Automatic Pianos A Collector's Guide to the Pianola, Barrel Piano, & Aeolian Orchestrelle

The era of the self-playing or automatic piano embraced the first three decades of the 20th century. Player pianos became the most sought-after addition to the family home and the companies that built them, including Pianola, Kastonome, Triumph, Pistonola, Claviola, Autoplayer and Apollo became both important and wealthy. This book, by a world-renowned authority on mechanical music and its instruments, relates the automatic piano's rise from the spring-powered dulcimer-playing musical clocks of the 16th century through the once-popular barrel-playing pianos and street pianos to the great era of the Reproducing Piano that could bring a famous artist's interpretation of a musical classic into your own drawing-room. This fully-illustrated history explains how the automatic piano works in words and drawings, together with 603 b/w and 43 full color photos. Also, a guide to servicing, maintaining, and playing player pianos is included. Illustrated appendices include a list of makers, brand-names, and a modern-day valuation guide.Ord-Hume, Arthur W. J G. is the author of 'Automatic Pianos A Collector's Guide to the Pianola, Barrel Piano, & Aeolian Orchestrelle', published 2004 under ISBN 9780764320248 and ISBN 0764320246.