FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 22, 2007 The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection Photo Captions “The Encore" Automatic Banjo Made by American Automusic Co., New York City (distributed by the American Automatic Banjo Co. of New Jersey) c. 1901 Murtogh D. Guinness collection Morris Museum Imagine being able to "play" the banjo without taking any lessons! Invented by Charles B. Kendall in 1896, the nickel activated "Encore" was a familiar sight at amusement arcades, soda fountains and hotel lobbies. Eager listeners dropped in a coin and watched four metal "fingers" pluck the strings along with 10 finger-buttons on the banjo's bridge that determined the sound of each note. The hidden, punched music roll was programmed with popular tunes of the day, including the two-step and march. A rarity of its time, the Encore ran on electrical power and could be sold only where power was available. It was typically sold or leased to professional route operators. They would install and maintain the instrument on-site at public venues, and return weekly to change the music and split the revenue with the proprietor.
Street Organ with Animated Figures (Drehorgel mit Figurenautomat) Even though this street (or barrel) organ is heavy—it contains a hand-driven mechanism and four ranks of organ pipes—the organ-grinder who owned it had to carry it from place to place with the aid of a leather strap fitted to its side handles. The lid opens to reveal a display of 16 animated characters, including Napoleon Bonaparte, and the 22-key organ plays 10 tunes, including the “Bonaparte March.” The pinning on a rotating, wooden music cylinder, or barrel, activates the music—as well as the characters that twirl and spin. The moving figures were actually part of the act, as the grinder would recount entertaining stories about each of the characters to his or her audience. This organ’s maker was probably Ignatz Blasius Bruder of Simonswald and Waldkirch in the Black Forest, Germany, whose family descendants continued to build organs well into the 20th century. Clown Illusionist It’s all about illusion! This automaton performs a trick that results in its head disappearing—and then magically reappearing—on a table (complete with blinking eyes). Then, with a gentle wave of a feather fan, the head is back where it belongs! All is done to music, as this automaton contains a two-tune, cylinder musical movement.
"Regina Corona Style 35" Musical Box This “parlor” model musical box is an artfully designed and meticulously crafted machine that provides both a luxurious showpiece and musical splendor alike. Intended for private use, the owner could keep 12 punched-metal tune discs that stored the musical program in a carriage at the center. Each disc automatically rose into playing position when the musical box was operated. The Regina Music Box Company in Rahway, New Jersey made this musical box. Regina was founded by a group of German immigrants who emigrated to the United States around 1892-1896. The company enjoyed significant success and in its heyday, advertised in popular magazines including Harper’s Weekly. Regina was sold by retailers including Montgomery Ward and John Wanamaker & Co.
Limonaire "Orchestrophone" With its “art noveau” design and loud and colorful musical arrangements, this fairground organ – known as an "Orchestrophone" – was made to entertain the public in such outdoor locations as fairs, carousels, and festivals. Sometimes called a "carousel" or "band" organ, this mechanical musical instrument boasts 108 pipes, enabling a melody to be carried on flute, violin, and clarinet pipes, accompanied by trombone, piccolo, and trumpet pipes. A snare drum, bass drum and cymbal add to the mix.
“Polyphon Style No. 46” Disc Musical Box This lovely carved walnut tabletop disc musical box opens to display a panoramic scene featuring a castle regally set atop a scenic mountain in Germany. The device plays 9 ½ inch discs with a single comb mechanism. In 1892, one of Polyphon's founders, Gustave Brachhausen, established the Regina Music Box Co. in Rahway, New Jersey. Regina originally sold musical boxes imported from Polyphon and later produced its own musical boxes by the autumn of 1894. Ultimately, Regina became America’s dominant maker of disc-type boxes, selling about 100,000 instruments between 1894 and 1921. Today, Polyphon, Regina and Symphonion are sometimes referred to as the "big three.” Cylinder Musical Box with Inset Clock and Bells
Though the earliest cylinder musical boxes of the late 1700s and early 1800s generally had plain cases, later makers made increasingly elaborate (and expensive) boxes like the one displayed here. Its burled walnut lid with inlaid banding and floral decoration is as much a work of art as a mechanical musical instrument. This musical box plays six operatic tunes, each accompanied by six saucer bells. The clock can be set to play a melody just before it strikes the hour. Symphonion “Eroica” Hall Clock
An imposing presence, the Symphonion “Eroica” combines a Lenzkirch clock (made in Germany’s Black Forest region) with a music box that plays three discs simultaneously. Though disc music boxes were developed in Germany in the 1880s as a lower-cost alternative to the traditional cylinder boxes, some models were still quite expensive—like the “Eroica.” This model was marketed in the United States for $300 in 1898. To get a sense of what that meant at the turn of the century, consider that the Model T Ford automobile cost $850 in 1908. Popper’s “Rex” Orchestrion
Mammoth “orchestrions” such as this were designed to imitate the sound of a full orchestra. The instrumentation of the Popper’s “Rex” includes a keyboardless piano, ranks of organ pipes that imitate violin, cello and flute, a xylophone, orchestra bells, a bass drum, a snare drum, a cymbal, and a triangle. With its commanding sound and colorful musical arrangements, the “Rex” would have occupied a prominent place in a beer garden, a dance hall, or another major, indoor public venue. The elegant case features an Alpine scene that illuminates with a rushing waterfall and a train that moves across an aqueduct. The Flautist
