In MMDs 961207 (self), 971107 (Julian Dyer) and 981211, 981223
(Paddy Handscombe), the bare history was told of the player piano
most venerated by British enthusiasts, the Gotha Steck.

The Gotha works of Ernst Munck had been taken over by the Aeolian Co.
in 1905 and continued to make outstanding upright and grand players
under the Steck name well into the Great War.  At some stage in the
1920s, Stecks ceased to be made there.

What happened after the war ? Did anyone else continue making players,
or pianos, there ?

These questions have now been resolved beyond all doubt, thanks to
a visit by Rex Lawson to Wolfgang Heisig in Saxony, who drew his
attention to a remarkable new publication.  This is a comprehensive
history of the Munck piano works issued by Urania, the local history
foundation.  Rex will be producing an English-language account in the
"Pianola Journal" before long, but here are a few tidbits -- and
corrections to our guesses.

Ernst Munck senior was of a similar age to George Steck and founded his
piano works in the same year, 1857.  In 1902 he died, leaving the firm
in the hands of Ernst Munck junior.  Advertisements ("Hof-pianofabrik
Munck" meaning: domestic pianos only) show that Munck had a showroom in
the town centre and, in addition to manufacture, did tuning, rebuilds
and, acting as an agent for the Choralion Co. of Berlin, sold the
Pianola both as a "Vorsetzer" (the 65-note pushup) and built into
pianos.  Since they don't say these were their own, we must assume not
at this stage.  There was also a branch factory at Erfurt.

'Round about 1904 Ernst Munck junior was giving "pianola concerts" in
the town, so was evidently an enthusiast.  However, it looks as though
business was flagging: Aeolian [USA] were on the lookout for a European
acquisition, and the takeover suited everyone.  For convenience the new
Steck plant was made a subsidiary of the Choralion Company, rather than
trying to control its day-to-day activities from across the Atlantic.

The Munck building was retained but doubled in size.  We have the
surviving instruments to tell us of the style in which things were
done; Aeolian had little say over quality and things went along much
as before.  An old street map shows that the plant had rail access
through the streets.  This rail line, remembered by local residents,
so survived until the 1950s.

In 1915 the Steck factory was not sequestrated, but thanks to the
control of Choralion having been from London rather than New York, was
placed under [German] State supervision.  Communist stirrings in
Germany brought about several damaging strikes.

There was a lull in piano construction during the Great War -- the
factory was used for a recruiting centre -- but Steck production
resumed afterwards and continued until 1924 when Aeolian suffered a
serious financial hiccup thanks to mismanagement in New York and had
to find some capital.

The Gotha plant was sold to Ludwig Hupfeld, but in 1927 Hupfeld too
ran into difficulties and the factory closed.  The plant later housed
presses for printing cardboard sheet and, in the Communist era, made
glossy LP covers.  The building was not damaged in World War II and
today is a multi-story shopping precinct, in very good shape, to judge
from Rex's photos.

The booklet, No. 6 in a series of 18 local industrial histories, is
crammed with facts, photos and reproduced advertisements and is
computer-set in a clear and competent manner uncannily similar to that
of the present (London) Player-Piano Group Bulletin.  For those able to
read German, or are prepared to try, the full details are:

  Ernst Munck - Gotha
  Hofpianofabrik - Gegruendet 1857
  Schriftenreihe de URANIA Kultur- und Bildungsvereins Gotha e.V.
  zur Firmengeschichte der Stadt Gotha - Heft 6
  2. Auflage 2000

 [ Available from: ]

  URANIA
  Hauptmarkt 17
  99867 Gotha
  Germany

Dan Wilson, London