Letter from George P. Hachenberg to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn; April 26, 1871

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Letter from George P. Hachenberg to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn; April 26, 1871

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Alcorn, J. L. (James Lusk), 1816-1894 Chrystler, M. H.Frankenstein, Godfrey Hachenberg, G. P.Hachenberg, Peter L.Hewson, H. F.Jackson, J. J.Libby, Joseph E.Miller, Samuel Shaack, Isaac Van Unger, John S.Webb, Alexander N.Wilson, D.

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Boards of Directors Courts Mississippi. Executive Department New York. Legislature New York. Legislature. Senate The Mucsical Telegraphy Company (Rochester, N.Y.)M. T. Co.

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New York (State)Rochester (N.Y.)

Page 1

Rochester N. Y.
April 26^th,, 1871

Sir—

Enclosed please find a copy of our "Special Circular,"

We earnestly solicit the honor of your name to begin our list of subscriptions, and thereby gain your influence in behalf of science and music.

Respectfully awaiting your order,

Yours obediently

G. P. Hachenberg
Pros. The Mucsical Telegraphy Company (Rochester, N.Y.)M. T. Co.

Page 2

THE
Musical Telegraphy Company.

INCORPORATED MARCH 14, 1871.

An Act,

To Incorporate the Musical Telegraphy Com-pany.

The People of the State of New York, repre-sented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. George P. Hachenberg, D. Wil-son, M. H. Chrystler, and such other persons as they may associate with them, are hereby authorized to form themselves into a corpora-tion by the name of "The Musical Telegraphy Company," for the purpose of improving In-strumental Music by the application of the ready action of electricity to musical instru-ments.

§ 2. The said George P. Hachenberg is here-by constituted President of the Company, and D. Wilson, M. H. Chrysler, Isaac Van Shaack, Samuel Miller. J. J. Jackson, Joseph E. Libby, Alexander N. Webb, John S. Unger, Peter L. Hachenberg, and Godfrey Frankenstein, are hereby constituted and appointed Directors.

§ 3. The Capital Stock of the said Corpora-tion shall be One Hundred Thousand Dollars; said stock shall be divided into shares of ten dollars each, and shall be transferable.

§ 4. The Directors appointed under this Act, and their successors in office, may elect the same person to hold the office of Secretary and Treasurer.

§ 5. The President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Company, shall constitute an executive committee.

§ 6. The estate, property, and funds of said Corporation, shall be devoted solely to the general purposes and objects specified in the first section of this Act, or such parts of said section as the Directors shall deem advisable.

§ 7. The Corporation hereby created may sue and be sued, complain and defend in all courts of this State.

§ 8. The said Corporation shall have the power to make and adopt a Constitution for the government of said Corporation.

§ 9. This Act shall take effect immediately.

Special Circular.

OFFICE OF THE MUSICAL TELEGRAPHY CO.,
ROCHESTER, N. Y., April 10, 1871.

To the Public:

We take the liberty to announce that we have legally organized ourselves into a com-pany, and are prepared to proceed with the construction of our appliances to create Electro-Music for public and private entertainments.

This like any other great enterprise, cannot be brought to a successful issue, without gen-erous patronage from the public. This we believe will not be withheld, when it is known that the investments in the enterprise will be properly applied, and will be safe and profit-able.

In bringing Electro Music before the public, our first step will be to construct ten "Elec-trical Attachments" for ten pianos. With these instruments we will be able to give the highest order of musical entertainments in different parts of the United States and other countries. The cost of these instruments will be about $20,000.

Let us examine, in a few words, the charac-ter and wonderful power of these ten instruments:

1st. They are controlled by one or more per-formers, or automatically by one or more "musicometers."

2d. All the instruments are in perfect har-mony, and will play as one instrument.

3d. To each instrument, by sound reflectors and "electrical dampers," can be given an expression of its own, affording us music, as if emanating from so many different instru-ments.

4th. One performer can play simultaneously two sets of instruments, the left hand con-trolling one set and the right hand the other, and in a duet, two players on four sets of instruments.

5th. The electrical connection between the different instruments is so effectually under the control of the musician, that he can play the most rapid pieces of music, without taking two successive notes out of one instrument.

6th. The means of ventriloquizing and echo-ing music is most effectually carried out by this arrangement.

7th. The mechanical, musical expression of the ordinary piano presents four varieties by using, not using, or combining the pedals. Having ten instruments, this gives us forty variations. As each of these can be modified in ten different ways, we have the means of putting four hundred different musical expres-sions into a single note!

8th. Tremolos can be given to notes, by making rapid successive connections of the instruments on each given note.

9th. As a tremolo is produced, so can tunes be played in doublets by one fingering, each successive chord being instantly repeated at any distance.

10th. The instruments are so arranged that notes reach the ear from different points, thus giving fullness and volume to the music.

11th. It will afford the highest style of accompaniment music to the human voice, in particular to that of the female.

It is only in this part of our enterprise we solicit your aid. Out of the proceeds of these proposed entertainments we will be able to construct, even at a cost of half a million, our GRAND ELECTRO-MUSICAL HALL, which is the ultimate object of our efforts.

We hereby respectfully solicit your patron-age, reader, to enable us to bring this Great American Invention before the world.

This you can manifest, by donations for the sake of art-improvement, by the purchase of our $10 shares, and thereby share the profits of the enterprise, and by purchasing tickets at $1 each, which will be worth, when the enter-tainments are given, $5, as they will admit two.

A copy of the President's Lecture on Electro-Music, will be sent to any one by mail, for fifty cents.

The net proceeds of all my lectures on Electro-Music will be appropriated for the consummation of this great work.

To each patron of this enterprise will be forwarded an annual report of the company.

In particular, do we solicit the friendly aid of the Press. Those who advertise this circu-lar to the amount of one share, will according to our charter, granted by the Legislature of our State, become a voting member of the Company.

Your Obedient Servant,

G. P. HACKENBERG,
Pres. of the M. T. Co.

Page 3

PRECIS.
[gap]

No'.

Executive Office,
State of Mississippi,
~~County of~~ New York

From G. P. Hachenberg
Address Rochester
Dated April. 26. “71.
Received [gap]
Answered [gap]

Sends enclosed a circular of "The Musical Telegraphy Company," and solicit the honor of the Gov's name to begin their list of sub-scriptions

JAMES L. ALCORN,
Governor.

H. F. HEWSON,
Private Secretary.