Clock Organ
By Brian Thornton, forwarded by Terry Smythe
Forwarded Message:
**********************************************
From: BTHORNTON@delphi.com To: Terry_Smythe@MBnet.MB.CA
Subj: clock organ Area: 16-Email Date: 04/19/95
====================================================================
internet"Terry_Smythe@MBnet.MB.CA"
Terry,
Just returned from another trip to Brady's installing some of my completed projects. One of the projects was quite unique... It's a huge Grandfather clock with a built in organ w/ 22 stopped wooden flute pipes which play off a pinned cylinder. All handmade, weight driven. A lot of the mechinism and all the pipes were in terrible shape but it was all there. He found it at a yacht club on the east coast, like you found your Welte, following up on a music box lead. He thought it had been Made in the 1840s, but as I took it appart I found an inscription:
1800
Ernst Trummeler
Freiburg u./T
Germania
Its the oldest piece I've restored. It took patience to figure out how to get it all back together. When I work on all these old things I feel like an archaeologist peering through a window into a frozen piece of time. As I handled the pieces and metic ulously reglued the smashed pipes, I experienced the feeling in spades. Images of late 18th cent german village life poured into my head. Soft yellow sun light cuting into the deep dark interior of an old craftsmans shop though skylights and long narrow windows. ....Not to mention what I felt when I finally got the thing to play. This project presented a quandry I haven't delt with in some time becuase the player stuff is so routine. And that is: How far do you take a restoration? I think sometimes renovation and restoration clash. This was more apparent when I was involved in arch. restortion. People had extreme fanaticism to take the structure back to the day it was built...in doing so erased much of it's charm and history. I think its important to preserve in a gracefull way the essence of time that an object has passed through. I don't have much trouble w/Jim there, but The fellow in Wisconson I'm restoring the 153 Wurlitzer for, wanted to chrome plate all the Spoolframe parts and the Bells....eeechh! It took a while but I was able to talk him out of it.
Well, the next project is a Seeburg Eagle w/ violin pipes. Looks like its been in a sauna. Lots of contact cement holding the verneer on. I think the piano wore out before the player did!
Received a letter from Jody about the new group. I signed on to the list. Hope it works out!
take care,
Brian
P.S. would you have any idea what the u./T means |
(Message sent Thu 20 Apr 1995, 00:27:14 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
|
|
Mechanical
Music Digest™ Archives
