Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
NEWLY INVENTED^ THUMB REST.
D3ta'ls of the Invention of Dr. Cyrus Hamlin
of
Brooklyn—Acts as "First
Aid"
for
Students and Will Be Appreciated.
A newly invented "thumb rest" for the violin, de-
vised by Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, of Brooklyn, is cal-
culated t<> save the student much anguish of mind
and hand. Instead of cracking his second thumb
joint in the fifth position and painfully—for himself
and the neighbors—stretching his little finger al-
most to the note high up on the strings which he
would like to hit, the rest supports the thumb so
that the higher notes can be played wi:h compara-
tive case. The device is detachable and is an en-
tire novelty.
"The average violinist," says Dr. Hamlin, refer-
ring to the student and violin amateur, "knows lit-
tle or nothing above the fifth position, as he has not
learned or caught on to the trick of the proper
manipulation of the left thumb, which is the basis
of shifting. The thumb rest enables him to glide
the tip of the thumb from the left side of the neck
of the instrument to the right until it comes in con-
tact with the under side of the rest, which is at-
tached just at the angle formed by the junction of
the base of the neck with the body of the violin.
In this position the reach of the fingers is increased
one full inch and most of the strain is taken off the
thumb. Violinists with small hands and young
artists will find it a great help, as it will place them
on the same footing as those who are fortunate
enough to possess long fingers. It will be as great
a help to the ambitious student in his technique as
the chin rest has been.
"By means of the thumb rest one of the most
difficult steps in the mastery of the violin will be
made so much easier that there is bound to be a
noticeable improvement in the technique of those
students who are able to make use of its aid in
their course of study."
SOME STRANGE VIOLINS.
A man by the name of Sinclair in the south of
Scot'and made strange violins some years ago. The
outline was triangular and of the ordinary size.
One had twelve wires stretched across it, and tuned
to correspond to the tones and semi-tones of the
scale, in addition to the ordinary strings.
Another had two bridges, one being higher than
the other, to allow a free passage for the bow to
pass.
The purpose in each case was to augment the
tone.
A man in Texas patterned a fiddle after the skull
of a n gro which he borrowed from a doctor. The
maker had a theory that the negro being a natural
musician, a fiddle construe'ed on the plan of the
skull would be more musical than if made in the
ordinary way. The dimensions of the instrument
wire according to the width and length of the
skull.
Instead of sounding holes on top, shotgun tubes
were placed on the sides, at an angle of 20 degrees.
it being the angle that the nerves of the ears en-
tered the brain.
PATENTS SOUNDING BATON.
Something Unique Finds Its Way Into the
Patent Office at Washington in the Form of
a Baton That Gives the Keynote of the Selec-
tion to Be Rendered—Convenient for Con-
ductors of Choral Unions and Glee Clubs.
(Special to The Review.)
WASHINGTON, D. C, September 7.—Peter A. Fair,
Helena, Mont., was last week granted Patent No.
1.15<),85ti, for a sounding baton.
As is well known, one important function of the
baton, both for choral leaders and band leaders, is
to produce a sound to attract the attention of the
performers, this being usually accomplished by the
leader tapping with the baton upon the music rest
or some other object before him; and it is an im-
portant object of this invention to provide a de-
vice especially suitable for choral leaders whereby
the baton in serving to attract the attention o"f the
choir will also sound the desired key note of the
selection to be rendered in a manner which may not
be mistaken.
A further object is to provide means whereby
ordinary ba'.ons may readily be converted into
sounding batons.
It is another aim to give a ready means for
actuating the sounding element.
Another aim is to provide a plucking device
which will be applicable to use in connection with
tuning forks, stringed instruments and other mu-
sical devices.
It is an important purpose of this invention to
enable the mounting of a tuning fork and a sound-
ing device in a compact and attractive form, espe-
ciall adapted to form a continuation of a baton,
although not necessarily limited to this use.
RETURNS FROM CHICAGO.
