1...- THE--...MIICA NEWS BULLETIN..... 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 readersof 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 AM ICA 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 Sketches of Artists and Composers *Photographs, Old Advertisements *Technical Information * Anything elseof general interest to AM ICA

Advertisements: Personal ads are accepted by the AMICA Bulletin Board. Businesses which are interested in placing ads must follow these rules: - Each ad will consist of one full standard page in the bulletin. - 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 standards or if complaints are received indicating that said business does not servethe best interests of the members of AM ICA, according to its goals and 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, CaHfornia 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 AUCTION TECHN ICALITIES Gar Britten, Auctioneer John A. Patten, Editor 642 Diamond Street 601 Penn Street San Francisco, California Pasadena, California 91104 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 2

OUR NEXT MEETING BOARD MINUTES

September 10, 1971 San Frane1sco, California DATE: Saturday, October 30 8:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 by Frank Loob, ~E: Hr. & Mrs. Walter Jones President. Attending were: Frank Loob, Mel Luchetti, Bob 21 Mercedes Way, S.F. Whiteley, Dick Reutlinger, Ginny Billings, and Roger PLACE: Detai 1s in September Bulletin Johnson. The Treasurer was authorized to pay for gifts for the recent visits of honorary members, and the prlnting of a membership brochure was discussed and authorized. CORRECTION OF MISSING ADDRESS The Whiteleys volunteered to draft a tentative budget for 1972. They will submit it to the October meeting. Last issue we mentioned lots of people who are engaged Ginny Billings brought up the subject of bound 1971 in various aspects of the player' piano field. One Bulletins. No action was taken pending an indication by member', Gr'ace FPiar, is not yet ehaon on the member'ship members of the number of books that will be wanted. list. Her' addseee is: Moving the date of publication back half a month to Musical Notes allow a time margin because of mailing problems was 12 Gr'afton StNet discussed. Ginny will change her deadlines from the GzteenlQbJn~ Ne'lAJ York 11740. first of the month to the 15th of the preceed1ng month. The by-laws were reviewed, changed in part, and ac­ r r r r r r r r r t r t r r t r r r t t cepted by the board. They will be presented at the SPECIAL SAN FRANCISCO MEETING: October meeting. Copies will be sent to local members URSULA DIETRICH-HOLUNSHEAD FEATURED prior to that time, with a letter of explanation. by Bill Knorp The meeting, which was held at the home of Dick On Sunday afternoon, September 4th, we held a special Reutlinger, adjourned at 11:00 p.m. meeting at Portcullis featuring pianist-composer Ursula Dietrich-Hollinshead in person and on her rolls. Mrs. ''''''ll'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Dietrich-Hollinshead flew up from San Antonio and played a fine program for us, including some of her own compo­ sitions and one by Sibelius. The program Lnc.Luded s 1969 .. 1970 BOUND BULLETINS: ORDER QUICKLY - SUPPLY DWINDLING Echo d'Amour Dietrich-Hollinshead Romance, Ope 24, No.9 Sibelius Ecstasy Dietrich-Hollinshead Welre running out of stock on our beautiful 1969-1970 Sandman Frolics Dietrich-Hollinshead bound Bulletins. If you are thinking of ordering a com­ lete bound set, don't delay! We are almost out of some Her playing was very much appreciated by the group. months, and there are no plans at the present time to The last piece, "Sandman Frolics," a Novelty Piano Solo, reprint them. We have enough copies of all months to was published in 1928 by the Mills Music Co., Inc., and bind about 10 more copies of the complete series,so it made a tremendous hit. Unfortunately there is no send your $15 soon to Bob Whiteley, Treasurer. known recording, but many members requested the sheet music xeroxed. The musical program also included Recordo rolls brought by the Billings and played by tape, and 1971 BOUND BULLETINS: Ampico rolls sent up for the meeting from Southern ORDERS NEEDED NOW California, all composed or played by Ursula Dietrich­ If you would like a copy of the bound edition of the Hollinshead. Included was the fine "Valcik" by Makrejs 1971 AHICA Bulletins, please write this month to Ginny and "Venitienne, Fourth Barcarolle" by Godard, and some Bill ings, Pub1ishe r , and 1et her know the number of played by Lee S. Roberts, who was a good friend of copies you will want. Whether or not we will offer this Ursula's and whose "Moon Dreams," "Toujours a Moi" were year's Bulletins in bound form depends on your wants -­ much admired by her. i f enough peop 1e exp ressinteres t in them, weI 11 fee1 After the program Jarod Clark served his now famous free to commit ourselves to the initial expenses of ob­ punch, and excellent pastries, and Ursula autographed taining materials and printing the covers. rolls she had recorded for Art Apollo, Recordo, Ampico What are they like? Like the 1969-1970 bound set, and Duo-Art. She received many compliments on her there wi 11 be a printed cover, a sturdy backing,' a front playing and her fine speech, which was of great interest protective mylar covering, and a tough spiral binding to AMlCAns. We couldn't believe' she gave up the piano that permits easy turning of pages. They are both entirely for 20 years so that she could give full time, attractive and practical, and we've received many favor­ as a realtor, to her own business. able comments on them. The meeting was a great success and gave great The 1971 Bulletins are double the size of the 1970 pleasure to the group who attended. We hope to plan issues, and triple that of 19691 For that reason, the more meetings featuring Ursula Dietrich-Hollinsheadl price per set of the 1971 Bound Bulletin Sets will be fPictuNs of the I>letnoh-Hollinshsad and Bingaman $15.00. Reserve your set now, but send no money, please. Smith concezets lUill, appeazt in a f'UtuN 1,8S148. --GB) #%%#%%#%%#%%#%%#%%# HHHHHHHHHHHHHBHHHHHH 3 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

ROGER JOHNSON WILL HOST NOVEMBER AMICA: INTRODUCING 3-in-I GRAND AND ROLLPERFORATOR

The November meeting of the Founding Chapter of AMICA and was gratefully purchased in the f a l l of 1958. This wil I be held Saturday, November 27th at the home of Roger piano now belongs to Horace Hayes and was enjoyed dail y John son, 6380 Wisteria Way, San Jose, California . until 1970 when Roger purchased his present Masen & Directions: take Freeway #280 to Wolfe Road exit. Follow Hamlin in San Francisco. Wolfe Road for 2 miles southwest , toward the Santa Cruz The Mason & Hamlin unfortunately had not received t he mounta i ns . During this time Wolfe has become Miller loving care that had been bestowed upon the Knabe. The Ave nue , so continue on Miller to Wisteria Way. Turn Ampico mechanism had been stripped and discarded and the r ight abou t eight homes and 6380 will be on the left. piano had seen days behind a bar, receiving dousings of Roge r is a native of Oregon and did not acquire ex­ unknown liquids, insertion of microphone and light pos ur e to mechanical music until the mid-fifties while mountings in the case, and bearing numerous gouges and att end i ng Oregon State College. There they had a Whee­ scratches. With the expert craftsmansh ip of Lar ry Mangus , lock 65-note AEolian upright with a large collection of and professional refinishing, it today g ives ne indi ­ ro l l s in t he Student Union Building. The rolls were cation of its past. Although it was not poss ible to se­ ma i nt a i ned in a checkout I ibrary, along with ping-pong cure a complete Ampico mechanism from a 7' Mason & bal ls, pool cues, and swim suits. Although it took con­ Hamlin, late-A parts were found. The stack was made f rom siderable red tape to secure possession of a roll for a late Ampico upright stack combined with flanges, lost t he piano, it seemed worth the effort at the time and motion pneumati cs , and primaries from a smal ler late-A he admits to never being quite the same since that time. grand stack. Since the Mason & Hamlin is strung in five This interest evolved into a project that evoked great sections it is wider than any other reproducing grand consternation to worr ied parents, who in 1957 found a and no conventional stack will fit it. Thanks are dUe Simplex player action being installed in their prized Nelson Barden, Larry Mangus, Doug Hickling , Mel Luche t t i Baldwin Acrosonic spinet. After grimacing during the and Bill Hunter for generously helping to prov i de t he drilling of a hole in the back of each key, when the necessary parts. After two years' work and t he bui ld ing instrument began to play they alleged that it really of several aux iliary expression devices, th e in s t r ument wasn't too bad after all. And it wasn't . With completely now gives full fidelity performances of Ampico A, Amp i co variable and uniform tempo, it proved better than the B, and Duo-Art recordings. phonograph for dancing of the Fox Trot. In 1963, Roger began work on a roll pe rforator wh i ch In searching for rolls for the Acrosonic, reproducing makes 1 to I copies of Ampico rolls. Comp leted in 1966 , rolls kept appearing on the scene and stimulated inter­ this machine has made several hundred copies on a cus tom est in the possibil ity of something better than the basis , although from a volume standpoint i t is too in­ standard 88-note player. At that time there we re no efficient to be considered a production perforator. operating re produc i ng pianos in the Portland area . It Pending its dec ision to be cooperative, its ope ra tion was nearly impossible to find even a person in the wi l I be demonst rated at the meet ing. Since the meet ing business that had ever heard one. However, Collins and is scheduled during the Thanksgiving hoI ida y weekend, Erwin Co. in late 1958 took on consignment the 1927 a hearty i nvi t a t ion is extended to members outside t he 5' 8-1/2" Knabe which they had originally sold in 1927. Bay Area, local members, and guests. Having had excellent care, the piano was still like new

Roger Johnson ' s ? ' Maso n & Ham l- in Ampiao A, B, and Duo-Art. Not e out s i de pump -- no r oom in the piano f or it as it if fuZZ of tubing and par t s ! Plays bot h types of rol l s verywell..•a beautiful instrument! THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 4

SOUTHERlJ CALIFORNI A AUGUST 12 MEETING at t he home of Ce ci. l: Dover . See next page f or Karl Petersen 's arti ele aon­ aerning t his event. Photos by AMICA Repor t er (So . Cal.) Karl Petersen .

