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About The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923 | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1908)
'Jf' .t 4 'J ftl ,'.j K : If ll. COMPILED BY ARGABRIGHT Scale Drawing Trade Secret The World's Greatest Scale Draughtsman and His Puufl Death of Original Chickerings A Piano Trust Chapter 1 The Scale The Scale is the conception of the Piano, and bears the same relation to its developement that the plans of a building bear to its construction. Briefly it is a mathematical division of the semi-tones from one end of the key board to the other, and determines the length, size and direction of the strings, as well as the proper striking point of the hammers. Scale-drawing requires a thorough knowledge of the acoustics of every part of the sounding board, so that the bridges may be set in their proper position for distributing the balance of power and vibration evenly throughout the piano. It can be drawn so accurately that when a chromatic run is played, from one end of the keyboard to the other, each tone follows in perfect sympathy with no perceptible "break." But while this desirable condition is possible, the pianos that possess a perfect scale are comparatively few. The scale is the secret of a great piano maker. It cannot be successfully imi tated. A good piano may be duplicated to all intents and purposes, excepting the scale. You may not be able to see the difference, but you will hear it. This is a fact of musical mathematics. Mr. C. Frank Chickcring of Boston, while alive, was considered the foremost scale draughtsman of his day, and at the Paris Exposiiion in I 867 was deco rated with the Cross of the Legion of Honor. To prepare a "CHECKERING" lo follow in his footsteps, and having no sons of his own, he selected a young cousin, C. C. Chickering, who after seven years labor in the various departments of their Boston factory, was taken into the private workshop, in New York City, of this recognized master of the art and taught scale-drawing. C. C. Chickering is the only pupil of the "old master;" is today a recognized expert in scale-drawing, and makes the scales for CHICK BRING BROTHERS9 PIANOS, C. Frank Chickering died in 1891, and since the death of his brother George in 1899, there has been no male Chickering1 connected with "Chickering & Sons" of Boston. The only Chickerings actively engaged in the manufacture of pianos are CHICKERING BROTHERS of CHICAGO. The Boston concern is now a member of a combine known as the 'American Piano Co.'5 Mr. Ernest J. Knabe is president witli headquarters in Baltimore. DO NOT CONFUSE the present day Boston "Chickering" with the ideally artistic piano made by CHICKERING BROTHERS of CHICAGO, and sold in Red Cloud, Nebraska by Ci im ARGMSRIQHT ismgsrassasEaasraHBgi nMMawNV l W1 : w-'.. sgRsasfcttjajjk. wrT7