Deep Purple's Child in Time, Procul Harum's A Whiter Shade of Pale, Easy Livin' from Uriah Heep, and The Great Gig In The Sky written by Pink Floyd, all these songs have in common the greatest of all organs: a Hammond.
A specimen stock certificate from the legendary Hammond Organ Company is now to be auctioned in Archives International Auctions' upcoming sale (lot 605). AIA's 41th auction features nearly 1,100 U.S. & worldwide scripophily lots, largely from the American Banknote Company archives. Included as well are historic and security printing ephemera, and banknotes.
The company was organized in 1928 as the Hammond Clock Company by Laurens Hammond. Together with John M Hanert, Hammond invented an electromechanical pipeless organ. They sold it to churches as a lower-cost alternative to a wind-driven pipe organ. By means of an ingenious system of mechanically driven tone weels, electromagnetic pick-ups and drawbar controllers, a Hammond organ could create millions of potential sounds. Soon production rose to several hundreds per month. Automaker Henry Ford was one of Hammond's first customers. The company became the Hammond Instrument Company in 1937. Models equipped with bass pedals and harmonic percussion features were well received in small jazz bands.
In 1953 the company adopted the name Hammond Organ Company. The Hammond organ became even more popular when used with a Leslie speaker, a combined amplifier with rotating loudspeakers. Jazz virtuoso Jimmy Smith used the organ in new ways and became the star on stage like a modern guitar hero. In 1967, after the acquisition of glove manufacturer Wells Lamont, the parent company became the Hammond Corporation, and the Hammond Organ Company became its division.
The sales' scripophily section features railroad, automobile and aviation certificates. More topics include banking & finance, brewery and alcohol related certificates, mining, utilities, navigation, sports, and state and municipal bonds of several countries.
Submarine Monitor Company of New York
100 shares of $10, 1885
lot 626 in the auction
Auction details
- Date : May 16, 2017
- Place : Fort Lee, NJ
- Further info : see here, virtual catalogue see there and PDF version here
F.L.
No comments:
Post a Comment