TOP : George Coade (oente») and Riahard Riley (to his right) en joy Ce ai L's hospitaUty al.onq wi th other AMICAns . CENTER: Ceci.l: Dover puts a ro l- l: on hi s Maso n & Ham l.in Ampiao A during the eonoert: at his home. BOTTOM: Anita Niake ls (aenter) i n her attraative aostume from her reaent trip to Bavaria. 5 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

9-1/2' STEINWAY AMPICOTO PLAY AT SOUTHERN CALIFORN IA OCTO BER MEETING

Initi al testing, us i ng vaauwn cleaner as a t rial pump , of Sam Thompson 's 9-1 / 2 ' Ste i nway Ampi-eo A.

Clare Spencer worki ng on SClTa Thomp son 's Steinway/Ampico. Note Ampico t racker bar i n Duo-Ar t spoo l box , Duo- Art: cont ro ls are r etained. The Duo-Ar t air motor i s used but not mounted when this pict ure was taken . Sam Thompson i s the hos t of the October Southern California meeting.

t entional l y i t had been inopera tive, but aft e r much coaxing, Ceci l f i nal l y convi nced hi s father t hat the sit ua t i on could be r emedi e d by putt ing t he V be l t b ack onto t he pump an d mo t or pu l l eys . The interest turned to des i r e , if not obs ession , and finally an oppor t uni ty to acquire an upri ght Estey fo ot pumped playe r pr es ent e d itself--not wi t ho ut complica­ t i ons , howeve r . The money which had been s ave d fo r hi s f i r s t year ' s tui t i on at Choui nard Art Ins t i tute j us t wouldn't s t r e tch f or a player piano as well . Fortunat el y a scholarship kept Cecil from be i ng a pl aye r pi ano dropout. A f riend tol d Cecil of a cache of piano rol l s whi ch a l l turned out to be full of ext r a holes whi ch seriously affected the music, They were all of t he s ame unkn own "Ampico" b r and . It took three year s to f i nd out that those rolls were f or a reproducing piano . Then he f ound out what a r eproduci ng pi ano was. With education and Army ser vice f i nally out of the way , the goal of acquir ing a reproducing piano once again occupied his attention. The goal was gi ven a strong boost when Ed , upon hearing his fi r s t repr oducer , decided to push Cecil to purchase t he completely rebuilt restored and r e f i ni s he d Mas on & Haml i n model A gr and from Bernar d Comsky ' s . The piano now occupi es a promi­ nent spot in bot h Cecil and Ed 's home an d life. The nearl y ten yea r s that e l apsed be twe en the SOUTHERNCALIF ORNIA AUGUST MEETI NG acqui s i tion of the upright player an d t he Ampico saw by Karl Pe tersen many f r us trated attempts to make f r i ends wi t h an instru­ ment more closely related to t he players an d nickelo­ deons of Cecil's earlier fascinat i on . A small WurliTzer Hosts f or the Sunday afternoon meeting, l as t August Organette piano pipe organ is pr esently under 22, were Ce ci l Dover and Edward Pos tinoff, who wel­ r es t or a t i on by Carty's after Cecil f i nal ly deci ded that comed us to their newly acquired home, delighted that it was much too exotic for his ab ilities an d pa t i ence . they can now entertain more t han four guests pl l~ the Cecil is a pr oj e c t designer f or Fr ed Schmi d Associ­ piano . ates, ho t e l -restaurant design consultants and special­ Ce cil 's interest i n "music mechanical" was awakened ists, havi ng abandoned all hopes of rel yi ng on his fine ear l y when as a child he spent many hours an d ni cke l s arts e ducati on when the collect ing mania ove r t ook him. l istening to coin-operated nickelodeons at t he now Ed emi gr at ed f r om Vancouver, B.C., seven ye a rs ago to nonexi s t en t Pony Express Museum in Arcadia, California, ope rate hi s own hairstyling salon, the f i rst of t wo near his family home. His interest was set when his which Cecil has subsequently des i gne d f or hi m. Bo t h men pa rents took a beach cottage for a summer holiday which are regularl y seen at AMICA maetings locall y , and Cecil came f ully equipped with an upright player piano . In- is curren tly ser vi ng as our Southern Cali fornia Chap t e r THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 6

Vice Chairman, and the Chairman of the 1972 Convention. the music and to have your emotions stirred and smoothed. Arriving guests may have thought the warm afternoon My compliments to the artist Julius Chaloff and to Cecil weather would make the gathering seem uncomfortably for having played the piece. close. They were relieved to find the house light and Sergei Rachmaninoff must have gotten along well with airy, largely because the gardens blend with the roomy the Ampico staff, judging from the proliferation of his house with no obvious breaks, although the piano is recordings. We hear his own early Elegie, Gp. 3, No.1. comfortably "inside" while most of the flowers are ap-­ Well, did Rachmaninoff really know how to interpret parently "outside." To avoid continuing on with Rachmaninoff? The imposing technique of this artist is superfluous compliments, this will stand as an indi­ often lost on pianos in middling condition, but we have cation of the tasteful planning for this afternoon and been fortunate to find this piano more than up to it. evening with friends from the AMICA. The perfectionist owners feel it still needs a bit of Printed programs heralded a pleasantly short but well adjusting to play more subtly late in the evening with selected classical program, which began with the recog­ only a few people in the room, but this did not in any nizable brusque technique of E. Robert Schmit, who made way detract from the afternoon's program. the Bach-Liszt Prelude and Fugue in A minor relevant to SCC notes from Bill Mintz, Chapter President, in­ the concert audiences of the 'twenties. Next the seg­ cluded the announcement that Mr. C. Dover (where have mented variations comprising Brahms' Rhapsodie in G we heard that name before?) has been appointed the minor, Op. 79, No.2, in Artur Schnabel's definitive Chairman of the 1972 Convention committee. Tom Hawthorne interpretation. noted his recent travels to the north, and apprised us Chopin's incurably optimistic Ballade in G minor, Op. of the need for the recording of Ecstasy for the Ursula 23, No.1, is noticeably faster in this Ampico recording Dietrich-Hollinshead program in that area. by Ferruccio Busoni than in his version for the Welte­ Our traveling scholar, Anita Nickels, then enter­ Mignon. This piece seldom fails to bring forth an tained us with off-the-cuff impressions of her year in emotional response in the listener. Europe and with the personalities and pianos she has Dohnanyi has not only done us the favor of arranging met in those travels. Fortunately ,she has written up Leo Delibe's ballet pieces for the piano, but he has some of this for the Bulletin. Unfortunately, no one recorded these clarified musical delights for the thought to ask her to demonstrate the folk dances which Ampico. No , we did not get the most popular Naila "Pas went with her charming Bavarian costume. des Fleurs," but the Waltz from the ballet "Coppelia" All of this left us in a perfect mood for the sub­ f or a pleasant change. scribed dinner of roast bratworst, kartoffelsalat, cake Liszt's Et ude in D flat was recorded for the Ampico and all the trimmings. The mild freshness of the fare by Olga Steeb in a fluid, somnolent, moving interpre­ was in pleasant contrast to such food served in some tation about 1921. As the piano techniques of the restaurants which is similar in name and rough appear­ romantic period became more dated, the piece was record­ ance only. ed agai n in 1927 by Mischa Levitzki with more crisp Many guests felt comfortable enough in these ago gic accents. We are presented with this Levitzki surroundings to stay into the evening to become further i nterpr e t ation of "A Sigh." acquainted with one another's interests, the music and Debussy's Nocturne in D flat deserves to be played roll trading, and the hosts' collections. onl y when you ar e ready to listen, to be absorbed in

EDYTHE BAKER by Bob Pye As I begin to write, Edythe Baker is serenading me (and the neighbors on a Sunday morning) with her 1923 performance of "Somebody ' s Wrong," and I am thinking of wha t a great difference all the years between the Duo­ Art days of the early 'twenties and the present have brought to a little old lady, now living quietly in EDYTHE England. And I wish there was more to write about this BAKER supreme favorite on jazz-oriented reproducing piano rolls of the 1920's. Edythe Baker began her roll-recording career sometime around 1920 .•.by 1922, she was I isted in the distin­ guished roster of Duo-Art recording artists, where she was to remain, making some of the finest rolls of her time, until 1926 . We think of roll recording now as a prestige occupation, but after my conversation with Welte-Mignon recording artist Johnny Johnson, I wonder j us t how much prest ige there ~ in recording for roll 7 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

