees and that of a registered Tuner Technician. He The fine instrument that made the evening possible - currently is chairman of the theory department and for both Hector and the audience is the twin console 4 teacher of piano and theory at Moody Bible Institute in Manual - 20 rank Wurlitzer. The organ was installed in Chicago. For several years he has serviced the p(anos at the theatre in 1930, and over the years fell into a state of Orchestra Hall and is in demand by the most dis­ disrepair. Seven years ago the mighty Wurlitzer was in criminating Chicago area pianists and visting artists. desperate need of restoration. A group of six men (my (Incidently, Chris Finger started his career as a piano dear husband, Don, at the helml. with love for the technician with Virgil Smith. Also,having met Mr. "Grand Lady Wurli," began laboring to restore her to her Smith personally and heard his lectures through the grand glory. After over 2,500 hours of this real labor of ---.---' Piano Technicians Guild, I can highly recommend his love, the lady now stands in full glory for all to enjoy. book.) The Paramount Wurlitzer organ is now considered to be one of the finest instruments in the U.S. and her reputa­ Another avenue which AMICAns are not generally tion has only just begun. familiar with is the Piano Technicians Guild. The Guild has an associate membership for people such as our­ We would invite all to come hear this magnificent selves, who are not interested in learning to tune, but instrument when in Denver, and go see and hear Hector who need more information to properly care for the when he is in your neighborhood. instruments they already have.' If you are interested, write to the P.T.G., 113 Dexter Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109. Even if you're not in an area with an active local chapter, you will get the publications which con­ tain lots of useful information. Our Rocky Mountain Chapter is fortunate to have such a complete shop in the area, and we thank Chris for his efforts in the community and with AMICA to shed more light on our hobby. If you'd like to contact Chris Finger, he may be reached at P.O. Box 623, Niwot, CO 80544.

Hector and the Lady by Owanah Wick

On Saturday evening, April 16, approximately 12 members of AMICA gathered at Denver's historic Paramount Theatre for a rousing concert on the Mighty ,---,,' Wurlitzer pipe organ presented by Hector Olivera. The concert was sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society. For t~ose of you who have not heard of Hector, let me introduce you to o 127 0 SOWNY

March Meeting ,-. by Fred Buchwald

"Shaking off the winter blahs", was the theme of the AMICA meeting held at the home of Mike and Holly Walter. Their home is set against a cornice of trees in historic North Tonawanda. North Tonawanda was the capitol of automatic mus­ ical instruments back in their golden days. Rudolph Wurlitzer lived and built his first factory there - along with Allen Hershall (famous for his carousels sold world-wide). Today, the Hershall plant exists only as a Bill McCleary, Rich Drewniak, Walter Pinchin, Stan Al­ building and the one-time sumptuous Wurlitzer plant dridge, Harold Hodgkins. and estate has been turned into an industrial park. But still the memory of these giants of the music industry still exists in the hearts of AMICA members. Mike and Holly have an impressive collection of instruments including: a Chickering 5'6" Ampico grand, a Beckwith 1918 upright player, a Stoddard 191? Ampico upright, "Heinz 57" pipe organ and a 1936 Wur­ litzer juke box.

~!!. 'f

Carl Guhlow at the Chickering.

Approximately 30 members were present including 10 of our Canadian constituents. The meeting began, and a tentative trip to Vestal, New York was planned for the first week of June. A member of the Carousel Society· explained some of their club's activities and encouraged new memberships. After the meeting, an excellent and tasty buffet was Mike Walter, lim Brewer, leff Depp, lohn Perry, Carl Guhlow. served and members had the chance to enjoy Mike and Holly's large collection of Ampico rolls and to explore the subterranian chambers of the "Heinz 57" pipe organ, which Mike is presently restoring.

