A circa 1900-1910 48-note Prowse/Tomasso (Donovan) hand-woun...

Hammer

£600

A circa 1900-1910 48-note Prowse/Tomasso (Donovan) hand-wound barrel piano. Thought to have been made by Chiappa, this originally clockwork motor-operated penny-in-the-slot automatic piano was part of a fleet owned by Keith Prowse and rented out for use in pubs. Re-marked and re-pinned by Tomasso around 1930, it was acquired by the East Anglian Automatic Piano Company headed by Canon Wintle. It was converted to manual operation by Colin and Milly Williams.

It has a typical case with incised decoration, part-mirror front panel and shaped pediment. 'Keith Prowse & Co. Ltd' is incised in gold to the lower front panel and an East Anglian Automatic Piano Company tune-sheet featuring a drawing by the daughter of A. O. Wintle and a new song list written by Colin Williams. The winding handle is a replica of a Wintle handle. The tunes on this piano are very well known, and very good examples of typical Tomasso arrangements.

The first in Milly and Colin Williams' collection, this piano was purchased from Jack Donovan's shop in Portobello Road. In order to take the piano into the streets to raise money for charity, Colin and Milly removed the automatic motor of the piano making it much lighter and therefore transportable. The piano however still features the wide base which was necessary to accommodate the motor.

DIMENSIONS:
Depth 61cm
Height 156cm
Width 102cm case
Width including handles 110cm

SONGS:
1. Blue Danube
2. Daisy Bell, Old Bull and Bush
3. My Old Man Said Follow the Van
4. Lily of Laguna
5. Knees Up Mother Brown
6. All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor
7. Honeysuckle and the Bee
8. Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road
9. Get Out and Get Under
10. Oh Oh Antonio

Colin Williams Collection