companies in the '20's. John ny recalled vividly (and it and performers from the seventy years prior to 1943. And wou ldn ' t be difficult to do) that he was paid $25.00 a on stage: Edythe Baker at her White Piano, stopping the pe rformance for making his rolls, and certainly he was show as she did in 1928, with her variations on "My one of the top Welte popular pianists--though admittedly Heart Stood Sti 11." their emphas i s on popular music was s l ight . However , it Now, the clock moves ahead to 1971. And my friend in ma y wel l be that Edythe Baker and her contemporaries England, after some fair amount of effort , located Miss di dn't rece ive a great deal more fo r their efforts, and Baker, and sent me a letter of information on her, which it i s entirel y pos s ibl e that they enjoy more real he asked me to keep, as far as detail is concerned, in cel ebrity wi t h us today than they ever did with their confidence. And in respect to her, and what she means to audipnce of rolr-enthusiasts during their active years. all of us, that is how it must be. Suffice it to say Edythe Baker j ourneyed to England--quite likely in that Edythe Baker , now in all likelihood nearing eighty, 1926, as her Duo-Art roll ou ~put ceases at that point. is living quietly in England, long since completely re­ , reca ll being to l d of an article in a Duo-Art bulletin tired, and forgotten in the present day except by those wit~ remarks that she was a favorite of the Prince of of us who cherish her piano rolls, and the Engl ish show­ Wa les and custom-recorded rolls for him (my letter to business enthusiasts who remember her later career. th e Pr ince , now the Duke of Windsor, regarding this has Now, wi t h a modern recutting program of Edythe Baker's s o far remained unanswered , but hope has not dimmed) . rolls, any Duo-Art owner who wishes may make a generous Thi s woul d have given her a valuable "in" with the very sampl ing of the delights that the Baker piano of the show-business oriented young nobility of the time. At 1920s holds for us--and look forward to the day, not any rate, we hear no more of Edythe Baker until 1928, likely too far off, when even the obscure rolls (and when she became a star--l iterally overnight--stopping let 's pray for " Sob-Sister Sadie, The Vamp Cry-Baby ") the show with her variations on "My Heart Stood Still" will once aga in be recall ing to us one of the vibrant in a Rodgers and Hart revue, "One Damn Thing After personal ities of the music world of the 1920's. Anot he r ." C.B. Cochrane, veteran British producer, i n his book "Showman Looks On" remembers Edythe Baker as VWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWV one of the great stars of his career, recall ing the Rodgers and Hart revue as "introducing to this country Edythe Baker and her white piano, and the song hit "My Heart Stood Sti II." And suddenly Edythe Baker was a British star. A look through a number of British books dealing with the show­ Honor ary AMICAn Wilb ur Chenoweth l i stening business world of the 'twenties and 'thirties yields to one of his r ol.Le at a Southern Calif ornia several references to Edythe Baker: "Little Edythe Baker meeting l as t ye ar. from Missouri with her white piano," one biographer re­ calls ...and indeed, her white piano became a trade-mark~ She continued as a star in English revues and cabaret well into the ' t h i r t ies , and made phonograph records as well. The gentleman in England who finally led me to Miss Baker herself recalls, "she looked most glamorous on­ stage, and she was a pioneer in that particular type of piano playing, but s he seemed to fade out of the l ime­ light in the late 'thirties." "That part icular type of piano playing" evidentally refers to a popular-classical approach likely fairly similar to Pauline Alpert's; in fact, I was fortunate in meeting an English lady here in Kelowna who had a long career as a pianist in the theatre in England and on the Co ntinent, and she recalled Edythe and her career most vividly . I played a few Baker rolls for her, and she remar ked that she would never have thought that it was the same pianist she remembered. A very different s t y l e . .. . l isten ing to other rolls, she said that there was some s imi l a r i t y t o the Adam Carroll rolls of the 'thirties , and a distinct similarity to some records Pauline Alpert made in the 'forties . Again, she recalled the whi t e p iano and the elegant appearance Edyth Baker made on stage. My British correspondent provided more biographical information. "She married into t he rich d'Erlanger fam­ ily , and was a prominent figure in the blase London society of the 1920's. I believe the ma r r i age was not a s ucces s . " The next word of Edythe Baker comes farther on in C. B. Cochrane's book. In 1943, Cochrane produced a giant re vue called "Seventy Years of Song," featuring tunes THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 8

Glimpses of Genius An Inte rview Sec u re d Exp ressly for T he Et u de, with the dis tinguished Pi anis t -Compos er ...._::...._ ~ EDVAAD (JR ; f; 'i]P ...... __.... PERCY GRAINGER "The range of musical genius is so wide that it fact all th e folk melodies of thc count r ies main ly popu ­ H op to thc ncighbor ln!,: city -o f Ber gen, the conductors would be the height oi absurd ity to try to compa ss it lated by peoples o f No rdic ra ce ( such as Great Britain, were re quir ed to tear off th e ticket in per son. The ticket wit h a few words . But some light perh aps may be Scand inav ia, th e U nited States} , are of intense interest, wa s suppo sed to be void if the passenger tore it off. T o show his contempt for wh at he regarded as an absurd ga ined by a few reflections upon some of the g rea t hav ing reached the highes t known degr ee o f indi­ regu lation, Gri eg, with his char acter istic impishnes s, al­ mind s in music with whom I have had the priv ilege of vidualization and freedom. Gr ieg knew and felt thi s ways wait ed until the conduc tor came in view an d then coming in contact. In stantly, Grieg suggests himself, very keenly. Indeed it was his controlli ng passion in delibe rately tore off the coupon unde r the conductor's not merely becau se o f my personal acq uainta nce with the music. Yet the full immensity o f his achievments in nose. maste r but also because of my entire sympathy with hi s this con nection a re not appreciated by the average litt le-understood ideals. Gri eg seems to me to be pre-em­ mu sicia n, even in No rway- O nly musicians of the wid est T he Art of Breaking Rules inent ly a ma ster of th e art of condensa tion. Grieg's cosm opo litan culture, of the most refined cr itical sense, "Gr icg's independence in th is and a thousan d other ge nius lies largely in his power to say so much with so are able to fully sound th e depth s of erudition and instance s was typi cally Nor weg ian. But while the Nor ­ littl e. T he average person, in discussing music, seems subtlety that lie hid den behind the appar ent simplicity wegians, and .in fact al1 Scandinavia ns, a re extremely to have the idea th at the greatest musicians were those o f much of Gr ieg's music. stubborn, dar ing and manly when occasion demand s, yet who wrote in the lar gest fo rms ; that is, the form s "H erman Sand by, whom I regard as the greatest of they are the fartherest of all peoples from being fool­ requir ing the most time and th e most people to perform all living Scandinavian composer s, and who was my har dy, quarrelsome and rec kless . They are br ave, bu t them. T o such people a cycl orama wou ld be finer than fellow- stu den t in Germany, knew Gri eg and once sent they seldom take a needless chance. No amount of one of th e exquisite littl e etchings of Rembrandt. him some of my cho ruses unkn own to me. Grieg was money would induce a Dani sh coast -guardsman ( Li fe evid ently pleased, for he re sponded by sending me an boa t ca ptain) that I know, to take his boat out in a sea Grieg a Mast er of Cond ensation au tog raphed portrait. Later , in 1906, whe n he was a that he thought unsa fe; but if he saw that life was to guest o f Lady Speyer in Lon don, his host ess aske d him be saved th er eby he woul d venture out witho ut thought In literature no one ever thinks of saying that a man is if he wanted to meet any o f the musicians then in th e an inferi or artist because he wr ites poems and does not of his own self-i nterests. They enjoy breaking ru les g reat Metropol is. Gr ieg surp ri sed her by sending fo r wr ite lengthy dramas. In deed, one poem like the whic h th ey th ink are needless, yet are observa nt enough one of the youngest and I had the honor o f meeting "Elegy" of Gray can win immortality for the author. In of those of who se r eal necessity they are personally him for the first tim e in this way . This was the begin­ music the public seems to regard, a pri ori, the composer convinced. Scandinavia is pcrs01wl, indiri dualistic in ning of a friendship which deepened every day unti l his of symph onies, operas or orato rios as a g rea ter master all things and on that account is not always properly death in the following year. th an a genius like Chop in, for instance, whose wo rk s und erst ood by races that lead a mor e slavish and narnby­ parn by nat ional li fe ; wh ich reminds me of t~ lO S C sc inti­ for the o rches tra ar e virtually limited to the or chestral Crleg's Love of F reedom accom pan iment s to the two concertos. Yet in Chopin lating lines o f Geor ge Bernard Sh aw , ' Disobed ience, "At thi s time (1906 - 1907) Gri eg- was very tired and and in Gr ieg we find a kind of artist ic cond ensat ion of the rarest and noblest of the virtues, is o ften -nistakcn very weak ; but he instantly became anima ted when we thought, mean s and materi als whi ch is often entirely for negligence, the commonest and meanest of the vices.' di scussed the subj ect o f folk music in which we were wanting in the inter minahly lengthy works of some o f "The man ner in which Grieg' s ge nius led him to g-ive both so g reatly intcr ested . The same spirit oT indepen­ the wri ters of the so-call ed large r forms.T his does not attention to detail s may he indicated by th e following dence, the batt le with man-made. art ificial conventions , mean that composers of the la rge r form s do not at time s anecdote. I explai ned to him in our convers ations in soon -becarne evident. Hi s love for F reedom and Inde­ employ g rea t condensation of means. In W agn er and Norwegian ( Gr ieg spoke En gli sh and German, but pre ­ pendence wa s perhaps one o f the finest cha rac teris tics of Dehussy can be found numberl ess splendid exa mples of ferred to speak in his nat ive tongue) that many o f the his ge nius. H e detested useless regul ati on and restraining tran slati ons of his songs wer e ver y infer ior. H e acce pted conde nsation. influ ences. H ere is one amusi ng instance o f this tr ait. " In music, as in all the arts, it is desir abl e th at every ­ my services in trying to bett er th ese transla tions. He On th e litt le railway wh ich ran fr om Gri eg's home at thing should be pruned down until only th e necessary re­ would o ften spend one or two hour s of in tense thought over th e pr oper mean ing and significance of just a few mains. Gr ieg was neve r Jed astray fr om what he wante d (EDITO R'S :\OT"~ : Per cy AlrIrhlgoe Grntnger. whose to say. H e turn ed his attent ion early in life to the compositions a nd plnno for te p1n yin~ have won h im Inter ­ words. Indeed his con cent ration and persistance were n nt lon nl r ecognit ion a8 n centns. di scu sses for th e r end era such that th ey would wear ou t the average per son. H is study and adaptation of the Norwegia n Folk Tunes­ of The Etude th e ehnrnr-t eristies of Rome of t he e ren t mu al­ T hese sett ing s of hi s nati ve folk mu sic ( wherein his c' n ns h r- hn s kn own . It or n nt Br-teb t nn . Anatrnfln . h e wn a application to detail wa s limitless. Nothing was too flr8 t t r nin cd hy his mo t her, th en Lou!s Pabst of Mel bour n e, sma ll to merit his closest att entio n. harm onic originality and unfailing taste and sense of t he n six vonr s with t he ur ent Du tc h nlnno teache r ,1. K WlIRt proportion can full y rank along side the workmanship of F rankfo rt, Inter, n Nhor t time with Hu snn l. lip mnd e h is "To Gri eg, the artistic end took precedence over ever y­ profes stonnl d ebut at L on don in l n OO wh en h e was seven­ thing else. On ce in Ber gen a great festival of No rwe­ of Bach in the lat er' s Chorale-preludes ) have always te .... n, com me ncing n lotl.c: se rif'S uf 'ovation s which h nve had a immense fascination for me, particula rly the opus n t tended his nerformances in Eu c lo nd , Scnnrllnavtn. g-ian music was plann ed. Gri eg was give n charge o f 30 for male voices and the opus 66 and op. 72 ('Slaa t­ H olland , Ne w 7.pn111011, Au strnlln, Sout h Afrlcn a n d the the event and immediat ely got himself in hot wat er by Un ft el1 Stn.tes. As n co m poser h o is l nr .c I ' I ~' self -t mur h t. If ls Con ~ crt­ ter') for piano. Th ese 'Slaatter' arc, as it wer e, the ('nr ly Inc lf nn tlons wor-e townr-d t h e po l,vnh on y of Bar-h. hilt making ar rangements to bri ng over the famou s lnt er he heenme crea t tv ounmonrorl of f olk "ol1g nnrl pr -lmtttve geboow Or chest ra from H olland with Mcngclherrr as Norwegian equ ivalen t for the 'Tur key in th e Straw' 1111181 (' In rn- ner nl , mnklne extr-nstvo In ve s tlzntl ons of a ll type of tune and are very jolly . There is a fascinat ion ma nn er of f olk find n borl rrfnn! S O lle'~ . eoltectl nz Rom p fl\' P conductor. Many of the musicians o f No rway took th e h l1nllr Prl pho no rrrn pblc records of t our-s fr om mnn v rlilff'un t tim e-old atti tud e that, since th e Festi val was Norwegian about the stud y of such thing s which is alm ost intoxicat­ peoplea . 'Th e enmb lnnti on of tht>~f' two intlul"ncps (o f I tnr -h ing. On e can find so much in them. It is like the man a nd of folkmua lc } n re ('hi efly ncc nuntuble fo r the most in spiri t and character , an al ien orchestra wa s not wel ­ aalten t ch nr nc terl s tl ca of Gr:li n ~ f'r ' s creatlve " st yle." come. Gr ieg's pat rioti sm, on the othe r hand, took th e who tak es up the study of flints for instance The ave r­ "'hill' hI" has em ployed many t ra ditiona l melodies i n hi s age man may walk over a wh ole field 0 f interesting co mnostttons. man y of his own runes, nftn gr-the r or -i rrfnn l stand that only th e very best exi sting orc hes tra was flints without the ir sugges ting much, or anything , to with h im, h ave been s o Id entifted wi t h th e folk-ao nz good enough for a fest ival o f No rwegian mu sic and since g r fu'C that man y ha ve been de eelved Into hollevlne t hnt him; but the man wh o has mad e a study of th em will they were nnclent d tttfes. Mr. Grnlnl?pr' R eompnsf t tona In there wa s in Norway no orchestra as fine as the Concer t­ larger form are not 80 wen known as " Molly on th e Shore ," geboo w, it woul d be mi staken patriotism to have anything find one here and there whic h when proper ly understood "Sheperd 's H ey " or "Han del In th e St ra nd ;" but t hose who will ca rry his imagi nation back th rough hun dreds of h a ve see n the sco re of hIs " l\Ifirchln2' 80n 2' of Democracy ," but the best when the best was available. H e was so " Hl lfso n ga ," "The w an-to-e" a nd ot her wor-ks cast on a per sistent that he won th e day and had the D ut ch Con ­ centur ies, thru phase upon phase of the development b i~ scal e r eali ze that In whatever field hi s gent ns Is of prim itive man. The No rw egian melodies , and in emplo yed he ascends to very great nnd mas terly heights.) ductor and player s to his heart's content. THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

