Gallys Self-playing Musical Instrument #1
by Science Source
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Gallys Self-playing Musical Instrument #1
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Science Source
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Photograph - Photograph
Description
Gally's Autophone which appeared in the Scientific American in June 1879. Each tone is a hole in the scroll. Merritt Gally (August 15, 1839 - 1916) was an American inventor. He learned the printing trade, graduated at the University of Rochester in 1863, studied at Auburn Theological Seminary, and in 1866 was ordained to the ministry of the Presbyterian church. After three years of pastoral work, however, he was compelled by the loss of his voice to withdraw from the pulpit, and turned his attention to mechanics. He invented the Universal printing press, built an establishment for the manufacture of presses, and obtained many patents on appliances connected with printing machinery. His experiments in regard to automatic musical instruments resulted in the invention of the "autophone" and of the so-called counterpoise pneumatic system employed in similar contrivances. Close to five hundred patents were granted to Gaily during his lifetime, the most widely known being that of the player piano and the mechanical organ. A player piano (also known as pianola or autopiano) is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls.
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July 7th, 2014
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