F-- I

Guest, Edith Aldridge, Esther Pinchin, Muriel Hodgkins. 10 TB INTERNATIDNAL CDNVENTIDN

o 128 0 PHILADELPHIA AREA

Rx for a Dismal Afternoon by Barbara Macartney

The weather was soggy here in the Delaware Valley on April 10. About 20 of us met at Dr. Len & Debbie Wert's 'Emporium of Old Tinklies' in Lansdowne. Chat­ ted and chewed on those heavenly brownies and, to top that, there was an open bar downstairs. We went from room to room, viewing their extensive collection of everything from beer steins (which don't playa single note) to a raucous band organ in the garage - what a happy sound! There is something for everyone at the Werts'. With President Rosencrans, we discussed future meeting sites and ideas to spark chapter enthusiasm. Bill Kromer is checking details for a group trip to two shore points in late August. One of our guests on this misty afternoon was Robert Eskind, director of the Port of History Museum Vice president Barbara Macartney, president Bob Rosencrans. in Philadelphia. To promote public interest in the

"--,../

"-' - j ...... Len and Debbie Wert, our hosts. Group admiring band organ in garage.

lay Albert displaying his talent. Robert Eskind, lay Albert, new member. <> 129 <> Dupre Rolls Query by Phil Bordeleau

I was interested in seeing the Marcel Dupre reviewy'"­ project Emmett Ford is undertaking. Being an organist and an AMICAn gives me a special interest in this. If anyone has an organ and rolls of Dupre, I would like to secure cassette tapes of them. Any costs in such a ven­ ture I would be willing to reimburse. If you are in a position to do this, please write. Phil Bordeleau 216 Fry #6 Denton, TX 76201

A group of chow hounds! Friends of H. C. Bay museum, he has invited us to display some of our musi­ by Vernon Brown cal instruments. Such a presentation would also pro­ mote our activities as well. This display is planned for Some time ago I requested information from AMI­ some time in the early Fall. CAns who owned H. C. Bay pianos in the hope of prepar­ As the meeting came to a close, Doc treated us with a ing an article for the Bulletin. Only a few people dose of his own medicine - a mini recital on his theatre responded, unfortunately, and there was not enough organ. All in all, a most unusual collection (where else data for an article. I have since located a former em­ could one find a harp on the stair landing)? ployee of the company in Bluffton, Indiana, where the pianos were actually made (though the plates have Our June gathering will be hosted at the home of Jim Chicago, Ill. Iand have gleaned a little information from Chadwick. public libraries and publications. Recently I have been corresponding with the granddaughter of H. C. Bay in Glenview, Illinois. She has, coincidentally, also been collecting material and expects to publish a book oI}~ H. C. Bay and the piano company he founded. I have no,"", turned over to her the material I've collected thus far. If and when the book is published, I'll see that a notice or ~ review or summary or whatever appears in the Bulletin. If there are now other AMICAns with H. C. Bay pianos or information concerning the company, I hope they will write to me and I will forward to his granddaughter. Of particular importance are the piano serial number," player serial number, additional names (Meldorf, Solo Concerto, and the like), and date of manufacture, if The ForuJR known.

Update on 3M Repositionable Tape by Tom Olds

In the December 1981 AMICA News Bulletin I had an article pertaining to a new tape that I think will work fine on player piano roll repair. Rolls that I repaired two years ago are holding just fine. I have been informed by 3M company that this tape is available west of Denver. It is being sold in art supply stores. 3M has kept it in the frosted or clear color and sell it in 3,4" width. It is called repositionable tape #281. o They also said it will be available in the rest of the country in two to three months (June or July). Try it - you might like it.

o 130 0 Leonard A. Helman: P.O. Box 182, Santa Fe, NM 87501,505­ NEW MEMBERS 988-5132, 505-827-6954. Referred by Les Conover. Rabbi/ Attorney. 1978 Universal Gay 90's PIr.

Nick Margaritas: 5631 Balto National Pike, Baltimore, MD Craig Remmen: 131 25th S.w., Mason City, IA 50401. 515­ 21228,301-788-4589,301-747-0200. Piano Sales & Service, R3. 424-3677. Referred by Terry Goepel. Printer. 1911 Reed & Son _; 1929 Chickering 5'8" Ampico B. Upr.