and reveals more or less affinity with a similar 'Northern' Page B8S OOTOBER 19S1 tus ETUDE psychology in the works of other Norwegian creators in other branches of art, such as Ibsen, Bjornson, Vinje "In fact, this adamant character in Grieg's genius Arne Garborg, Munch and Johan Sinding. must be apparent to anyone really familiar with his music. "Those who had the good fortune to hear Grieg Even in the lightest, most gossamer of his compositions perform his own compositions, whether as a pianist or as there is a solid background indicating the character of the a conductor, are more likely to be alive to the heroic man. Grieg had certain impish traits that few people and intense attributes of his art than those less lucky know but which may be imagined easily by anyone who in this respect; for Grieg was nothing if not extremely has taken the trouble to become intimately acquainted with virile and dynamic as an interpreter of his works. Al­ his works. Once a Danish composer visited Grieg at his ways a poet, but above .all, always a man. As a rule hotel and bored the master to death with his compositions, his tempi were faster than those usually heard in per­ which were highly reminiscent of the music of Grieg formances of Grieg works by other artists; and invaria­ and other composers. Grieg with his love of originality, bly the enthralling wistfulness and poetic appeal of his was quick to sense this and was disgusted. At last the renderings knew no trace of sentimentality or mawkish­ Danish composer got up to go and failed to find his ness. Strong and sudden accents of atr~ds and vivid over-coat where he had left it in the cloak-room. He contrasts of light and shade were the outstanding features inferred that someone had taken it. Grieg's impish of his self-interpretations; while the note of passion reply was quick. 'Surely you are not going to complain that he sounded was ofa restless and feverish rather about someone stealing your overcoat when you your­ than of a violent nature. Extreme delicacy and exquisite­ self steal from us all.' ness of detail were present in his piano playing; and "During the many. wonderful days spent in the com- altho the frailty of his physique, in the later years at pany of Grieg, so varied were the experiences that it least, withheld him"from great displays of rugged force 'would take a very long time to recount them- His at the keyboard, yet, when occasion required, he prized pride in Norwegian scenery was unbounded. Although arid demanded those resources in others. it was only with great effort that he could climb, he "In short, the general human tendencies of the heroic, insisted on taking me up to the top of the mountain near active, poetic, excitedly emotional Norwegian race from Bergen. It was called 'Blaamanden' (the Blue Man). which he sprang all seemed to be faithfully portrayed Finally, when after great exertion he reached the top, in his renderings of his own compositions, as were, no his thoughts turned to the characteristic Norwegian less, the characteristics of the hillscapes and fjordscapes rustic music and he said, 'Here we need a peasant of his native land. The brilliant coloring and striking fiddler to play a dance for us.' The view was ex- clarity of the scenes, the almost indescribable exhilara­ ceptionally lovely, and, as Grieg looked out over the tion of the northern atmosphere, all were mirrored in his valley$ so dear to him, his voice was tinged with melan- music. choly as he said, 'Alas, I shall never get up here again.' "Grieg eschewed all 'muddiness' or obscurity of tonal He died a few weeks thereafter." effect in writing for the piano or other instruments; How Grieg Played and the performer of Grieg's music should try to "Sir Charles Villiers Stanford has called Grieg realize the composer's prediliction for the bright and 'a minature Viking,' and there is much truth in this clear and' clean sonorities. This unusually interesting interview will be remark; for a certain fresh or tragic primitiveness concluded in The Etude for November when Mr. mixed with a somewhat eerie and ethereal spirituality Grainger will give recollections of Cyril Scott, marks off Grieg's music from his mid-European fellow­ Busoni and Richard Strauss. Romanticists such as Mendelssohn, Schumann or Chopin,

EXCERPTS FROM PART III AMPICO ROYALTIES & THE MOST HATED MAN IN THE WORLD OF COURSE IN AMPICO SALESMANSHIP 1924 by Doug Hickling contributed by Doug Hickling VI: BE SPECIFIC IN PROVING STATEMENTS Fred Rydeen informs me that George G. Foster, Presi­ dent of American Piano Company, once told him that there Talking in simple, non-technical language does not were two living men whom he hated more than any others mean talking in generalities. Nor does it mean evading in the world--the Kaiser and Charles Fuller Stoddard. the technical points that are raised. By no means. The Foster, of course, really didn't hate Stoddard. In­ purpose of the demonstration is to make clear and vivid stallation of the AMPICO, at fairly nominal cost, to the prospect what the Ampico is and what it does. enabled his company -to double the price of a piano and And this can best be done by specific facts and state­ thereby multiply its profit by an even greater factor. ments. Fos ter and the American Piano Company had a really fan­ If the subject you are covering with a prospect is tastic money-maker in the AMPICO and no doubt Foster mechanics or music--or anything e1se--avoid general­ and Stoddard were both amazed at its success. Still, alities. Stick to specific statements and use illustra­ Foster, as an astute businessman, could hardly help but tions wherever possible. If you call attention to an notice that his company was paying Stoddard a large sum effect produced in piano-playing, show how it can be of money in royalties in addition to the salary he re­ produced on the Ampico. Demonstrate it, just as the ceived. It is Mr. Rydeen's recollection that these salesman demonstrated the working of the crescendo royalties amounted to $50.00 for each AMPIOO grand piano pneumatic by playing The Lark. A generality, such as, sold and $25.00 for each upright. "the crescendo pneumatic enables the Ampico to re-enact the artist's playing with all the color and delicate 11111111111111111111 shadings of the original," is not as convincing or as THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 10

