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Vorsetzer References

As the external cabinet type player piano mechanisms called Vorsetzer (original piano player) or push-up piano player, the following types are historically known:

■ 1. Ehrlich Vorsetzer (1877 invention) / J. M. Grob / Hupfeld Vorsetzer (1887 / 1892 / 1901 introductions) / (Hupfeld Meisterspiel DEA (1907)) in Germany — barrel piano using Ariston plate (and the later reproducing piano)
■ 2. Wilcox & White Angelus (1896/1897) / Artrio-Angelus (1916) in the United States — player piano and reproducing piano using pneumatic system
■ 3. Aeolian Pianola Vorsetzer (1901/1904) / (Duo-Art (1913)) in the United States — player piano (and reproducing piano)
■ 4. Welte-Mignon Vorsetzer (1902 invention / 1904 introduction) in Germany — reproducing piano using pneumatic system
■ 5. J. D. Philipps Duca push up player (1907/c.1912) in Germany — the 3rd reproducing piano in Germany
■ 6. American Piano Company AMPICO Vorsetzer (1911/1916) in the United States — reproducing piano

Further reading edit

(Note: underlined by the editor)

■ 0. In general
  • Maria Heyne (trans.). “Introduction” (in English).
    In:  Birgit Heise. Die Hersteller von selbst spielenden Musikinstrumente aus Leipzig von 1876 bis 1930 (in Germany). (uni-leipzig.de). Gesellschaft für Selbstspielende Musikinstrumente e.V. (GSM). Archived from the original on 2011-07-30.
    "​[In sub-section: 8.1. Mechanically operated Pianos and Piano Players (Vorsetzer)] ...
    Leipzig manufacturers and their models with start of production:
    Vorsetzer
     1887    Grob, J.M       Clavierspieler
     1887    Fabrik Leipziger Musikwerke vormals Paul Ehrlich        Clavier-Automat
     1892    Hupfeld, Ludwig         Klavierspieler         "    ,
    "​[In sub-section: 8.2. Pneumatic Vorsetzer and Player Pianos] ...
    Leipzig manufacturers and models with start of production:
    Vorsetzer
     1901    Frömsdorf, R. & co.     Pianetta
     1901    Hupfeld, Ludwig         Phonola
    ...         "
  • History of the Pianola - Inventors. (pianola.org). Pianola Institute.
    Note: it seems an American-centric invention history of player piano.
 Push-up player / Vorsetzer
  • "WELTE & SONS, M." in Robert Palmieri , ed. (2004) The Piano - An Encyclopedia, Taylor & Francis, p. 428 ISBN 978-1-135-94964-8 (ebook)
    "​WELTE & SONS, M. ... A special Welt product was a reproducing cabinet player or PUSH-UP PLAYER that was known as the Vorsetzer and could be used to play any ordinary pianoforte. "
  • Arthur A. Reblitz, Q. David Bowers (1981) Treasures of Mechanical Music, Vestal Press, p. 53 ISBN 978-0-911572-20-9
    "​The push-up player, known as a “vorsetzer” (literally : “sitter in front of”) in Germany, would be pushed up to the keyboard of a regular upright or grand piano and would play upon the keys. "
■ 1. Ehrlich Vorsetzer / J. M. Grob / Hupfeld Vorsetzer (variation of barrel piano using punched disc (Ariston plate)) / (Hupfeld Meisterspiel DEA) (1877/1887/1892/1901/1907)
  •  
    DE00564 Einrichtung an mechanischen Musikwerken (1877-07-03) by P. Ehrlich (Gohlis, Leipzig) Fig.1.jpg
  •  
    DE21715 Mechanisches Musikwerk mit kreisförmigen Notenblättern (1882-05-05) by P. Ehrlich (in Gohlis bei Leipzig) Fig.4, Fig.5, Fig.6.jpg
  •  
    Mechanical piano player, MfM.Uni-Leipzig.jpg
  •  
    Blankenburg, Kloster Michaelstein, Museum-, elektrisches Klavier-3.jpg
  • Hg. Josef Focht, (2021-05-14). Patent DRP 564: Einrichtung an mechanischen Musikwerken [Equipment for mechanical musical works] (1877-07-03 registered) by Paul Friedrich Ernst Ehrlich. MusiXplora (musixplora.de).
    "​Sachen (2): 2003598 Vorsetzer / 2003615 Patentschrift "
  • Mechanischer Vorsetzer (circa 1897, Leipzig) by Hupfeld, in the Museum für Musikinstrumente der Universität Leipzig [Inventory number: 5461]. MIMO (musical instrument museums online).
    "​Description: [In English: The attachment contains a mechanism for 42 keys and can be mounted on any keyboard instrument. A perforated cardboard plate (Ariston plate, patented by Paul Ehrlich of the Leipzig company "Fabrik Leipziger Musikwerke vormals Paul Ehrlich & co. AG") is set in motion. The keys corresponding to the holes are struck mechanically (via rods). The keys are struck without dynamic nuances; the tempo can be influenced.
