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Francis Ramacciotti

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Piano manufacturer and piano string manufacturing inventor

Francis Ramacciotti (c. 1826 Livorno, Grand Duchy of Tuscany – 13 June 1891 Manhattan) was a Grand Duchy of Tuscany-born inventor who founded a major piano string manufacturer in the United States.

Career

Ramacciotti was reportedly associated with Garibaldi and held a military rank. Ramaciotti immigrated to the US in 1848, moving to Buffalo, New York. He apprenticed in a piano company in Buffalo before founding his own piano string company, the F. Ramacciotti company, in 1852. While in Buffalo, Ramociotti played bassoon as a member of the Metropolitan Theater Orchestra under the direction of Albert Benjamin Poppendorf (1819–1900).

Ramacciotti – on June 12, 1952, in Buffalo – married Rachel Caroline Rendt (maiden; 1833–1914) of Detroit. The couple had five children: (i) Italo Francis Ramacciotti (1853–1911), (ii) Hugo Louis Ramacciotti (1855–1907), (iii) Alberto "Albert" De M. Ramacciott (1857–1926), (iv) Eugenia W. Ramacciotti (1860–1938; married to Edward G. Johnson), and (v) Emma Serena Ramacciotti (1869–1963; married to Milton Lockwood Bouden; 1866–1938).

In 1867, Ramaciotti moved his company to New York City. He invented and patented the first modern bass string for the piano. Previous piano strings used iron winding over iron. This modern invention using a special new machine used copper wound over iron. The company was one of the top makers of piano strings in the world for several decades.

In 1891, Francis Ramacciotti died. His son Albert took over the company the next year. Albert expanded it to one of the three top string makers in the nation.

Selected patents

1883: US 280512 A – "Spinning Lathes for Winding Piano-Strings."
1893: US 508974 A – "Machine for Swaging Wire for Musical Instruments."
1902: US 740918 A – "Bass String for Pianos or Other Musical Instruments."

Bibliography

Notes

  1. NYC Deaths: "Francis Ramacciotti," June 13, 1891.
  2. Buffalo Times, September 21, 1885, p. 3.
  3. Buffalo Evening News, June 28, 1900, p. 1.
  4. Scientific American, July 28, 1883, p. 58.
  5. Gazette, US280512A, July 3, 1883, p. 39.
  6. Documents, US280512A, July 3, 1883.
  7. Gazette, US508974A, November 21, 1893, p. 1095.
  8. Documents, US508974A, November 21, 1893.
  9. Gazette, US740918A, October 6, 1903, pp. 1455–1456.
  10. Documents, US740918A, October 6, 1903.

References

Inline The Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office
  • 1883: US 280512 A – "Spinning Lathes for Winding Piano-Strings" (filed November 23, 1882; serial number 280,512; granted July 3, 1883). 24 (1). July 3, 1883: 39. Retrieved October 14, 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)
    1. Gazette via Google Books (University of Wisconsin).
    2. Documents Google Patents.
  • 1893: US 508974 A – "Machine for Swaging Wire for Musical Instruments" (filed October 5, 1892; serial number 447,953; granted November 21, 1893). 65 (8). November 21, 1893: 1095. Retrieved October 14, 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)
    1. Gazette via Google Books (University of Wisconsin).
    2. Documents Google Patents.
  • 1903: US 740918 A – "Bass String for Pianos or Other Musical Instruments" (filed December 13, 1902; serial number 135,184; granted October 6, 1903). 106 (6). October 6, 1903: 1455–1456. Retrieved October 14, 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)
    1. Gazette via Google Books (Library of Congress).
    2. Documents Google Patents.
General
    1. "Directory listing → "Piano & Harp Strings" "Ramacciotti, Francis"". New York City Business Directory: 249. 1877 – via HathiTrust (Harvard).
    1. Via Google Books (University of Michigan). p. 1239.
    2. Via Google Books (UC Davis). p. 1239.
    3. Via Google Books (UC Berkeley). p. 1239.
    4. Via Google Books (Harvard). p. 1239.
"One day a foreman in the Ramacciotti plant, John —, who had been a boy apprentice when" ... "that was the end of the New York Cooperative Piano String Co."
    1. Via Google Books (University of Michigan).
    2. Via Google Books (Stanford).
    3. Via Internet Archive (Stanford). 1911.
Estab-
lished
National Music String Co. Strings — New Brunswick
Celluloid Piano Key Co. Keys 1876 New York
Tingue, Brown & Co. Felts 1901 New York
Ramacciotti F. Strings 1867 New York
Schirmer, Charles Hardware 1866 New York
    1. Via Internet Archive (Library of Congress). New York, St. Cecile lodge, no. 568, F. & A.M. 1916. p. 146.
" ... Francesco Ramacciotti, who died June 13, ." "The lodge met in a hall corner of Third Avenue and Eighty-Sixth Street." "Ramacciotti joined the lodge in 1871 ... " "Ramacciotti F. Inc, 421 W. 28th St. — Manuf. of Piano Wire and Bass Strings — Panels."
    1. Peters, Andrew James (1872–1938), Assistant Secretary (December 11, 1915). T.D. 35966 – "Drawback on Pianos and Player Pianos". p. 650 – via Google Books (University of Michigan).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

"The sworn statement of Francis Ramacciotti, dated January 21, 1915, covering bass strings ... "

Note: The petitioner, Albert Francis (Alberto "Albert" De M. Ramacciotti; 1857–1926), was Francis Ramacciotti's son. Categories:
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