The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-10-22
ORGAN GRINDING AS AN ART.
EXPERIENCES TELLS IN SELECTING
TUNES AND TURNING THE CRANK.

Iho fInyer Who Cnn Touch His Hearers
Hearts Takes In Quarters Instead of
Coppers-Mnkine Street and Trumpet Or
rans and Cyiinder Pinnos-Popuinr Airs.
In factory on the south side Of Chatham
square four men were working at q curious
machine that looked In some respects like a
musical instrument. but that from its solid
build might hnve boen target for the dynn-
mite guns down the bay Its sides were made
OF thick. heavy plnnking and all its interior
works were packed tight and mounted on
rubber bearings.
What is TIP Sun man asked.
IT'S an elephant hand organ" one OF the
mon answered and tho other throe laughed.
That's what 1t Is" said the owner Of the
factory. coming UP at tho moment Don't
You think an elephant would attract more pen
MES in tho street than an Italian? But this
organ is not to be played In the streets: we ar
making 1t for Barnum & Bailey's circus. It's
the third we have made for them. and this one.
THINK will last longer than either OF its prede-
cessors. for 1t Is much stronger They have
an elephant. you know. that plays hand or
gan In the ring. and for some time that ele-
plant was one OF our hest patrons. He was
taught on nh ordinary hand organ, but TINT
soon became too expensive. for he developed n
habit when anything displcased him of pick
Ing the organ UP and throwing it about the
tiuG. oiuIhait 'i6hio' Sou unueTStuuu. arc
not madc for that kind OF exercise. and he
averaged about ono wrecked organ a week.
We soon had to make a special instrument for
him. but he broke that. too The second one
lasted for nearly year; and this one, which
goes OF this afternoon. is so strong that /
think he can use it for football Il he likes"
But why he was asked. "nre you making
organs at this time OF year. when the hand
organ season is ovcrl"
The hand-organ season is never over"
Mr.. Taylor replied-for the speaker was Mr..
II. S. Taylor. the first and still by far the larg.
est maker of hand organs in this country.
Do not let your soul grow sad because tho
sweet strains of the organ have nearly van.
ished for the season from the streets OF New
York. The hand organ is migratory instru-
ment. Where do you think all the New York
organs are in winter! Stored UP in tenemcn.
houses and damp basements2 Oh, no! There
would not be any money in that About this
time they are in Philadelphia and baltimore
the bulk OF the New York instruments Before
the end Of the year they will have made them
selves heard in Richmond. Charleston. Savan-
nah. Jacksonville. and the intermediate towns.
L mention those Places" he continued
merely for examples. They are Just as likely
to go down the Mississippi Valley. or into the
extreme Southwest. But this is only hearsay
to me-: l make and sell the organs, and after
that l am not supposed to know anything
about where they CO. But speaking OF sea-
sons. do not know that one season is much
better in this business than another 1t used
to be: oh. yes. in the old times before the war
the fall OF the year used to be our best season"
Before the WARP" he was asked: what had
the war to do with the hand-orRan business 2"
80 much" he replied. that it cut or near
ly half the business we were then doing. The
Southern planters were among our best Gus
toners. and their busy times were spring and
fall-plantinG and harvesting the cotton. There
was hardly plantation in the South OF any
consequence but had it's hand organ to make
the slaves happy The planters were glad to
buy hem. for the music not only kept tho
hands contcnted. but made them work faster.
ground the organ and they sang After dark
they danced to the same music. But the war
The plantation organs" he won't on. were
made to play plantation tunes; OF course:
Sometimes two cylinders were ordered-one Of
always imagi ned that the planter had a fancy
organ into the house. All sorts Of tunes5 Of
course; we have to make organs to suit our
IN IS WGst or you thnk TN! MoTd
have, happened then to hand organ in
ssr I or ii. e White the
and Blue or for that matter to one in New
York that played the Bonnie Blue Flag We
cylinders. one for the North ana one for the
There is e still difference. slight differ
enc between instruments =, ttsd for Use in
policy. for it is the business OF the organ |
grinder. you know to touch the public heart. !
him penny but Il he is ' lucky enough Gii1 to
touch the heart of the passer by he is moro
as you know, are nearly Nil foreigners. who
have 20 more feeling FOR Northern or south
tune tNHn they have fer the long metre
enough to Know that tho old war tunes.
whether OF North or south. are more likely than
syne. Even When Johnny Comes Marching
Home is not ID, dead yet: for there are great
n.H H0H So ss' GTnas H 6 Of art
sad tune that set YOU to thinking are consid-
fetching. that Is, of dimes and nickels. But
IN organ that played sad tunes only would
nrth 70 set off the sadness to its best ndvan-
age Some G rinnI,erst are very skilfut at this
Ut ia general Re ,t the sslssiiQp and arra6Fe;
kill. too: in the mechanical part Of the work.
rhe best organ In the world will not sound
vel II the handle is turned with n series Of
erks: II you were to hear an organ played by
,layed by an old hand who has malo the
.rand tour OF the country two or three times.
'ou would think 1t was different Instrument,
T. have been making mechanical organs in
inued. and in those years have seen the
haracter OF the instruments very much I'm
proved, At tho same time prices are much
over than they were. At first 1t was hard work
o sell home made organs. In those days
'uything imported was supposed to be much
uperior to anything that could he made In
his country. People did not stop to consider
hat man who had been brought up to tho
BUSINESS could make Just as good an organ in
Jew York as he could make in Germany, But
america had not begun then to lead the world
n mechanical contrivnnces 1t Is all changed
low: there 10 no longer any prejudice against
american instruments: quito the contrary. 1t
all a matter Of price now.
Competition Is keen, as IL ia in nearly every
BUSINESS. Our principal competitors are tho
.uropean manufacturers. We sell the best
100. An extra cylinder for this instrument
nth nine more tunes. costs $50 more. There
!, q smaller organ playing three tunes. for
40. When you speak Of hand organs. you
hin nj o ~ hos that n a MIA yal n tha |