William Braid White's Sidelight On History: The First Two Tries

1893
The history of attempts to organize the tuners and piano technicians of this country is longer than most men of today suppose. During the great Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago, a group of these technical men from various parts of the country organized a National Tuners Association. Their purpose, so far as I have been able to find out, was to secure something like a fair level of prices for their work, and, to mobilize these recognized experts into a single national body. I can remember the late Benjamin Carr of Chicago, well known during his life as one of the best known of the tuner group in those days, had much to do with the founding and carrying on of the NTA, which, however, was unable to maintain itself against the negative forces of general apathy. It went to sleep; and declined thereafter to come back to consciousness.
1904
Some 10 years later, a small company of well known tuners, mostly connected with the more important music houses of New York City, met privately, and determined to form a society of thoroughly high-class technical experts, most, of course, from among the "outside" or visiting groups. Their expectation was to set up a sort of academy of choice spirits, who should be able to exert a strong influence upon the piano manufacturers and merchants of New York and of the eastern states. This was, if i remember, in 1904.
The local industry made no objections, and the first auguries were quite favorable. There was even a certain small favorable reaction in some other large cities; but again the destined life turned out to be sadly short. The thing would not hold together.
The top-ranked experts serving the great houses, and knowing themselves to be indispensable, considered that they formed a superior class and looked down upon their less distinguished confreres of the factories. The latter were jealous and the former very far from being fraternal.
As a song of the day, very popular among the habitues of the variety theaters, very aptly put it: "More work for the undertaker, 'nother little job for the casket maker."
Almost any other group of co-workers in any recognized activity could be brought together and formed into a permanent body; but the piano tuners seemed to be a "peculiar people." They may have loved each other, but their beliefs differed rather sadly from their practices. They may have called themselves brothers, but in fact, they were intensely jealous of each other and little inclined to entertain mutual fraternal sentiments.

The 1914 Annual Convention of the American Guild of Piano Tuners and Frank Morton

The fifth annual convention of the American Guild of Piano Tuners (AGPT) was held in Rochester, NY at the Hotel Seneca, from August 3 to 6, 1914.  These early gatherings consisted of talks given by prominent tuners and other prominent "piano men" from around the country, discussion from the executive committee and delegates about the structure of the organization and usually included a trip to a factory, along with a banquet and election of officers.  At this particular gathering, the first speaker, after the welcoming speech by the President of the AGPT Emil Kohl and various other reports from the different officers were given, was Frank E. Morton, the acoustic engineer of the American Steel & Wire Co.  He spoke on defining the position of the tuner, and what responsibilities he had, within the piano industry and the tuner's organization.  And he treated his subject in a very interesting way.

He stated: "Criticism is neither good nor evil . . . but it may be used intelligently or unintelligently, and such uses are termed good or evil respectively.  A tuning hammer is neither good nor evil, but it may be used either constructively to bring order out of chaos or destructively as a deadly weapon.  When constructive utilization exceeds destructive utilization, growth results.

"The AGPT under the destructive criticism of its membership will die.  Under constructive criticism, it will grow.  This constructive criticism should find its expression in the educational activity of its members. . .

"Most tuners have found the key note of the users of pianos, but I want to tell you to find and how to find the key note of the industry with which you are closely allied and upon which you are dependent.  This industry is the manufacture and sale of pianos.  First recognize your interdependence, and when the mutuality of this interdependence is freely acknowledged, the condition will be favorable for growth and development.

"Although the tuner always has been the manufacturers' critic, whose decisions voluntarily or involuntarily have been accepted and acted upon, he has been looked upon as a necessary evil rather than a beneficial agent.  Occupying as he does a position between the manufacturer and the consumer, he must accept the responsibility and intelligently utilize every factor in the service of both. . .

"You now have an organization whose avowed policy is exclusive in its nature.  You are seeking to make the way more difficult for those who follow.   This is wrong in principle.  You should make it easier in order that those who follow may use their strength for progress greater than yours.  Their labor should begin where yours leaves off.  The American Guild of Piano Tuners' can be and should be a firmly established educational institution.

