When I was attending college in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in the early
1970s, I met none other than Daniel Barton, founder of the Barton Organ
Company and my neighbor who lived a block away.  He told me that when
he was young he played a trap drum set along with the piano player for
silent films.

The piano was a Schoninger with the bell attachment (Schoninger
organs had them, too) and he removed the saucer bells and attached an
electro-magnet to each bell and then strung them around the theatre for
a "stereo" music experience.  It met with success and then he reasoned
that electromagnets would work on other instruments as well and called
his new invention the "Bartola".  It would later evolve into a theatre
organ.

He told me that these type of "photo players", so to speak, were all
destroyed and did not think any were left.  When Mr. Bowers mentioned
the installation of the electric bells strung throughout the theatre
[080829 MMDigest], I think Mr. Barton pioneered the idea back around
1910.

Speaking of Una-Fons, has anyone ever seen the model that is built
into an enclosed cabinet with swell shutters?  This is factory done,
as I have found and own one.

Greg Filardo

 [ See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton_Organ_Company 
 [ -- Robbie