Treasures of Mechanical Music
Treasures of Mechanical Music

Author: Arthur A. Reblitz

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2022-08-15

Total Pages: 639

ISBN-13: 1879511169

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This book contains over four hundred fifty tuning scales, tracker scales and key frame layouts for player and reproducing pianos, coin pianos and orchestrions, music boxes, table-top organettes, reed, pipe, and electronic organs, barrel organs and various other miscellaneous mechanical musical instruments. In addition to the six hundred fifty pictures and illustrations, there are capsule histories of many of the companies which produced these instruments on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. There are numerous informative articles on such subjects as arranging piano rolls, how to decode an unknown scale, how "nickelodeon" rolls were originally made, selecting the type of roll to be used for a new orchestrion, arranging music for barrel organs, tuning antique instruments, how rolls are perforated and detailed pictorial tours of both the QRS and Play-Rite Music Roll factories as they manufactured rolls in the early 1980s. There's a good bit of information on player pipe organs, and for the carousel buffs, a fascinating collection of pictures of Charles Looff, the carousel builder, and many of the fine machines he made—all of which were fitted with beautiful mechanical organs.

Absolute Music, Mechanical Reproduction
Absolute Music, Mechanical Reproduction

Author: Arved Ashby

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2010-06-07

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 0520945697

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Recordings are now the primary way we hear classical music, especially the more abstract styles of "absolute" instrumental music. In this original, provocative book, Arved Ashby argues that recording technology has transformed our understanding of art music. Contesting the laments of nostalgic critics, Ashby sees recordings as socially progressive and instruments of a musical vernacular, but also finds that recording and absolute music actually involve similar notions of removing sound from context. He takes stock of technology's impact on classical music, addressing the questions at the heart of the issue. This erudite yet concise study reveals how mechanical reproduction has transformed classical musical culture and the very act of listening, breaking down aesthetic and generational barriers and mixing classical music into the soundtrack of everyday life.

Player Piano
Player Piano

Author: Arthur A. Reblitz

Publisher: Vestal Press

Published: 1997-01-01

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1461664470

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A treatise on how player pianos function, and how to get them back into top playing condition if they don't work. For beginners and experienced technicians alike.

Ancient Rockets
Ancient Rockets

Author: Kage Baker

Publisher: Tachyon Publications

Published: 2012-12-01

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 1616961120

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From Metropolis to the pre-technicolor Oz, this fantastical retrospective takes readers through the wildest frontiers of silent films. Glorious landscapes are explored from Tarzan’s jungle and Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory to the Adventures of Prince Achmed and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. Highlighting the earliest and cheesiest special effects, Kage Baker reviews 49 cinematic odysseys with acerbic wit and historical acumen. Contrasting the tour de forces with the utter train wrecks of the silver screen, these sci-fi movies are affectionately viewed, giving special recognition to the flimsy plots, terrifying fiends, and the best and worst directors that inspired generations of fans and filmmakers alike.

Collectible Bells
Collectible Bells

Author: Donna S. Baker

Publisher: Schiffer Pub Limited

Published: 1998-01

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 9780764305559

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A wonderful assortment of bells from around the world identified and shown in over 590 color photographs includes bells of many sizes, shapes, styles, colors, and textures, from school bells, cowbells, and bicycle bells to souvenir bells, commemoratives, and figurines. Basic bell types include open mouth bells, crotals, gongs, mechanical bells, and chimes. Bells for every taste and inclination!

Hidden Treasures
Hidden Treasures

Author: Harriet Baskas

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2013-10-01

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 1493001612

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While there are more than 15,000 museums in our country, visitors get to see only about five percent of any institution’s collections. Most museums simply don’t have room to display everything they’ve got. However, there are a wide variety of surprising and intriguing reasons that, for example, the Smithsonian Institution doesn’t display its collection of condoms, Florida's Lightner Museum locks up all but one of its shrunken heads, and a world-class stash of Japanese erotica (shunga) art was kept in the Honolulu Museum of Art's storage until only recently. Each item or collection included in this volume is described and placed in context with stories and interviews that explore the historical, social, cultural, political, environmental, or other circumstances that led to keeping that object or group of objects out of public view--the ultimate museum buff's voyeuristic experience. Color photographs of the artifacts are included.

The Pleasures and Treasures of Britain
The Pleasures and Treasures of Britain

Author: David Kemp

Publisher: Dundurn

Published: 1992-01-12

Total Pages: 441

ISBN-13: 1554883474

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Is a famous queen of Britain really bured beneath platform 10 at King's Cross station in London? What is the telephone number of the National Theatre? what is the best place to eat in Worcester? Where is the National Bagpipe Museum? (Hint: not in Scotland) Was Pointius Pilate born in Pitlochry? The answers to these questions and literally thousands more are to be found in David Kemp's fascinating guidebook, The Pleasures and Treasures of Britain. Nowhere else will the discerning traveller find so much diverse and essential information about British culture gathered together in one volume. With the author as your witty and knowledgeable guide, take a tour through nearly fifty cities, from Penzance to Perth, from London to Cardiff and Belfast. Each city section begins with a concise, readable history and a guided walk around the town, planned to take in as many of the significant local sights as can comfortably be included. Next are exhaustive listings, including telephone numbers and addresses, of everything a culturally curious visitor might want to seek out: theatre, art galleries, museums, antique markets, antiquarian and other bookstores, restaurants, lcoal fairs and festivals and more. Finally, under the headings of Artistic Associations and Ephemera, each section concludes with an entertaining collection of local lore, gossip, legend and anecdote.