"The only requisites for membership should be a good moral character and a desire to follow this vocation.  The classification which now is made outside the organization through examinations, etc., should be made inside the organization thus permitting progressive, cumulative and continuous action by its members.

"With the present ideal standard of proficiency determining the eligibility for membership in this organization there is no incentive to activity.  Its members have "arrived", hence no further effort is necessary. . .

". . . Let your object be mutual helpfulness and your motto be "No Direction Without a Corresponding Responsibility.

"Those industries upon which you are dependent and whose help and co-operation are absolutely essential to your welfare will respond at once to this key note.

"The American Guild of Piano Tuners' under the broad and liberal policy suggested through larger enrollment, will become a power for the proper adjustment of those conditions now deemed unfortunate.  With this added power you will influence public opinion through such literature and such emanations from your publicity department as will naturally lead to discrimination between Guild members and non-members without recourse to coercive measures. . ."

Thus was the AGPT put under some well meaning criticism for the intended betterment of their organization way back when.

Frank Morton was Chairman of the Technicians' Conferences that would be held between the years 1916 and 1919 under the auspices of the American Steel & Wire Co., where Mr. Morton was the acoustic engineer.  Now, the word 'technician' was meant to indicate men who were involved in the piano industry who were not salesmen nor tuners. Technicians were piano builders, scale drafters, belly-men, action finishers, regulators, voicers, etc.  In short, they were factory men.

If it wasn't for the recording of these proceedings by stenographers, and then compiled into the book titled "Piano Tone Building", we would likely not know much of anything else about Frank Morton.  But he was a well educated man, and looked up to as a premium authority in the realm of piano building and design.

Los Angeles Revisited: Dolgeville in Alhambra, Cal.

Los Angeles Revisited: Dolgeville in Alhambra, Cal.

Alfred Dolge's Piano Hammer Felt (or you can't keep a good man down)

After Dolge was taken to the cleaners, and subsequently left Dolgeville, NY in 1899, he decided to make a new start in SoCal, just outside of LA by opening up the Alfred Dolge Manufacturing Co. in the new town of (you guessed it) Dolgeville California.  In 1904 the company began manufacturing the same line of popular felt shoes and slippers as was done in NY, together with the hammer felt operation.

The advantages he had of having his operation located in such a favorable climate were many.  The sheep were right there, and the wool, after being washed, was dried in the perennial sunshine, which would keep the wool more elastic, as compared to being dried indoors by overheating which was the way it was done back in NY.

Many of the men who worked back in NY with Dolge as heads of the different departments joined him out west, and soon his workforce numbered around 600.  

What ever happened to the Mason & Hamlin screw stringer?

Anyone who has tuned a screw-stringer Mason & Hamlin piano may have wondered why they abandoned the system.  After all, it seems to be an extremely stable and well-designed one.  In looking over the system, one may form the opinion that it is a decided improvement over the ancient tuning-pin-in-wood system.  Well, the answer you will usually get is that it was just too expensive to continue, and in essence that is a true statement.  Some may respond that it was too bad that they had to give in to the economics of it and discontinue its production.  Others may say that they should have continued it anyway, because it was such a superior tuning system.  I have wondered about it also, but there was a little more to the story as to why they discontinued the system.

If we take a look at it from the historical perspective, we find that in 1903 Mason & Hamlin was in real danger of going out of business because of its pursuit and continued production of the screw-stringer system.  In other words, they gave it their all in pushing it onto the piano marketplace, endeavoring to make it popular, but it just didn't take.  So it was the economics of it, yes, but more to the point, it was a matter of life and death to the Mason & Hamlin Piano Co., for if they were to pursue it, they would have gone bankrupt!

What did the tuners of the time think of the screw-stringer system?  For the most part, they hated it!  First and foremost, it was a sight more difficult to replace a string, and restring the whole piano?  Forget about it!  Less frustrating was the different technique the tuner had to use when tuning the screw-stringer, but nevertheless, was another reason they opposed the system.