effective as letting the prospect hear the Ampico play a selection containing crescendos and delicate nuances. In the same way, general claims about artists are not as convincing as the fact that "the Ampico has 235 concert pianists--a much l arger number than can be heard on any other reproducing instrument." Gp.neral claims regarding the excellence of these artists are not as effective as naming a number of them specifically --"Rachmaninoff and DohnanyI, leading composers as well as virtuosos of the piano; Rosenthal and Godowsky, pre­ eminent master of the piano; Levitzki, Lhevinne and Orn­ stein, great concert pianists who have a rare faculty for catching and rendering the poetry of music; Legin­ ska, Ney, Schnitzer and Bloomfield-Zeisler, the four most gifted women pianists"; and so on through the list. The citation of actual facts about the Library of Recordings and the naming of specific selections of The various types give a better impression regarding the library than the statement that "we have the finest li­ brary of piano music in the world." General statements should be used only to summerize Most specific facts and specific information about the su­ premacy of the ·Ampi c o. This point is especially i mpor­ tant, because practically all reproducing instruments Complete make the same general claims about the beauty of the music they reproduce and abou t t heir artists. The on l y way to make our statements about the Ampico stand out Musical and carry conviction is by backing up each statement with specific proof. It is to help you do this, that this course has been prepared. Use the information you Instrument have. Drive each poi nt about Arrrpi co supremacy home s o that it wi U mean some thing de f inite t o the pro spect. Plays all records and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ all 88-note rolls Electrically Operated The #2l 334 appe ars on the player action of t he piano on t he right . A l .i: titil:e l -obe l: on t he pump be l.l oiae of the left piano s ays "Themodi s t." No dat e on original phot o . Cont ribut ed by Kennet h Snowden . The Phono-Grand The Latest Creation in Music Not Coin-Operated A Demonstrated Success An Invaluable Agency

Write TodQ)' lor Prices J. P. 'Seeburg Piano Co. ,..,., i. tlae Aatematic: FialJ CHlCAGt? 11 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

Aggressive mer chandising of The Ampioo in the Wichita, Kansas area by means of a tuo-paqe (8 1/2 x 11) letter, here reduced in size f or printing on a single page . The front page consisted of an i ndividuaZZy typed letter; the se cond page , i n color, showed the s oaiaU y elite ; and the third page of fered an i nvi t at i on to expe rience th e marve l s of The Ampico. Cont ributed by Bi ZZ Pixl ey .

/( HI;:RI;: IS YOUR SI~J\SOJ\l TlCKI;:T 1 I'O RT" !; MO ST R~MAIU

You hav e heard grf> at pienc performances . . • Jacobs Bend , Milton Delcemp -e-the Iwift and In a crowded concert han, l ome world -fam ed rhythmic music of Broad way, played by such geoiu. pleying tc hushed hundred s. Walungthe masters ofeynccpetion as Lopee.Confr ey.Cerrol l, most glorioua of . 11 instru ments to glorioue Iife. Th e Ampico is an integra l part the piano. Heleesing, with incredib le fingen , th e Iloode of oC me lody you have longed to hear-waited p. ~ It reproduces through the piano itsd f - bring­ ing you the actual voice of the instru ment in tienely to bear-c-treveied far, perh ap s, to hear. its full bee uty-c-p ermi tting you to stud y closely On ce there was no other ",ay 10 heat gre at th e method an d Cone of funous pieni eee-c-i n­ piano music, Bue no...... in the quiet or your own epiri ng you and lour childre n in your own hom e, )'OU can hen , an y evening, ccnce rta more playing.Th e Ampico does not in any way change wond erful IIIill. To your own waitin g pia no th e the app ear ance, tone or action of th e pian o. Ampi co will brin g the pla ying, not of one arti st alone, but of pracricelly .11 the femoue arti sts You cannot fully believe in th is miracl e of of th e world. You merel y touch an electri c th e Amp ico until you hear it! Co, at your firer button- chen relax in your chair to listen. oppornmity. tc th e etore wh ere th e pien oe lisred helo...... are sold. Ask to have the Arnpico pla y Allin one eveningyou may hear great c1a1l8ical for you . program oCyou r own selection . . . Do compce itions pla yed by euch concert pieni ete as not postp one th is Iescinetin g expe rience! Codow eky, Orloff, Hoeen thel , Lhevinne-welJ­ loved ballad s played by Victor Herb ert, Carri e THE AtltPI C O C O R P O R AT I ON ' 584 Fi/'" AN ., N . Y. AMPICO ry,. ~ .,..., ,,,, ,,,~!,",,,,,, MASON 6- H A M LI N KNA BE . • . •.•.CH IC KEP..IN G­ J . ~ C . F IS C HER • . H AI N ES BROS. MAP5Ht\ U bWENDELL. AMPICO SYMPHONIQ UL T HEWlLU S (.it. ~

Elutrically opeoued modeu - $750 to $4,500. An initial pfiymtnt o/ IC% will pi4ce an Ampl'co in Y OU1'home. The remainder is payabl$ over a period 0/ two y earl. Salonl in principal ciliu lHE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

THE POST-WAR AMERICAN WELTE COMPANY, PART n by Doug Hickling GITI1NS PREPARES TO BUILD DISTINGUISHED ORGANS

In May, 1925, Gittins announced the appointment of brought in from California for several weeks to layout Robert Pier Elliot as vice-president of the Welte­ scales, make pipe patterns, and advise in the selection Mignon Corporation and general manager of its organ of equipment. Nuttall came to American with Hope-Jones, business. A superb and well~knawn organ architect and with whom he had been associated. While with Hope-Jones, businessman, Elliot was,"at the time of his appointment, Nuttall built the first diaphone for the Worcester Cathe­ manager of the W. W. Kimball Co. organ department. It dral organ and he also invented the valvular reed type was under Elliot's direction that Kimball started of Diaphone. After spending many years with the WurliT­ building significant pipe organs of high quality, a zer Company, Nuttall retired to California. From then characteristic for which Kimball pianos were not well­ on he supervised the installation and did the finishing known. of virtually all Welte organs sold in the west. Born in Michigan in 1871, Elliot was employed as a J. Vern Fridlund, manager of organ service for Kim­ very young man by the pipe organ firm of Granville Wood ball, was made assistant manager of the Welte organ & Sons of Northville, Michigan. The firm of Farrand & division. He had been with Kimball for fifteen years. Votey acquired the Wood plant, and Elliot served his David Arthur was employed as the head reed voicer and apprenticeship with Farrand & Votey up to and after that Arthur Birkmaier as the head flue voicer. In 1911, company took over ~he Roosevelt organ business and the Arthur left England where he had received his training Votey organ business was acquired by the Aeolian Company. with several firms, particularly Henry Willis & Sons. While with Farrand & Votey, Elliot became acquainted In this country, he was associated with Hope-Jones and with John T. Austin and later followed Austin to the for many years was with the Rudolph WurliTzer Company. Clough & Warren Company where the first Austin organs David Arthur1s nephew, Henry Vincent Willis--grandson were bui 1t , of the famous IIFatherll Henry Willis, the nineteenth A few years later, Elliot and John T. Austin organized century English organ builder--thereafter joined Welte the Austin Organ Company at Hartford, Conn., and Elliot as a consultant. became its vice-president. He was then instrumental in Although the Welte organ factory had long since been bringing Robert Hope-Jones to the United States and he Americanized, a number of the original German craftsmen, stepped down to the position of secretary of Austin so brought to this country by M. Welte Sons, Inc. prior to that Hope-Jones could assume the post of vice-president. World War 1, remained with the business, including During a stay in England he obtained the American Rudolph Glatz, Paul Sawada, and George Goll. rights to manufacture the Kinetic organ blower, and when An article appearing in Diapason in 1926 stated: Hope-Jones left the Austin Company in 1905, Elliot left In mechanical equipment the new Welte pipe-making also and organized and became president of the Kinetic plant is complete. It has a machine-shop with turret and Engineering Company. He then spent a few years in the mining and smelting business in Latin America, returning plain lathes and milling machines, heavy and light die and punch presses, including one up to twenty-five tons in 1909 to serve as president of the Hope-Jones Organ capacity, and even a power shear whi ch cuts a full sheet Company of Elmira, New York, this company going out of business in 1910, at which time its assets were taken of zinc at one stroke. A new type of gas furnace with over by the Wur1iTzer Company. The peripatetic Mr. air compressor .will be used for melting the metal, and Elliot then became vice-president of the California a fine casting table set on a concrete "floor is another Organ Co., a predecessor of the Robert Morton Company, important part of the metal pipe making equfpmerrt , The casting room is in a separ-ate buf.Ldfng adjoinin,g the at Van Nuys, California, and in 1914 became eastern facto~ proper. Wood pipe making is equally well pro­ manager of W. W. Kimball Co., going to the company's machine~, Chicago factory as manager of the organ department in vided for, with plenty of suitable steam 1918. boxes, and other equipment. ' In announcing Elliot 1s appointment, Gittins also 1926 produced a sudden increase in orders for organs stated that an additional story, provided for in the of all kinds. Even though the nulTtber of organ factory original building plans, would be added to the organ employees had more than doubled in thE! past year, the factory . company found it necessary to place full-page adver­ Elliot hired Carl A. Benson, formerly head of the tisements for help in ~apason. The Bronx was described Kimball electric department, as superintendent of the in idyllic terms: Welte organ factory and Frank H. Niemann, Kimball's Organ builders, Why not live in a clean city whi ch Philadelphia representative, as assistant superinten­ eve~ dent. G. A. Dominique was placed in charge of the de­ offers advantage of good schools, ehurches, music, lectures, art and other museums, the scenic river of sign and construction of Welte windchests, work which America. the seashore, beautiful. roads in all directions, he formerly supervised for Kimball. The Welte console department was put under the supervision of Albin W. a splendid climate• with social, educational and enter­ tainment conditiona unequaled? Where there is abundant, Johnson, who had for a long time been assistant foreman of the Skinner console department. pure, clear, soft water brought underground, uncontamin- ated, from the Catskill mountains. " Gittins and Elliot now proceeded to set up a pipe­ making and voicing department. James H. Nuttall was Prospective employees were assured of a favorable 13 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

