Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Street Pianos.
Street pianos, as possibly not every one
knows, are in principle a combination of
the music box and the upright piano. They
are technically called "cylinder pianos,"
and while formerly imported from large
factories in Berlin and Florence, are now
chiefly manufactured here. The cylinder,
which is turned by the crank, resembles
that of a music box greatly enlarged and
made of wood. In transcribing a composi-
tion to this instrument a sheet of paper is
tightly pasted around the cylinder, which
is placed in a frame supporting a keyboard
consisting of small wooden keys, on the
under side of which small, sharp-pointed
bits of steel are screwed. The operator
puts the music to be transcribed on a rack
in front of him, and proceeds to play it on
the keyboard, carefully revolving the cylin-
der so as to get the proper intervals be-
tween the successive notes. This silent
music punctures the paper on the cylinder
full of holes.
Another mechanic now takes the cylin-
der and drives small brass nails in these
holes. This was formerly done tediously
with a hammer, but the elder Molinari has
greatly simplified and expedited it by a
scheme for pressing the nails in with a
beam worked with a treadle. The nails
protrude about an eighth of an inch, and
vary in shape according to the length of
the note to be played. Thus a quarter
note is represented by a nail with a head
on it, an eighth note by a sharp-pointed
tack, and a succession of sixteenth notes
by a strip of brass toothed like a comb. A
half or a whole note resembles a double-
headed carpet tack. On each cylinder ten
tunes are placed, the position of the cylin-
der being slightly shifted for each tune.
Once filled, the cylinder is put into the
piano frame, where the nails release ham-
mers, which fly against strings as in a
piano.
Street pianos are rather expensive, con-
sidering the sort of capitalists that own
them. They vary in price according to
range and brilliancy rather than the num-
ber of their tunes. A piano with forty
hammers costs from $150 to $190. They
can be had with forty-four, forty-eight and
even sixty-four hammers, these last cost-
ing $350. The panoramas which accom-
pany some of them cost from $10 to $30.
Each cylinder costs from $40 to $85. Ow-
ing to the roughness of their usage and the
short life of popular airs, they require con-
stant tuning and an occasional change of
cylinders.
How these Italian street musicians ac-
cumulate the necessary capital it is hard to
imagine, but they certainly have the art of
living luxuriously upon nothing a year.
They usually own their piano, and it is
very hard to rent one without renting the
owners, too. While a decent upright
pianoforte can be rented for $4 a month, a
street piano costs from $4 to $10 a week.
Leader of the First Band
IN INDIANAPOLIS, IND. S. E. TYLER, AN OC-
TOGENERIAN, MAKES THIS CLAIM.
New Year's day was the eighty-fifth
birthday anniversary of Spofford E. Tyler,
one of the earliest settlers in Indianapolis,
says the Sun of that city. He came to
this city in 1836, and there are said to be
bmt two men now living in the city who
have been here longer than he. They are
John H. P. Nowland and General Morris.
All of Mr. Tyler's family are dead, and
he makes his home with a son-in-law, C.
L. Hutchison, at 412 North East street.
He tells many interesting tales of the early
history of Indianapolis. He recalls that
he organized the first brass band which the
city ever had, and of the members none
but Mr. Tyler and James McCready are
now alive. Mr. Tyler had been a member
of a band back in Massachusetts, and he
was selected leader. Several hundred dol-
lars were raised by subscription, and he
was sent to Cincinnati to buy instruments
and uniforms. Two bolts of green cloth
were purchased, and the last uniform had
to be made from remnants of both bolts.
Then it was discovered that they varied
slightly in shade, and Lewis Walk, father
of Julius Walk, the jeweler, had to wear
the half-and-half uniform. When Henry
Clay made his famous visit to Indiana this
Philipp Wirching, who up to a few band went to the edge of the State to wel-
years ago was head of the Wirching come him, two weeks being required to
Church Organ Co., Salem, O., has again make the trip.
entered the field as a manufacturer of
An undertaker in Jersey City who bears
church organs.
the peculiar and somewhat startling name
of Thomas Stiff, is a believer in the de-
ESTABLISHED IN 1849.
partment store on a limited scale. Apart
from his mortuary stock he handles musi-
cal instruments, bicycles, skates, opera
glasses and miscellaneous small wares.
Burglars got into his store a few nights
ago, and skipped with a number of articles
which add to the enjoyment of this life.
Mr. Stiff can now look out for a good
crop of jokes at the hands of our humor-
ous writers.
FINEST TONE,
BEST WORK AND
MATERIAL.
PIANOS
PRICES MODERATE AND 7 0 0 0 0 M A D E
TERNS REASONABLE.
AND IN USE
EVERY
INSTRUMENT
FULLY WARRANTED.
The new factory of the National Musical
String Co., New Brunswick, N. J., is al-
most ready for occupancy. The entire
manufacturing force of the company will
be consolidated at New Brunswick. Sev-
eral hundred operators will be employed.
The Krell Piano Co. are sending out
some very dainty New Year calendars.
ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE FREE.
PIANO KEYS AND CASES
EMERSON PIANO CO.
The New York Piano Key Co. is not only maintaining
its reputation of making the best Piano and Pipe Organ
Keys in this country, but have added to their plant a first-
class Piano Case flaking Department, and guarantee to
furnish the very best of casework at the lowest price
possible.
Office and factory for both departments at Peterboro, N. H
BOSTON.
NEW YORK.
CHICAGO.
Highest Grade Pianofortes
(WREST-PIN AND STRINGER SYSTEMS.)
LISZT, CHURCH, CHAPEL and PARLOR
ORGANS.