I listed several barrel pianos with American labels, with names
"G. Capra & Co., Philadelphia Pa." "Bertoldi & Co., Philadelphia."
"G. Capra & Co., Philadelphia." "George Hicks ... Brooklyn, New York"

The following footnote was added by Robbie:

>[ Did Hicks really have a manufacturing facility in Brooklyn?
>[ How does one confirm that these instruments were made in USA?

Good points.  I suppose we should have a expert examine the woods used
in the construction.  I would raise the following points --

The date for the Hicks piano is rather early: 1860s.  According to
one source, the first barrel pianos were built near Bristol, England,
ca. 1830, and were, I think, considerably smaller than the Hicks
piano, so I would hypothesize a separate development.  I recall that
there were barrel organs in the USA earlier than that.  Perhaps the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the owner, would be willing
to expand on the history of their instrument.

Having examined my Capra, I would point out that it is mechanically
rather primitive, and would be much easier to build than a standard
pianoforte, expect for the pinning of the barrel.  Barrel pinning was,
I think, done locally wherever there was a rental operation for
saloons, etc.  I would think that a barrel piano could be built in
almost any cabinet maker's shop by a man trained for the work.  For
a family with the skills, it would have been easier to export a son
(or brother) than to ship pianos from Europe.

The tuning pegs, felt, strings, etc. appear to be pretty much standard
piano stuff.  I assume that the specialized hardware -- the gears, and
indexing linkage -- was sold worldwide in packages by only one or two
manufacturers.

Wallace Venable