working environment: The f inest h ar dwoods are similarly treated. The best The Welte Organ Fa ctory is among the best equipped in hot gl ue syst em with plenty of warming ovens. Pure the trade . It is new, f ireproof , light , well heat e d and or an ge shellac . Si l ve r contacts. A magnet said by all ventilated. The machinery is of the most modern, all who have s een i t , bot h professional and lay critics, indi viduall y motored and f itt e d with app roved s afety to surpass all others , both i n appearance and wor k i ng appliances, and includes equipment fo und i n no other qUalities- -expens i ve , but worth it. Flame-proof, mois ­ organ f ac tory . I n the machine shop , besides t urning out ture-proof manufactured cable. St r ai t s t i n an d pure organ har dware and s upplies, we have built i nt ricat e l ead cast in our own shop--no ready made me tal us ed. and perf e ct - wor ki ng machines f or our own use , including In case a prospective employee had any remaining music r ol l cutting machines , or gan and pi ano recording machines, etc., etc. doubts , he was assured that " t he operating officials are men of high ideals ... and Saturday is a half holiday The company emphasized that i t s workmen did not have the yea r I round." to handle second-rate supplies: In December, 1926, a new organ erection room was completed at the New York factory. At the same time , The mat e r i als work ed are i n every r es pe ct the best the metal pipe shop was increased in size by 150% and for their us es, bought right an d manufactured right . The space in the piano factory was taken over for action markets are s e arche d fo r pe r f ect pneumati c skins , even manufacturing work, this being possible by improved when thi s involves per s onal visits to other cities . methods of storing pianos in process and finished, whi ch First qu ali ty Califo rni a s ugar pine is shippe d i n t he doubled the capacity of some floors. At this point the r ough after air dryi ng on the Pacifi c Coast , s tacked organ facto ry contained 50,000 square feet and the piano and f urther air dried i n our yards , ki l n dried in our facto ry twice that amount. scientific humidifying kilns, dressed i n our own mill.

IIftIIOMlCaI IR .- WORLD PLAYER FAMOUS ANGELUS PIANOS ANa THE PLAYER POPULAR PIANOS ...- WHITE ...... l-.r.t"-----...... _ jiIQ_ IS ~ .....-...... THE WILCOX & WHITE co, MERIDEN. CONN. _ba.... ZIotalaU.lld 187'1 ~ AIle- _ ....

The iaords "Player> Action Nanufaetured by Kr>ani ch & Bach, " and "Installed Ex­ clusively i n Kr>anich & Bach Pi ano" appear> at th e back of the draaer i n th e or>iginal phot ogr>aph. They ar>e not Leqib le i n this copy . No date on ox-iqi nal. photo . conta-ib uted by Kenneth Snowden. THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 14

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REVIEWINGTHE REVIEWER! by Lawrence Jacob Abbott contributed by Bill Pixley A-oNE AND A-TWO GETS RESULTS Recently I enjoyed the novelty of discovering a series of reviews covering new piano roll and phonograph record releases in Outlook Magazine. The period covered is March 18, 1925 and the first issueeach month through August, 1927. The reviewer is Lawrence Jacob Abbott. (JuZy 7, 1926) A couple of Bulletins back, Alan Pier made a request DOLCE FAR NIE"NTE-Tunes t-rom the Eighteenth Century, for additional titles and information on the "A••• " rolls No.5 (Baue») , PZayed by Harol-d Bauer. DUO-ART. on Universal. Both Dick Sch1aich and Alan Mueller re­ As a composition, "number five" i8 not of outetandinq sponded with lots of titles! So here they are, with 88 beauty. As a faithJ"ul »eoord of Bauev te superb touch note, 65 note and Themodist-Metrosty1e numbers: and interpretabion, this piano roll is far from oonmon­ TITLE 8~ote 65-note TM pZace. ABEAR 300527 100235 (February 2, 1927) ABEAUT 300807 100535 POLONAISE NO. 2 E MAtJTOR (Lisst). Plcqed by PhiZZip ABIRD 301047 100809 Gordon. AMPICO. ACORKA arranged 98935 79347 A piece that xequisee euperl.atriue gusto. Mr. cordon ADANDY by 99615 79589 achieved this most of the time, and makes good use of ADAZIE Herman 301003 100757 contrasting deZica~~. AHUMMER Avery 300517 100219 AHURRAH Wade 301725 101059 (August 4, 1926) ALALAPALOOSA 301319 100999 WTUS LA}jD, Op,' 47, No. 1 (Scott). PZayed by C':JPil APEACH 300747 100457 Bcotiti, Al@ICO. APIPIN 300493 100187 Cyril, Scott is poet; Lhrouqh: and through. He l.ikee ABlOT 301665 101057 rich sensuous harmonies and doee not hesitate to admi-t: ARIPPER 301813 101087 it--as his music ehoae, Both the piece itself and his AROUSER 301163 100899 performance of it are interesting as a creation of ASPARKLER 301477 100989 impressionistic tor~ coZops. AS TAR 301243 100965 ASTUNNER 300879 100599 fttttttttttttttttttt AWHALE 301403 100949 AWHOPPER 301497 101025 AWINNA 99295 74489 AWUNDA 97285 97075 The QRS company's new 8-1/2"x 11" full page 1971 AZIPPER 301603 101037 catalog lists 3000 titles, which include over 100 Recordo A-BOUNCER 302372 30237'3 101097 rolls and a Recordo test roll. A-BULLY 302044 302045 101125 As a special salute to Pete Wendling, his 1915 record­ A-CUCKOO 302034 302035 101119 ing of "Vaaka Hula Hickey Dula" has been released for A-DAZZLER 302312 302313 101187 Ampico (roll AMP-1001), Duo-Art (DA-1001), Recordo A-DREAMER 302378 302379 (M-1001), and S8-note players (Q-1001). This is an ex­ A-FIZZY 302436 302437 101227 cellent selection which was included as one of three A-GOOD MIXER 302212 302213 101147 combined Wendl ing rolls offered on AMI CA's 1ist of A-JINGLER 302264 302265 101175 Ampico rolls to be recut. An-OK 302598 - 302599 101269 This is QRS's first issue of a roll for the Ampico A-PEPPER POT 302462 302463 101237 and Duo-Art reproducing pianos. Could it be a "feeler" A-RING DINGER 302592 302593 101267 to sample the reproducer market? Time will tell. A-RIP SNORTER 302178 302179 101137 The catalog itself is attractive and informative. A-STARTLER 302432 302433 101217 The front page shows oval pictures of 16 well known A-TINGLER 302574 302575 101257 player piano artists. Inside, 1/2 page explains how QRS A-TOPPER 301952 101953 101105 rolls are made and is illustrated with four pictures. A-WIDE AWAKE 302484 302485 101207 The "Salute to Pete Wendl ing" tells briefly of his car­ AZAZA 302214 302215 101149 eer and shows Mr. and Mrs. Wendling examining a QRS catalog on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniver­ A-BANNER 303034 303035 sary • A-HEADLINER 303006 303007 Between the front and back covers, rolls are listed A-HIGH-FLYER arranged 302916 302917 in many catagories--even a roll played by Dick Hyman: A-HUNKY-DORY by 303084 303085 "Moog: the Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman." A-RIPPLER Edwin 302906 302907 The last page lists roll repair parts and paper, A-SIZZLER E. 302748 302749 A-SPIC-AND-SPAN Wilson 302674 302675 tracker ba r pump, "Ri nkey Tink" attachmen t , inexpens ive roll cabinet, books and records. A-SURE-WINNER 302964 302965 A custom roll recutting service is also offered which A-SURPRISE 301778 301779 states: IIlf you have a standard length rolL which you A-TICKLER 302834 302835 would like to have copied, QRS can supply you with 13 A-WHIRLWIND 302958 302959 copies (with words) for $78." A-WHIZZER 302668 302669 WHWHWHWHWHWHWHWHWMW """""""""" 15 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