     The "piano player" key attachment was developed by the Leipzig company "Grob & Co." in 1887. This company was taken over by Ludwig Hupfeld in 1892, and the piano player continued to be produced here. Equipped with 36 notes, they could be "easily attached to any piano" (see advertisement below). The 36-note machine ran on a round Ariston cardboard plate, mechanically (without pneumatics) with a crank drive. In 1897, the company also advertised "Piano-playing apparatuses for display and installation" (advertisement ZfI 17/1897, p. 728). In this later period, 42-tone instruments such as this one were probably also sold, as Hupfeld had already switched production to pneumatic keyboards by 1901.    ]     ",
    "​Measurements: aximale Länge des Gehäuses - Unit : mm - Value : 760 ",
    "​Literature references: Birgit Heise, Online-Lexikon Hersteller Leipziger Musikautomaten: http://mfm.uni-leipzig.de/hsm/index.php "
■ 2. Wilcox & White Angelus / Artrio-Angelus (player piano and reproducing piano using pneumatic system, in the United States) (1896/1897/1916)
  •  
    Wilcox & White Co. Angelus in cabinet form (early 20th c.).jpg
  •  
    Wilcox & White Co. Artrio Angelus in cabinet form (1916).jpg
  • (1896-05-20). "The “ANGELUS”". The Musical Age 14 (2): 11.
  • Wilcox & White. Antique Piano Shop (AntiquePianoShop.com).
    "​Wilcox & White was established in 1877 in Meriden, CT. The firm built a variety of pianos and organs during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, but their specialty was player pianos and player organs. Wilcox & White was one of the first to produce a 'push up player' device to play ordinary pianos. This device was called the 'Angelus' and was essentially an external cabinet with felt covered 'fingers' that were pushed up to a piano keyboard. The device used a perforated roll and was operated by foot treadles, and was the forerunner of the traditional player piano of the early 20th Century. They built a line of player reed organs called the 'Wilcox & White Symphony Organ' which were very complex and ahead of their time. ... "
  • Angelus. Antique Piano Shop (AntiquePianoShop.com).
    "​The “Angelus” was an early brand of player piano mechanism built by the Wilcox & White Piano & Organ Company of Meridian, CT, circa 1877-1929. The Angelus player system was a standard mechanical player system while the “Artrio-Angelus” was a more advanced version of the player system that played with expression and human nuance. "
    • Being the Originators of Piano Player, ... ANGELUS ... (ad. / image). Meriden, CT: Wilcox & White Co. (early 20th c.).
      "​The KNABE-ANGELUS and the EMERSON-ANGELUS both possess those exclusive features so well known in the ANGELUS in cabinet form—the Phrasing Lecer mastering time, the Melody Buttons giving subtleties of expression, and the Diophragm Pneumatics controlling the power and delicacy of human touch. Correct musical expression is impossible without these three features ... "
  • (1916-10-07). "Wilcox & White Co. Announce the Artrio Angelus" (PDF). The Music Trade Review 63 (15): 25. New York: Music Trades Corporation.
■ 3. Aeolian Pianola Vorsetzer / (Duo-Art) (player piano (and reproducing piano) in the United States) (1901/1904/1913)
  •  
    Musikinstrumenten-Museum Berlin - Vorsetzer - 1108104.jpg
...
■ 4. Welte-Mignon Vorsetzer (reproducing piano using pneumatic system) (1902/1904-)
  •  
    VorsetzerWelteMignon.jpg
  • Weisenburger, Steven C. ([1988, 2006], 2011-03-15) A Gravity's Rainbow Companion - Sources and Contexts for Pynchon's Novel, University of Georgia Press, p. 287. ISBN: 978-0-8203-3764-7.
    "​V550.38-39, B641.27, P560.13 Vorsetzer rolls Rolls for the Welte-Vorsetzer brand of mechanical piano player, designed and first produced by inventor Edwin Welte of Freiburg, Germany, in 1904. Popular during the early twentieth century but superseded by internal players, the Vorsetzer was literally (as the German indicates) “set before” one's piano, whence its wooden, felted “fingers” commenced to play tunes coded onto the rolled red paper with holes for a specific composition. Welte's Vorsetzer players and red rolls were distinguished for being able to reproduce a fuller range of piano sounds by controlling the sustaining and softening of the pedals, even the volume. "
  • US patent application 1008291, Edwin Welte, Karl Bockisch, "Mechanism for regulating the expression in apparatus for playing musical instruments", published 1911-11-07  , filed in 1904-08-17.
■ 5. J. D. Philipps Duca push-up player (the 3rd reproducing piano in Germany) (1907/c.1912)
■ 6. American Piano Company AMPICO Vorsetzer (reproducing piano in the United States) (1911/1916)
  •  
    Ampico cabinet-style external player - Bayernhof Museum - DSC06369.JPG
...
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