The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-03-18

"A hand-organ," the guide continued
rs just like any church organ, with few
points of difference 1t has bellows. and
pipes, and keys When you want to play
on church organ, you depress the keys );
when you play hand-organ, you elevate
them. You use your fingers on the keys
of the big organ but these little brass pins
-e the fingers that operate the hand-organ
herS;sone of the cylinders for an ordinary
sized organ. 1t is fifteen inches long and
| five inches in diameter. Its, you see, first
covered with sheet of clean, stiff paper.
and then is stuck full of little brass pins.
Some of them, yeu viii notice, are no more
than tiny brass pegs, while others are near
ly half an inch long, with pin at each
end, thus - The barrel is put in
the organ and connected with the crank.
When it is turned the brass pins are brought
against the keys, and the keys are raised
If it is one of the small ones, it raises the
key only for an instant, and makes short
note. If it is one of the half-inch ones, it
makes a long note 1t is very simple, you
see, when it is explained When the cyl
inder is marked for the tunes, it is easy
enough to drive in the pins, as you say,
but 1t is not an easy matter to mark the
tunes on the cylinder | have the honor
(as well as the profit, if there is any of
being one of the three men in America
who can mark an organ barrel for the tunes.
The gentleman who imports organs from
Italy is another; and there is one more. |
viii show how it is done. But you must
promise me that you won't 90 off and make
hand-organ as soon as | show you how
The promise was given without mental
reservation.
when the barrel is properly prepared
for marking, he explained, Shy being
smoothly covered with q piece of tough
paper, hang it in position in the organ
directly under the keys Suppose want
to mark it for The Mulligan Guards A
man with steady hand turns the crank
and play the tune on the keys, pushing
each key down upon the cylinder instead of
raising it up. They do not, of course,
make any sound, but they make slight
impression upon the paper wherever the
key strikes. By long practice tune can
be played mutely in this way as well as if
the player heard the sounds When it is
all marked off | take out the cylinder, and
so carefully over all the indentations with
pen, and there is the tune When the
tunes are all marked. skillful workman
puts in the pegs, as you call them, and the
barrel is completed Every organ plays
4 from seven to ten tunes This one here
plays nine. You see these little grooves at
the end of the cylinder? When the
grinder wants TO change the tune he lifts
spring that keeps the cylinder in place and
/ shoves it along a groove. Each groove
controls one of the tunes A man can put
in about three tunes day"
i The cost ? 1t all depends. Do you
see that big fellow in the corner? That is
saloon organ, and belongs to Houston
street They got tired of the old tunes
and want new set | made that organ
FIVE years ago and got 50, 200 for it. Prices
have come down about 10 per cent. since
then, and / could make the same organ
now for trife less than $4,000 1t is
+ lust as good to-day as when it was made.
In the ordinary barrel-organs we charge 81
a tune for putting in new tunes. And We
have had great deal of changing to do in
the last year, setting rid of the ~Pinafore
airs There was great run on them at
one time, but they are no use now and have
to come out A common organ weighs
about 25 pounds, and is worth, to make,
from 500 to s135, according to number of
tunes it plays. A parlor organ, with from
% to 46 keys, costs from $3.50 to 5000,
What we call ''side-show organ, TO imi-
tate brass band, has go keys, 35 brass
trumpets, large and small drums, and tri-
angles, and generally plays nine tunes. 1t
is worth 81, 500. ~ T. Times.