This almost-life size figure depicts a man playing a flute, fingering the instrument for each tune. His head motions to the instrument for each selection, then away at the end of the melody, as he intermittently blinks his eyelids. The music is actually provided by a four-tune organ with Vienna flute pipes to feign or imitate the sound of the real flute. The entire, spring-wound mechanism, including the organ, is contained within the figure’s torso. This model was patented by Alexandre Nicolas Théroude in 1866, and his signature can be found on the interior. Another Parisian automata maker, Jean Roullet, later adopted the model. “Mephistopheles, Model No. 1” (from
the opera Faust) This large figure is styled after the devilish character in Charles Gounod’s opera Faust and was marketed by Lambert as “Mephistopheles, Model No. 1.” To a waltz from Faust and the Aida March, “Mephisto” turns and nods his head and blinks his eyes. While his right hand moves as if strumming the music, his lower jaw moves as if he is singing a song (the music is actually provided by a concealed, cylinder musical movement). Lambert exhibited this particular model at the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris. “La Mascotte” (from the opera
La Mascotte)
This figure represents a character from the comic opera, La Mascotte. In its time, the opera was wildly popular—playing some 1,700 times in Paris alone from 1880 to 1897. A cylinder musical movement, concealed in the body, plays Audran’s La Mascotte waltz (1880) plus Mme. Boniface (1883). As the figure moves, the basket lid opens to reveal a chirping bird! “Harpiste Mauresque” (Moorish
Harpist)
Parisian automata makers often looked around them for their subject matter—to the numerous fairs, festivals and international expositions taking place in their city, many of which featured people from far-off countries, who were then considered “exotic.” An example is this highly animated harpist, who sits on an octagonal stand; she was marketed by Vichy as a “Harpiste Mauresque.” Maid Dusting a Portrait
Once wound up, this figure dusts a portrait of a man to the sound
of a musical box melody—until she throws up her arms up in
shock when she notices the man’s eyes and mouth moving! Musical Chair Combining the craft of the Black Forest wood carver with the art of the Swiss musical box makers, creations such as this chair were popular around 1900. German retail houses sold them as fancy articles for the home and as souvenirs for those touring the Black Forest or Switzerland. The music begins as soon as a person sits down or if the seat is pressed down by hand (inside the hollow seat is a 43-note cylinder musical movement). The hand-carved walnut chair features inlaid, Alpine scenes of a hunter and his mountain goats. Residential Barrel Organ
This Gothic-influenced cabinet contains three wooden cylinders or “barrels” that are each pinned with a program of 10 tunes, mainly dances and waltzes. While one barrel is mounted within the instrument for playing, the other two (shown) are stored in the base on carriages that slide out through a flap-door. The six-foot tall, hand-cranked organ features several “stops” so that the operator can vary the instrumentation at will, including the ranks of organ pipes as well as percussion (a drum and triangle). The operator’s dexterity and sense of timing are thus essential to the interactive performance. Sublime Harmonie Plérodiénique
A highlight of the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection during its namesake’s lifetime, this elegant musical box was built by Paillard-Vaucher et Fils of Sainte-Croix, Switzerland. It is housed in an ebonized case and conforming table inlaid with brass scrollwork, mother-of-pearl, ivory, and edge moldings of gilt brass. The table actually serves as a writing desk, with a pullout escritoire in the center; side drawers hold the interchangeable music cylinders. This piece combines two of the most revolutionary musical box designs in history. Sublime Harmonie refers to a musical effect that relies on the slight dissonance created when two notes of ostensibly the same pitch are sounded, thus producing a richer and fuller sound. Plerodienique is a complex system that permits lengthy music selections to be played without interruption. Mr. Guinness’s favorite selection on this box was a five-minute rendition of Weber’s “Invitation to the Dance.” In the 1970s, when Murtogh Guinness removed the beveled mirror on the inside of the lid to have it re-silvered, he discovered London journals dated 1880 that served as backing material. This simple discovery reinforced the theory that some Paillard movements were originally exported “bare” from the maker in Switzerland to the Paillard-Vaucher et Fils showrooms in London, where English cabinetmakers mounted them in custom-made cases. (In this instance, the cabinetmakers of the 1880s had apparently just grabbed the most handy paper material to keep the mirror and lid from rattling against each other.) Musical Ring with Animated Scene This 18-carat gold musical ring combines the arts of the jewelry designer, the goldsmith, the engraver, the enameller, the stone setter, and the first generation of musical box makers. Sitting atop a flared, adjustable shank, the case that contains the mechanism is less than ¼” thick, is decorated with patterns pressed into the gold from the reverse side—known as “repoussé”—and further set with turquoise. The scene depicts a music session in an elegant drawing room, replete with a hanging oil lamp, a bird sitting on a three-legged music stand, and a pet dog. When set into motion, the seated woman hand-cranks a “serinette”—an organ used to train birds to sing melodies—and the man conducts the tempo with his violin bow. Since the ring was made in Geneva, it seems fitting that the tune
the ring plays is “Le Ranz des Vaches,” an ancient cow-herders’ song
that symbolizes the Swiss motherland. The makers, Piguet & Capt,
were in partnership from 1802 to 1811, and so the music holds added
significance as a song of resistance, as Geneva was then under occupation
by France. |