Barrel Piano ca. 1860 George Hicks British When the crank is turned, pins on a rotating cylinder engage hammers that strike the strings, playing any of ten tunes, including "Yankee Doodle." At the same time, a bell rings and the articulated figures move in time to the music. One figure deposits coins in a trough. Shown with front string cover panel removed. Barrel pianos were developed in the early nineteenth century. One of the earliest builders was Joseph Hicks in Bristol, England, who had established a successful business by at least 1816 building both barrel pianos and barrel organs. Another member of the family, John, was soon active in London. It is probable that George Hicks, who lived in Brooklyn and built this barrel piano, was another relative. Technical description: Dark-stained pine case with mahogany lid, enclosing a vertical pine soundboard and, below and in front of the soundboard, a crank-operated pinned barrel that activates felt-covered mahogany hammers striking 24 tr