Gottfried N. Bredin: 836 Haney Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3R OY8, CANADA, 204-889-8694. Phonograph Collection.

Thomas J. McWay, III: 2335 Meadowlark, San Pablo, CA CHANGE OF ADDRESS 94806, 415-724-6152, 415-877-5001. Airlines Service Agent, R1. 1921 Andrew Kohler Upr Reproducer. Robert Cobb Walter R. Murbach: Kraebelistrasse 13, Baden, SWITZER­ P.O. Box 25969 LAND 5400, 056-225341. Referred by Peter Kaiser, Frank Chicago, IL 60625-0969 Adams. UL Inspector, R2. 1927 Weber Upr Duo-Art; 1902 312-728-7440 Aeolian 65/58-notes Vorsetzer; 1926 Tom Thumb Upr Rec­ Gib Petzke ordo; 1927 Hupfeld Upr Phonoliszt (dual-roll); 1928 Hupfeld Alden Stockebrand Upr Phonoliszt (6-roll Changer); Misc. Phono, Clock. 3740 N. Lake Shore Drive Apartment 9A Thomas 1'. Spry: 530 So. Wilke Road, Palatine, IL 60067, Chicago, IL 60613 312-255-SPRY, 312-644-9245. Referred by Eugene Skarda. Herman H. Hartman Mfrs. Rep./Interior Design, R1, Chicago Chapter. 1927 Weber P.O. Box 956 5'8" Duo-Art; 1920 Marshall & Wendell Upr Marque Ampico; Redwood City, CA 94064 1920 Kranich and Bach 6'5". Richard & Lily Hughes Jon A. Cookston: 7222 Walnut Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84121, 1134 King Street Redwood City, CA 94061 801-942-0286. Referred by 1. L. Cordell. M. Schultz Upr PIri Amphion Upr Plr. 415-365-3001 E. G. Schiller James &. Virginia Waynick: 1309 Richardson Drive, 7349 Coldwater Canyon Avenue Reidsville, NC 27320, 919-342-5854. Referred by Dorothy No. Hollywood, CA 91605 J Bromage. Retired Elect. Engineer. R1. 1982 Tangley CA-43 213-765-0516 Homebrew Model. Francis Cherney 10442 Pompano Court Gordon &. Bonnie Back: 4611 N.E. 122nd Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98662, 206-892-6851, 206-892-7616. Referred by Harvey Cypress, CA 90630 Roehl. Projectionist. 1921 Ellington Upr pIr Manualo. Derwood Cable P.O. Box 91551 Frederick N. Buchwald: 39 Ellwood Avenue, Kenmore, NY Los Angeles, CA 90009 14223, 716-833-8017, 716-893-0350. Referred by SONY Chap­ ter. Indust. Arts Teacher, R1. 1929 Fischer 5'4" Ampico; 1926 Kurtzman Upr PIr Std; Misc. Pump Organs; Juke Bokes.

