This is an important announcement for those interested in the Ampico
and its history.  The collector community owes Ampico aficionado
Alan H. Mueller a big debt of gratitude for having the foresight to
see the value in preserving and saving a group of important documents
from American Piano Co. (Ampico) and rescuing them from a fate unknown.

He generously donated his collection to Stanford University for
preservation in the hope that they would be made available for viewing
and study.  We also owe Stanford University Music Library and Jerry
McBride and his team a big thank you for preserving, digitizing and
making them available online for all of us to explore and study.

One of the major items in this collection is the 'Ampico Corporation
Artists Record' ledger, which details the compensation and rolls
recorded by artists that were under contract.  It also has contract
information between Hupfeld and Ampico for the supply of rolls and
masters that would be used for the Ampico coded Hupfeld transfers.

The information in this book is fascinating and exciting to those of
us interested in the Ampico and at the same time bittersweet when you
see some of the rolls that were recorded and never issued.

Some of these are 'Tableaux d'un Exposition' (Pictures At An Exhibition)
by Mussorgsky recorded by Iliff Garrison, The 'Gymnopedie' by Erik Satie
recorded by Leo Ornstein, and many other unissued titles by various
pianists.  You can view the Artists Contract ledger here:
https://purl.stanford.edu/bp512hh0382  The other part of Alan's
donation is individual company correspondence and other documentation,
you can view them here:  https://purl.stanford.edu/dk033vx9193 

It is my hope that these documents will bring about many discussions
about their content.

Michael Swanson
San Jose, California

 [ Read about Standford's piano roll activities at
 [ https://library.stanford.edu/projects/player-piano-project 
 [ -- Robbie