H. L. Hunt Visited Lyon & Healy Harp Factory
During His Recent Vacation.
If. L. Hunt, manager of the musical merchandise
department of Charles H. Ditson & Co., 8 East
Thirty-fourth street, New York, returned Tuesday
after a combined vacation and business trip, upon
which he visited the headquarters of Oliver Ditson
& Co., Boston, Mass., and the factory and store of
Lyon & Healy at Chicago, 111. Mr. Hunt spent his
\acation at a lake resort near Chicago, his usual
summer resting place.
Mr. Hunt was impressed with the manufacturing
perfection which characterizes the Lyon & Healy
harp factory, and after spending an entire day at
the factory was highly pleased with the many inno-
vations which have been introduced since his last
visit there a year ago. The Lyon & Healy harp
factory is turning out more harps than ever before,
the total to date being considerably ahead of last
vear.
AN IMPORTANT DECISION.
In sustaining protests by Brown & Reese the
board held that the protest fee of $1 required by the
tariff act of 1913 does not apply to merchandise en-
tered and liquidated before the enactment of the
present law, even though the protest itself was filed
after the law became effective. The merchandise
involved consisted of 2,120 bales of cork shavings,
which were returned for duty at the rate of 10 per
cent, ad valorem under the act of 190!) as "waste."
The board held that the goods should be given free
entry under Paragraph 547, which specifies "cork
wood, or cork bark, unmanufactured."
SHOULD SEND^THEJR^PRICE LISTS.
Vice Consul C. H. Heisler, Cape Town, South
Africa, says in a commerce report that numerous
complaints have been lodged at that consulate by
prospective buyers of American goods because of
PROOF NOT PRESENTED.
the lack of price and discount lists. Many Ameri-
can firms that yearly send their latest catalogs con-
Much to the surprise of customs officials, im-
tinually neglect these lists. This, Mr. Heisler says,
porters continue to lose claims almost daily before
necessitates a delay of several months to the South
the Board of General Appraisers relating to the re-
African purchaser, who may desire an article in the
bate of o per cent, allowed in the present tariff law
shortest time possible, and may lead him to order it
on merchandise brought to this country in vessels
from some other country. American manufactur-
of American register. Importers' carelessness in
ers, he asserts, should in all cases transmit all par-
this regard has been noted for quite some time, but
ticulars when forwarding their catalogs in order to
no improvement appears to have taken place. It
avoid delays and possible loss of orders.
is known that many merchants take particular
care to have goods shipped in American vessels
IMPROVEMENT IN XYLOPHONES.
where they are available, but when it comes to a
trial of the protests asking the rebate there is
(Special to Tlie Review.)
usually no proof. This, of course, results in the
WASHINGTON, D. C, September 7.—Patent No.
claim being overruled. The test case is to come be- 1,152,254 was last week granted to Frederick W.
fore the Supreme Court of the United States some Wood, Kansas City, Mo., for a musical instru-
time this coming winter, and should a decision ulti- ment, and relates particularly to pneumatically
mately be handed down in favor of the validity of
operated xylophones, and the object is to provide
the tariff section importers failing before the board a mechanism for striking a sounding body, such as
now will be obliged to undergo new trials before a xylophone bar, and which will not muffle the
the board in order to get the rebates, provided the sound nor deaden the tone of the sounding body
during the striking operation.
evidence is conclusive.
ASHLAND QUALITY
MUSIC STRINGS
Unexcelled for Strength
Made of Highest Quality Gut
Made by experts in the most modern musical string factory in the country,
to the finished strings every precaution is taken to insure perfection,
exclusive process withstand, dampness and climatic conditions.
VIOLIN E-4 LENGTHS
LARGE STOCKS, PROMPT SHIPMENTS
From the raw material
Strings made by our
.00 to $5.00 per Bundle
WRITE TODAY FOR PRICE LIST
Ashland Manufacturing Company
Dept. B 4100 S. Ashland Avenue, CHICAGO