Norman Buckley: 'Four Roods', Green Lane, Doncaster, West Yorkshire, England. Referred by Northwest Player Piano As­ CLASSIFIED sociation. FOR SALE Daniel W. Harbaugh: 8218 Braniff Street, Houston, TX 77061, PLAY-RITE: QRS and Klavier rolls: 35% discount for small minimum 713-643-5006. Referred by L. E. Railsback. Consulting Engr., quantities. Catalogs 25¢ each for postage. For price list write Vintage R1, C1920 Wurlitzer BX Orchestion; Cl920 Wurlitzer Style I Piano Workshop, 208 Dartmouth Dr., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106. Nick Piano. QRS ROLLS. Up to 40% discount. "Cheaper by the dozen" specials. Kenneth K. Haury: 1207 Ranch Road, McPherson, KS 67460, Send for free QRS catalog and price list. Baley's, 310 Grandview, 316-241-1054. Referred by Emmett Ford. 1919 Baldwin Upr Kalamazoo, Mi. 49001. ~odello; 1920 Gulbransen Upr Plr. "NEW! We now distribute QRS and Playright rolls. Baker's Dozen Daniel Horenberger: 729 Mission Street, S. Pasadena, CA Special! For free catalogs write: Baley's, 310 Grandview, Kalamazoo, MI49001." 91030,213-682-3557. Referred by Richard Rigg. FOR SALE: Bechstein-Welte 7' Ebony Grand. Reconditioned 1964. Near perfect. Call or write D. Lachmund. (213) 665-8767, 1921 N. Ken­ more, Los Angeles, CA 90027. FOR SALE: Weber Duo-Art Upright1924. Completely restored $5000. FOR SALE: Chickering 5'4" Ampico B grand 1930 Sheraton art case, Henry Bruning, (203) 484-9982. Ampico playing, with matching bench, $6,500.00. Also Weber Duo-Art grand stack, un restored 21-21-21-17, $250.00, and major components FOR SALE: 1923 Haines Brothers Ampico Grand 5'4" model A, nice from 1919 Weber Duo-Art upright, including expression box, upper finish. Was playing three years ago. I need room. Will sell for action, loud, soft pedal pneumatics, other controls, all for $450.oo~ $3,500.00. M. H. Cooperman, 9 Bronson, Place, Toledo, Ohio 43608 Write to Bill Koenigsberg, 77 High Pine Circle, Concord, MA 01742, or (419) 244-0170. call (617) 369-8523.

FOR SALE: Seeburg X Expression (coin-operated) Piano; Fully Re­ FOR SALE: Knabe-Ampico, Parlor Grand Piano with electric player, stored; 65 rolls (including 20 multi-tune); $5,800.00. Bopp, 3115 BGE-lXV style, originally purchased1928. Black walnut finish, Cabriole McClelland, joplin, Mo. 64801, (417) 782-1199 evening. legs with carved roses at knees. Player compartment slides from unaer keyboard. 6'5" long. Ser. #103371. Pneumatics need some work, FOR SALE: 1924 Steinway Duo-Art grand in walnut; XR-216729. Re­ otherwise excellent condition. Asking $9,000.00 Edward Sterling, (415) strung, new hammers, original ivories, correct bench, good finish. ­ 376-2107, San Francisco area. Plays. located in Minneapolis, Minn. $8,900.00 or trade for piano, Packard, or classic car. Complete restoration available. Write: Knabe ANSWER to "Who is this Person?": Robert Armbruster, Duo-Art roll Investments, Inc., Box 651, Crowley, TX 76036. artist. Contributed by Emmett Ford.