MUSIC ROLLS inaccurate player, always needed a lot of editing. It is (FROM FORTUNE MAGAZINE, DECEMBER, 1934) also possible to perform feats that no pianist could contributed by Ed Sprankle dream of doing--miraculously full chords and fantastic arpeggios. The old and very popular pianola style of Like the piano industry (see page 99), the player­ rolling bass and octave tremolo was never actually piano-roll industry has had tough sledding. But while played by pianists. It was punched in afterwards. The the piano industry has good hopes of recovering, the potentialities of the player once got musicians very player-roll industry looks very much as if it might not. excited. Busoni was going to write a special work for Only ten years ago it was a $6,000,000 industry and was one but died before he got around to it. poundf.ng its way day in and day out into American life. But now it is almost completely archaic and a bit wist­ ful. Sales in 1931 were only $428,000, and this year they will be less than half that. There is only one very AMPICO GOOFED! active company in the business--the Imperial Industrial Corporation, nee the famous QRS CO .--and that is being by Dick Howe kept up largely because Mr. Max Kortlander takes the business to heart. My records indicate that Ampico issued seven QRS was the great roll name though no one knew for Moonlight Sonata rolls. These rolls are as follows: sure what the name stood for--maybe Quality, Real Ser­ vice. A QRS salesman passed through Grand Rapids in 1915 50405-H 1st Mvt. Harold Bauer and heard young Max Kortlander play the piano. He spotted 50337-H 2nd & 3rd Mvts. Harold Bauer Max as a natural for player rolls and persuaded him to go 66613-H 1st Mvt. Josef Lhevinne to Chicago. So Ma~ became one of the biggest player-roll 67283-H 2nd & 3rd Mvts. Josef Lhevinne names, ranking with Pete Wendling and Lee S. Roberts. In 71773 1st & 2nd Mvts. Ignace Jan Paderewski 1919 he wrote a song called TeZZ Me (Why nights are lone­ 71783 3rd Mvt. Ignace Jan Paderewski ly; tell me, why days are blue") , which was sold for 100185 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Mvts. Josef Lhevinne $100,000, the highest lump sum any popular song ever got. As QRS slipped softly into its decline, Hr. Kort­ I recently purchased a high-quality recut of the lander became a Director and in 1931 bought out the long play roll (100185). When I played this roll it musical end of the business. He calls it Imperial Indus­ seemed that the 2nd and 3rd movements played somewhat trial Corp., because with a name like that he can go faster than the original Lhevinne roll (67283-H). into any business. He plans to stick to rolls until he This was verified with a stop watch which gave the actually loses money--he says he hasn1t lost any yet. following results: Imperial puts out about twenty new rolls a month and gets a steady call for old recorded numbers like the 1st Mvt 2nd & 3rd Mvt Total BZue Danube. Sacred songs sell well and so does foreign music--Polish, Bohemian, and German, with Greek picking Individual Rolls 6:00 7:10 13:10 12:40 up fast. South America is the best export field. I~ Long Play Roll 6:00 6:40 perial's biggest rivals are Ampico and Duo-Art, really the same company. But they make rolls that can be played Thus the long play roll was about 30 seconds faster only on their own pianos. They have big names like than the total running time of the individual rolls. Paderewski and Hofmann on their rolls but don't make any This is about the same result you would obtain by money and never did make much. Their only new output is taping the two individual rolls together to make a popular stuff, no classical. Hardly any player pianos long play roll. are made. You probably know the principle of the player piano. Since all rolls were marked tempo 75, I next In the player piano is a perforated cylinder over which checked them by overlaying and the perforation lengths the roll passes. When air is sucked in through a hole in were identical. My next thought was that the long the cylinder, a note plays. When you want to play C, you play had been recut from the individual rolls without pooch a hole in the paper so that it will pass over the adjusting the cutting speed for the 2nd and 3rd move­ C hole in the cylinder. This makes it possible for any­ ments. Hal Powell assured me that the recut was the one to make a piano roll by punching holes in paper. same as the original so I decided to check the Which is just the way Imperial makes its rolls today. original. Since I was unable to borrow an original to Mr. J. Lawrence Cook, a Negro, sits at his desk, a piano check against the other rolls on my piano, I asked at his side, and plays a few bars of a song on the piano, Vernon Brown to measure his original [only the most arranging as he goes along. Then he draws lines on a roll avid roll researchers will agree to measure a roll]. of paper to indicate notes. Then someone punches holes These measurements yielded the following results: where the lines are drawn, and there is your piano roll. It never gets near a piano until you play it. Mr. Cook Individual Rolls 109'-10" does an average roll in two or three hours and is very Recut LP 109'-10" adept at imitating the styles of popular pianists. Original LP 109'-11" Ampico and Duo-Art scorn this cheaper method; their After timing and measuring the various rolls, I rolls are actually played and interpreted-~as the old have concluded that Ampico goofed. Either the 2nd and QRS rolls were. It is, naturally, always possible to 3rd movements are playing too fast on the long play correct an interpretation by pasting up a wrong note or roll or too slow on the individual roll. punching in an omitted one. Paderewski, a notoriously nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn THE AMICA NEWS BU·LLETIN

RECORDO BANNER STILL FLIES PART V: RECORDO ROLLS by Bob Billings A&B RECORDO REVISITED. ROLLS DESCRIBED.

When this series began I explained that the Recordo 4. Aria Divina Reproducing Roll story was under construction and subject to change. Here 5. u.S. Auto Art is the first major change. 6. Symphonola In the last few months we have acquired a number of 7. Rose Valley Reproducing Imperial Automatic Electric rolls, which replaced Recor­ 8. Vocalstyle Reproducing do and QRS Recordo rolls in our collection. The theory 9. Voca1sty1e Reproduco was lithe older the more authen t l c ," or something like 10. Vocalstyle Home Recital Series that. The first thing I noticed was that the Imperial 11. Me10dee Expression Roll series extended a year further than lid thought earlier 12. Pianosty1e for Expression Reproducing Pianos 13. Gulbransen Expression Roll (one copy known) --close to 1922. Second, as I began to write about ~ianos rolls, originally the subject of this article the 14. International for Expression Reproducing similarities between Imperial and Recordo bec~me more 15. Mastertouch Expression Roll (Austral ian). apparent. Ginny made a convnent which eventually led to Following are some characteristics noted from rolls a new understanding of the A & B Recordo: III find it in our collection. Except for Imperial, Recordo and QRS hard to believe that Recordo made so many rolls in one Recordo the samples are quite small, and may not be yea r of ex is tence , II In a momen t of i nspi ra t ion I com­ rep resen tat ive , pared an Imperial and a Recordo roll of the same number. The notes were identical, but 10 and behold! The ex­ pression coding was different! The Imperial Automatic Electric used A coding, the Recordo B coding. Now some of the questions raised earlier are answered. Why did the Cab1e/ Euphona B system use the same tracker bar as the H. C. Bay A system? Why did the A& B systems apparently coexist in 1916? Why was a B test roll (#6910) issued early in the A series? Why did QRS Recordo make no effort to differentiate between A and 1. IMPERIAL AUTOMATIC EL~CTRIC (A SYSTEM) B rolls? Why did Recordo and Imperial use the same 11 11 11 11 Box: Black, 2-1/4 x 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 x 3 • labels, boxes, paper and spools? Why should Recordo have ~: existed at all? Light blue, dark blue printing. Word rolls had Very simple. Imperial issued the Automatic Electric an additional red stamp reading "sonqrecoj-d.." Box A rolls and the Recordo Standardized Reproducing B rolls label used on roll leader. simultaneously. (Along with Solo-Caro1a, which used the Paper: Sturdy waxed, light brown. same note masters. Note to Jeffrey Finn: I have com­ Numbering Sequence: Rolls numbered in order of issue, pared Solo Carola to Imperia1/Recordo, and they are beginning with 1 and going to about 590. The high­ identical in notes and hammer rail lift.) Imperial is­ est Imperial we have is 586. Prefixing each se­ sued both series until late 1921, lid guess, since we quential roll number was a 6, ending each number was an O. Thus I became 610, 586 became 65860. have absolutely no Imperials after then, but plenty of 11 11 Recordos. After early 1922 it would seem that the A . Word rolls had an addi t ional 115 or "0 prefix. system was dropped and only B rolls were issued. As live ~: Difficult to determine since we have no cata­ proven before, though, such speculation may prove in­ logs and the rolls were not dated until 1920. No correct. Does anyone have an Imperial Automatic Electric month coding was used. First roll was probably roll with a number higher than 658601 issued in 1916, the last in late 1921. When QRS acquired Recordo in late 1923 they carried on the B system, using the Recordo masters rather than the Automatic Electric. This explains why QRS never differentiated between A and B rolls. QRS issued only B rolls, until 1926.-The QRS Recordo rolls live compared are identical with the same numbered Recordo rolls in notes and expression. I have found no QRS Recordo rolls coded for A. Yet. Here is what I know of the rolls, boxes and numbering 2. RECORDO (B SYSTEM) system to date... Box: same as Imperial. Selmer Nielsen has more Recordo titles and brands ~: Same as Imperial, omitting red stamp for word than anyone else I know, and says the following brands rolls. Fi rst mention of "Standardized Electricll play on the Recordo: reproducing system. IIChicagoll at bottom of label. Box label used on roll leader. 1. Imperial Automatic Electric Paper: Same as Imperia~. 2. Recordo Numbering Sequence: Same as Imperial, except extend­ 3. QRS Recordo ing to about #800. Prefix IISI1 or 110'" is omitted 17 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

for word roll s . ~: About 1916 through September or November, 1923.

