Holton Harpsichord - ever see one?

[OleJonny2posts]

Hey everyone, I'm new here. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen/owned/heard of the Holton "Electronic" Harpsichord. Here's what I know: Designed by Lloyd Loar (after leaving Gibson, where he was best known for his mandolin and guitar design) in the late 1930s, it is a "portable" electric harpsichord featuring 56 keys, a primitive electromagnetic pickup, and patented touch sensitive action. Loar was experimenting with adding pickups to violins, guitars, and keyboard instruments, most of which he made at his Vivi-Tone factory. I might be wrong, but I believe the Vivi-Tone clavier was the first ever production electric keyboard instrument. The construction of the harpsichord was contracted to Frank Holton and Co.

Most of what I know of these instruments came from the research of Roger Siminoff (siminoff.net). Loar's personal harpsichords were donated to the National Music Museum in 2005. They are serial numbers 117 and 119. I found my harpsichord at an auction here in Maryland; I won it for a dollar, nobody knew what it was. Mine is serial number 118. I'm hoping someone here knows something about them and would like to discuss.

If anyone is interested, I'll go into detail of my experience with it.

[Alan Lenhoff]

>>I might be wrong, but I believe the Vivi-Tone clavier was the first ever production electric keyboard instrument. >>

I'm not sure when the Vivi-Tone Clavier was introduced, but Loar didn't form the company until 1933, and did not apply for his first patent on the Clavier until a year later.  Efforts at electrifying pianos go back to the 1880s.Simon Cooper's Crea-Tone was introduced in 1930.  Benjamin Miessner patented his electronic piano in 1930. (His technology would later form the basis for the 1950's-era Wurlitzer Electronic Piano.) I'm not sure you would consider any of these to have been production models. But in 1931, Walther Nernst's Neo-Bechstein, with electro-magnetic pickups, was brought to market. During the 1930's, interest in developing electric pianos really takes off.

(And if your definition of "electric keyboards" would include organ-like devices, there would also be some that pre-dated Vivi-Tone.)

"Classic Keys: Keyboard sounds that launched rock music," a book I co-authored with David Robertson, has a considerable amount of text and photos about the earliest efforts to electrify keyboard instruments, as well as describing the technological, social and musical changes that made those instruments both possible and desirable.

Alan

 

[OleJonny2posts]

Thanks for the correction, Alan! Good information. I foresee myself going down more rabbit holes studying the design of those instruments

[Alan Lenhoff]

A well-worthwhile pursuit!

(Apologies for the self-serving plug for Classic Keys, but David and I spent more than 7 years working on the book, and are quite proud of it.)

Alan