FOR SALE: Mahogany Upright Knabe-Ampico player piano. 54"h ­ FOR SALE: Hallett Davis Angelus Grand 5'2" with rolls $1,500. 62"w - 30"d. just tuned. Completely restored and refinished with Wheelock Upright Duo-Art $950. Both very good original condition. matching bench. Als01ooAmpico rolls. $6000 - formerly Mission Music David Swanger (704) 327-2181 after 6 p.m. Co., s.F. Audrey Behymer, (415) 826-0345. FOR SALE: Enjoy your rolls more with original sheet music. Huge FOR SALE: Extremely rare 1928 Brinkerhoff3'8" miniature reproducing archive! Giant list $3.00. Also purchase, Search Service, McCall, 50 grand. Completely and professionally restored. 73 note keyboard, Grove, New York, NY 10014. plays recordo or standard 88 note rolls. Earnest persons requesting further details, please phone or write Super Tuners, 2017 Glen Una, . WANTED San jose, CA 95125. (408) 264-9700 or 265-0777. WANTED: Hohner roll playing accordian. large collections of original FOR SALE: Steinway-Welte grand, 1916 German made RED roll player mechanical music literature. Dick Howe, 9318 Wickford, Houston, TX in a 6'8" case of Thuja wood veneer which is inlaid. About150 rolls go 77024 (713) 680-9945. with it and a separate modern pump. ALSO - Aeolian-Skinner-Duo-Art player pipe organ with 47 rolls. Organ restored by professional. Player NEED MANY COLUMBIA, Capitol and Supertone 88-note rolls (in­ unrestored but working. 7'12 ranks built to fit into an 8 by10 by 7'12 foot cluding rolls on related labels: American, Broadway, Cecile, Red Seal, area. You may hear and play both by appointment also video available. Starck, Sterling and Synchronized). Waltzes and marches are worth $5 ALSO - Welte Licensee vorsetzer (you read right) - Aeolian-Hammand to me, for trots $10, blues $15, or will trade instead. Also want mo~ ~ player organ with bench and recent leslie speaker, organ works, player Columbia and Capitol A rolls. Mike Montgomery, 17601 Corneli. needs restoration, Steck 5'2" Duo-Art piano. Was restored years ago is Southfield, MI 48075. presently disassembled - priced right. All items in upstate New York but you call Carl Hillyer, 3202F Myra Street, Durham, NC 27707, (919) 489-0892.

~JI~~ )]1JI~\ ~JI~\ PJI~\ PJI~\ ~JI~\ ~ AMICA ITEMS FOR SALE

AMICA STATIONERY: $3.50 (letter size). ROLL LEADERS: DUO-ART, AMPICO and $3.20 (note size), including mailing WELTE. Excellent replicas. For order infor­ charges. Fine quality stationery with or­ mation, see mailing cover of jan/Feb 1983 nate AMICA borders. Each packet contains Bulletin. Send orders to Terry Smythe, 547 25 letters and matching envelopes. Send Waterloo Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, orders to: Dorothy Bromage, P.O. Box 387, Canada R3N 0T2, (204) 452-2180. Shipment la Habra, CA 90631. of leaders is from Southern California. AMICA TECHNICALITIES BOOKS: AMICA BULLETINS, BOUND ISSUES: Volume I (1969-1971), $9.50 postpaid 1971, 1972, 1973 bound sets at $15 each Volume II (1972-1974), $7.50 postpaid set. 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 Volume III (1975-1977), $8.50 postpaid bound sets at $18 each set. 1981 and 1982 Volume IV (1978-1980), $6.50 postpaid bound sets at $21 each set. PRICES IN­ Reprints of interesting technical articles CLUDE POSTAGE AND HANDLING. Spiral which have appeared in the AMICA News bound to lie flat. Send orders to Mary Lilien, 4260 Olympiad Dr., los Angeles, CA 90043. Bulletin, arranged and indexed into appro­ ~ priate categories. Send orders to: Richard D. Reutlinger, 824 Grove St., San Francisco, PLEASE MAKE ALL CHECKS PAYABLE TO CA 94117. AMICA INTERNATIONAL Proud of Your Instrument? Have it Restored by Experts. ~ Alr,(),~ Here is what the Piano Workshop Does: "'\ Specialize in rebuilding all types of player pianos ~J~~~"'~21~ ~ and other automatic musical instruments Restring, rescale and repin instruments