X2016 Sweet Forget-Me-Nots COI'y.illhteJ1917 Sllll~ FoA. Puh. Co. Miles f1.AnD IV ROI£aT RaMAYNf ,1$

5. ARIA DIVINA: TYPE I, MEL-a-DEE STYLE (B SYSTEM) Box: Same as Mel-a-Dee Expression, size 2-1/411 x 3. QRS RECORDO (B & C SYSTEMS) 11 --2-1/4 to 11 X 11 • Box: Standard QRS box (see pp 28-29, AMICA Bulletin, 3 3 ---Sept. 1971: Bill Bonner). Label: Same as Mel-O-Dee Expression except black in­ Label: 3-color; red, blue and black. Blue band across ---stead of brown printing and Aria Divina nomen- ~p 40%, QRS in red at top. Red border left and clature. Box label on leader. right. Roll information black on white lower 60%. Paper: Same as Mel-O-Dee Expression. Box labels used on rolls until late 1924. Infor­ Numbering Sequence: Same as Mel-a-Dee Expression. mation stamped on leader after that. Earliest Dates: Unknown. rolls occasi.onally used Recordo labels on leader. r'fJais 'Roll is ~alJ Paper: Same as QRS (Bill Bonner, Ope cit.), except Cutforthi.. earliest rolls used up the remaining Recordo paper. AnaDivina Numbering Seguence: Same as Imperial/Recordo, except Reproducing Action for the addition of the prefix IIM. II Thus, 848 be­ came M-68480. Some rolls were prefixed IIA. II These were the ones also issued under the Aria Divina label. First QRS Recordo roll was about 800, the last 1809 or 1810 (Alan Mueller sent us some roll labels #1810 he found in the archives at the QRS factory, but we1ve never heard of a live example, A-613430 nor has Ramsi Tick of QRS). Recordo rolls were reissued with the M prefix. Rolls were all coded CALLIRHOE for B system until about 1275-1285 when they were Air de BaBet. No. • .coded for the C system. There was some overlap of Played by Herma MentJl Band C rolls. Late in the series coding began to CTto7llinade slip back to B. Dates: November or December 1923 to February 1930. C 6. ARIA DIVINA: TYPE II, QRS RECORDO STYLE (C SYSTEM) 11 11 ---nDlls were first issued in March 1926. Box: (1 sample) plain black, 1-7/8 x 2 • Labe1: Same as Ari a Di vi na, Type 1. Paper: QRS. Numberi ng Seguence: QRS Recordo, but prefixed IIA" instead of IIM. II ~: March 1926 to early 1928.

lnteran.&&o Pi_I", ('OfA M,' H..... Vider lie..bert Copy., W'tm••k 4. MEL-O-DEE EXPRESSION ROLL (B SYSTEM) MUSrc 1.00 ON"Y 11 11 Box: (2 samples) 2-1/2 x 2-1/2 • Purple, textured. £QDlJ@Q~Lr Label: Light brown, dark brown printing. Extends *R EPROD UC'.NG ROl.L. --about 1-1/2" onto top of box. Part on top of box reads "Expres s ion Roll." Information stamped green 7. U.S. AUTO ART (B SYSTEM) 11 11 on leader. Box: 2-1/4 x 2-1/4 • Black, textured wi th legend pap Aeol ian. --IIRo11 of Honor." Num6r:ering Seguence: Two series, both prefi~ed X. Label: Same as U.S. Three colors: blue, yellow and Fi rs t se ri es is 3 dig its, numeri ca 11 y from 101. --b-lack. At bottom of label, "Auto-Art" in yellow, Second series is 4 digits, numerically from 2001. II Rep roduc i n9 Ro 11 11 in sma11 blue 1et te rs be low. Upper 1imit not known. Stamped information in blue ink on leader. ~: Unknown. Paper: Same as U.S. Medium quality light tan. THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN

Numbering Sequence: Not certain. 5 digit number, first digit 6 for word rolls, 8 for instrumental. ~: Probably began in early 1927, after purchase of U.S. by QRS in November 1926. Last date unknown. 8. SYMPHONOLA 94915 Unknown to me. Why Did It 9. ROSE VALLEY RECORDING ROLL Have rro Be Me? Fox Trot Unknown to me. I:J~ «;l :11 Relllkk MUllc cOlr. PLAYS ON ALL. 8& NOT!! Pl:AV£RS 10. VOCALSTYLE REPRODUCING AND Al!:O EXPRESSION UnknONn to me. REPRODUCING PIANOS. 11. VOCAlSTYLE REPRODUCO Unknown to me. Box label used on leader. Paper: Cheapest available. Numbering Seguence: Five digit number, beginning with 94. Next three digits probably sequential. Dates: Earliest date not known. Latest date seen is ----:ianuary 1932. 16. INTERNATIONAL, TYPE II (C SYSTEM) 11 11 Box: (1 samp 1e) 2 x 2- 1/8 • B1ack, p1ain. Label: Brown on white. Lh /'...,. LIl:itL~~ Paper: Cheapest available. ":_1": ,,, 11· Ii .1. f Numbering Seguence: Prefixed R-. Sequential numbering beginning with 100. Listed in QRS Catalog. 12. VOCALSTYLE HOME RECITAL SERIES (A SYSTEM) Dates: Earli~st catalog listing is October 1929. 11 11 Box: (1 samp 1e) 2-1/8 x 2-1/8 , black textured. ---catest date not known. --Legend IILook for the Bird. 1I It has been suggested that this series of rolls was Label: Three color: blue, yellow, black. Vocalstyle derived from Rythmodik masters bought by QRS. I have bird on left. "Reproduce Ro l l" very faint white not yet made any comparisons. on yellow under title. Box label on Vocalstyle Reproduco leader, pasted onto roll. Paper: Vocalstyle, fair quality. Dates: Unknown. Sample is 1923. 4Iln!Jttrtl1ur~ 13. GULBRANSEN EXPRESSION EXPRESSION ROLL Unknown to me. "a" uca•• £.722---- TESORO MIO WALTZ. HAND PLA\'I:I) ROLa.. Je:rn(!,;to Becueci. )'laye,) 111 Thomsura Ir K. AtUI U. (C.) Chappell. CD..

17. MASTERTOUCH EXPRESSION ROLL: AUSTRALIAN (B SYSTEM)

11 11 11 11 Box: 2-1/8 x 2-1/8 to 3 X 3 • Green and tan tex­ --tured, IIMastertouch ll printed in gold. Label: Black on whi tee Legend under brand: "Expres­ 14. PIANOSTYLE FOR EXPRESSION REPRODUCING PIANOS(B SYS- ---sTon ro 11, Standardised Reproduci ng. 1I Extens i ve TEM, VERY POOR COOl NG) design and roll information printed in brown on 11 11 Box: 1-7/8 x 2-1/8 • Black, textured with legend leader. --lip ianos ty 1e. 1I Paper: Good grade hard paper, similar to butcher Label: Two color: -blue-green and black. At bottom of paper. ---,abel, IIP1ays on all 88 note and Express ion Repro- Numbering Sequence: Prefixed E. Sequential numbering ducing Pianos. 1I Information stamped in blue ink probably starting at 100. Highest known number is on leader. 1782. Pctper: Similar to Imperial. Dates: Unknown. Numbering Sequence: Unknown. Sample is 31016. Dates: Unknown. These are the Recordo roll types found to date. I am sure a few more are known to some of you readers, so 15. INTERNATIONAL, TYPE I (B SYSTEM, VERY POOR CODING) 11 11 please write and gain fame. Get your name in printl Box: 2-1/4 x 2-1/8 • Black, plain. Label: Two color: red and black. Red band -at top of NEXT ARTICLE: LATE INFORMATION AND LOOSE ENDS. --label. At bottom of label, IIPlays on all 88 note p1aye rs and a1so exp ress ion rep roduc i ng pianos. II &%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%& INDEX - OCTOBER

INSTRUMENTS, pp. 9-13 INTERNATIONAL, pp 1-3 Ampico Royalties & the Most Hated Man in the Worl d•...•••••.•..••.••.••••••..•••••••. 9 Who & Where •••••..•..•...... •.•••.•.•...•.••... 1 by Doug Hickling Boa rd Min utes •...•.•.••...•.••...... ••..•.••.. 2 Excerpts from Part III of Ampico Salesmanship, 1969-1970 Bound Bulletins: Supply Dwindl ing ..•• 2 Chapter VI, contributed by Doug Hickling .... 9 1971 Bound Bulletins: Orders Needed Now .•.•.... 2 Photo: Piano Factory•••.•••.••..•.•...•..••.•.. 10 Next Mee ting..•..••...... ••....•.••.••....•...• 2 contributed by Kenneth Snowden Correction of Missing Address ...... •....••...• 2 Agg res s ive Amp i co Adve r tis ing••...••••...•..... 11 Special San Francisco Meeting: contributed by Bill Pixley Ursu1a 0ie t rich-Ho11 ins head. • . . . . . • . • •. . • • •• 2 Post-War American Welte Co., Part 11: Gittins by Bill Knorp Prepares to Build Distinguished Organs~•....12 by Doug Hickling NORTHERN CALI FORN IA, p, 3 Photo: Piano Factory, contr. by K. Snowden •..•. 13 Roger Johnson to Host November AHICA ••...••••.. 3 ROLLS & MUSIC, pp. 14-15 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, pp. 4-6 Revi ewing the Reviewer ••.•.•.•.•.•.•.••••..•.•• 14 So. Ca 1iforn i a August Meeting .••..•....••.•.•.. 4 contributed by Bill Pixley by Karl Petersen, Reporter QRS Issues Pete Wendling Ampico/Ouo-Art/ Sam Thompson's October Get-Together.•.•...•••.• 5 Recordo Ro 11, by Sam Thompson •.••.••...••... 14 (photos) A-ONE & A-TWO Gets Resul ts ••••••••••••.•••••.•• 14 Mus i c Rolls (from Fortune, 1934) ••••••..••.••.• 15 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, pp. 6-9 contributed by Ed Sprankle Edythe Baker••.•••••.•••••.•.••.••••.••..••.••• 6 Amp i co Goofed! •••••••••.••••.••••.••••••••••... 15 by Bob Pye by Dick Howe Photo: Wi 1bur Chenoweth ...·•••••••.•....•••...•.. 7 G1i rn pses 0 f Gen ius: Per cy Gra inge r , • •• • . . • • • • •• 8 TECHNICALITIES, pp. 16-18 Contributed by Bill Pixley Recordo Banner Fl i es Again, Part V••••••...••••16 by Bob Billings

BULLETIN Ginny Billings AMICA Pub1i sher AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS' ASSOCIATION P. O. Box 77525, San Francisco, California 94107

DATED MATERIAL