William D. Parker

inventor patentee

Biography

William D. Parker (also referred to as Wm. D. Parker) is documented in Alfred Dolge's history of the player piano as the patentee of an Automatic Piano in 1892, illustrated in cross-section and layout drawings. With Edward H. White, he filed an application on November 29, 1895, granted December 15, 1896, for a combination of an automatic upright piano and reed organ, described as an ingenious invention that failed commercially because the piano's steel strings would not stay in tune with the reeds, which held their tuning far longer, so the two elements would not always blend. On July 27, 1897, Parker independently obtained patents for similar attachments adapted to grand and square pianos. He and White also collaborated on an automatic piano player in cabinet form, filed April 5, 1897 and granted October 26, 1897, which could be played either as an automatic reed organ or as a keyboard-instrument player and was portable enough to be moved onto any piano.

Highlights

Patented an Automatic Piano in 1892
With Edward H. White, patented a combination automatic upright piano and reed organ (filed Nov. 29, 1895, granted Dec. 15, 1896)
On July 27, 1897, obtained separate patents for similar automatic attachments for grand and square pianos

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), pp. 141, 143, 145.

Public domain.

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