> > Hi Keith....Greetings: > The reference source that I used were "Men Women & Pianos" > Which page? (too many to look through now) The second book is the finest boob > on pianos that I have ever looked at. It's wonderfull. It is called "Pianos > And Their Makers" by Alford Dolge. It was first published in 1911. with over > 300 Illustrations. It lists all the manufacturers throughout the world and > the dates they were in business by country. It also lists the parts & supply > houses in all countries.It has over 200 portraits of the giants of the > manufacturing word, and their history. And much, much more. I know that > Pianotek still has some. Thank you for your past input....fraternally. > Fred Weinstein MPT > > Two years later, in 1913, Dolge wrote a sequel to "Pianos and their Makers" entitled "Men Who Have Made Piano History". It, too, is a source of much valuable information. My one gripe with Dolge has always been that he was the "Merv Griffin" of piano historians. By that I mean that he always placed individuals in the best possible light-- EVERYONE was always "brilliant", or "innovative", or "outstanding", or "industrious". He seems to be trying to avoid controversy and making hard comparisons at all costs. He NEVER comes out and says something like "Steinway verticals are bears to tune because of their lack of tuning pin bushings", or "Turn-of-the-century Chickering grands were lovely instruments, except for the last octave in the high treble which is invariably weak", or "Mason & Hamlin should really have been named Mason & Hamlin & Gertz!". I consider the lack of such "nitty-gritty" com- parisons and criticisms to be a major failing of both books. Nevertheless they DO contain much valuable and interesting information. Les Smith lessmith@buffnet.net
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