Replace pin blocks, soundboards, hammers and other THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER OF THE action parts AMERICAN THEATRE ORGAN SOCIETY (ATOS). INVITES YOU TO THE ONLY PUBLIC CONCERTS Regulate piano action to proper specifications OF THE 28th ANNUAL NATIONAL CONVENTION IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA. Hand rubbed refinishing At the console of the Oakland Paramount's 4 Manual, Restore antiques 27 Rank (4/27) WURLITZER Theatre Pipe Organ we are proud to present: Over 20 years research and development in rebuilding pianos L"'~ LA~SI:~ Friday July 1, 1983 Piano keys recovered, sharps &.. naturals 8:30-10:30 PM Send all or part of your instrument for proper Tt1()MS()~ restorations. I3ILL Sunday July 3, 1983 PIANO WORKSHOP 8:30-10:30 PM 3166 W. 33 St. Ph. 216-631-1777 Doors open at 7:45 PM Cleveland, Ohio 44109 24 hr. answering serv. Both artists are internationally known for their excellent performances on theatre pipe and elec­ tronic organs. It is a rare treat to have both of these fine musicians at the Paramount Wurlitzer for this convention and your enjoyment. Don't miss this opportunity to hear both of them and this fabulous .... instrument. j VIDEOCASSETTES TICI\I:.T J>12ICI:. $8.50 for all seating at VHS or Beta 2 each performance. Name _ 1. Philadelphia Convention 2. Pasadena Convention Address _ *3. San Francisco Convention City ______State Zip _ 4. Dayton Convention 5. Buffalo/Texas Convention Day Phone *6. They all laughed ... Please send me: 7. Interview with Dr. Mana-Zucca ____ Tickets for L"'~ LAl2ir:~ 8. Shura Cherkassky Interview ____ Tickets for UILL Tt1()Mi()~ 9. A Potpourri of Performance 10. Covering Pneumatics Total Amount: 11. Recovering Organ Regulators o Check enclosed, payable to the Paramount 12. Rebuilding Duo-Art Valves Theatre. 13. Regulating the Duo-Art o Visa o Master Card # * Also available on Super 8, rental only. Exp. Date _ For rental or purchase information write to: Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope Howie Koff and mail to Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oak­ 4271 North First Street #1 land, CA 94612. Tickets are also available at BASS San Jose, CA 95134 and other leading agencies. For further information, charge-by-phone and group sales, call the Para­ mount Box Office: (415) 465-6400. "'\ -~~AMICA1~ For complete convention information and application -~,~- to join ATOS and the NOR-CAL Chapter, write or call Isaleen Nadalett, 3360 Georgetown Place, Santa Clara, CA 95051 or call (408) 248-4153. THE r;::===MUSICAL MUSEUM ===~ 1983! The International Council of Museums (ICOM) has arranged - since their last conference here 40 years ago - their triennial Conference at the Barbi­ can Centre, London. 1983 is also our 20th year here in this old church. We hope to greet some of the 2000 or so delegates here from C1MClM (the Musical Instru­ ment Section of ICOM.) Special features: Exhibition of photographs; Concert List available; 10 re-enacting piano systems; Pianos playing from rolls recorded by famous pianists; 3 reproducing pipe organs played by Max Reger, Mar­ cel Dupre, Jesse Crawford, etc.

Come and hear them - not through a loudspeaker­ but ON the instrument! Summer weekend after­ noons, in London. 2 to 5 pm. In the church, by Kew Bridge.

[g525i!5252252522S'25252!:i252.525i'.52525i!5252S<52522S'25252!:i252.~ , omnimedia ft. ~1 productions'~ BROADMOORE AUTOMATIC I ~8~ INSTRUMENT RESTORATIONS ~ Restoration of orchestrions and reproducing pianos m TECHNICAL DATA SERIES our specialty. ~ Finest materials used. 1. Covering Pneumatics "Each part is treated as the most important 2. Recovering Organ Regulators part in the machine~" 3. Rebuilding Duo-Art Valves 4. Regulating the Duo-Art We are authorities on authenticity. ~ Prices of restoration vary according to the grade of VHS or BETA 2 ••• $39.95 each work you select - from "Excellent" to "Perfect." No trade secrets - we will gladly discuss procedures order send check or money order to: thoroughly with any customer. OMNIMEDIA 16 years experience P.O. Box 1266 references proudly given upon request. Mountain View, CA 94042 Laurence Broadmoore, Owner 1709 "c" First St. I California residents please add sales tax. All orders are ~ San Fernando, CA 91340 shipped postpaid. Special videocassette formats are available on request. ~~ ~j