As those of you who attended the convention in Rochester may have noticed, the book, Piano Tone Building, is now available. I picked up the first print run just before leaving for the convention and took two boxes to Rochester as checked luggage. For those who don't already know, this book is based on the stenographic records of the so-called "tone building" conferences, or meetings, sponsored by the American Steel and Wire Company. These meetings, some forty of them, were held in Chicago and New York from 1916 through 1919. The work was originally published by ASW and has been reproduced and reduced in size at least once, probably twice. The most recent copy by The Vestal Press had a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" page size with narrow margins and, shall we say, rather dense type. The new book is 8" x 10". The pages have been redesigned with new, larger and more readable type, more linespacing and wider margins. We (my wife, Barbara, and I) have edited the text, correcting various spelling and punctuation errors, replacing the odd missing word or two and completing a few sentences that dangled. And, not being one to leave well enough alone, I've added about 150 footnotes where things bothered me. The book is being sold through PTG -- the first 30 were sold at the convention -- and is available directly from us as well. The PTG home office takes credit cards, we do not. The price of the book is $45 plus some amount for shipping and handling (I think it's $7, but I'm not positive). The current printing is all paperback. There have been a few requests for a hardcover version which, if there seems to be enough demand, will probably be available next year. Regards, Del Delwin D Fandrich Fandrich Piano Company, Inc. 620 South Tower Avenue Centralia, Washington 98531 USA Phone: 360.736-7563 E-mail: fandrich at pianobuilders.com
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