Aolian Company 美国奥理安钢琴英文历史.docVIP

American Aolian Company美国奥理安钢琴公司 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia An advertisement for the Aolian Company from the October 26, 1908 edition of The New York Times. The Aolian Company?[1]?was a manufacturer of?player organs?and?pianos. They created?Vocalion Records?and operated the label from 1917 to December 1924. Contents ??[hide]? 1?History 1.1?Location 2?Copyright law 3?References History[edit] The Aolian Company was founded by?New York City?piano maker?William B. Tremaine?as the?Aolian Organ Music Co.?(1887) to make automatic?organs, and, after 1895, as the?Aolian Co.?automatic pianos as well. (He had previously founded the Mechanical Orguinette Co. in 1878 to manufacture automated reed organs.) The manufacture of residence or chamber organs to provide entertainment in the mansions of millionaires was an extremely profitable undertaking, and Aolian virtually cornered the market in this trade, freeing them from the tight competition of church-organ building with its narrow profit margins. Elaborate cases and consoles were often featured in residence organs. In other installations, the pipes were hidden behind?tapestries, under or above staircases, or spoke from the basement through grilles or tone chutes. They also made Organettes and Player Pump Organs for the Working Man to buy. The?pianola, a pneumatic player piano, soon after became extremely popular. It had been invented in 1895 by?Edwin S. Votey, president of the Farrand Votey Organ Co., Detroit. In 1897, Votey joined Aolian?[2]?and in 1900 the firm obtained the patent for such instruments. In 1903, Tremaine absorbed a number of companies making self-playing instruments, including the?[Albert] Weber Co., a New York piano maker since 1852, into the Aolian, Weber Piano Pianola Co. In 1904 Aolian sued the?Los Angeles Art Organ Company?for patent infringement of its player mechanism, leading to court victories that effectively shut down a competitor. Other patent lawsuits were not always successful.