Editing Calliope (music) (section)

==History==
[[Image:Calliope on the Minnie-Ha-Ha.jpg|thumb|right|Calliope on the Minne-Ha-Ha, a [[paddle steamer|stern-wheeler]] on Lake George, New York]]
[[Image:Kitch Greenhouses Calliope.jpg|thumb|right|Kitch Greenhouse Steam Calliope at the Ohio Historical Society – July 2006]]
[[Image:SteamTractorCarnival18Feb2007Rubensteins.jpg|thumb|right|Fairground calliope trailer being hauled by a U.S.-built [[traction engine]] – New Orleans Mardi Gras 2007]]
[[File:Kratz Steam Calliope.jpg|thumbnail|Steam calliope (c. 1901) built by George Kratz and used on the showboat French's ''New Sensation'' at The [[Mariners' Museum]]]]

[[Joshua C. Stoddard]] of [[Worcester, Massachusetts]] patented the calliope on October 9, 1855,<ref>{{cite web|title=Patent US 13668: Apparatus for producing music by steam or compressed air.|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US13668.pdf|publisher=United States Patent Office|access-date=22 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bopp|first1=Ron|title=Whistling By The Numbers (A Survey of the Calliope in the U.S. Patents)|journal=Carousel Organ|date=April 2004|issue=19|page=2|url=http://www.coaa.us/index_archive/Issues_11_to_20/Whistling%20By%20The%20Numbers%20-%20Survey%20of%20Calliope%20Patents_%20Ron%20Bopp__19.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.coaa.us/index_archive/Issues_11_to_20/Whistling%20By%20The%20Numbers%20-%20Survey%20of%20Calliope%20Patents_%20Ron%20Bopp__19.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=22 February 2016}}</ref> though his design echoes previous concepts, such as an 1832 instrument called a ''steam trumpet,'' later known as a [[train whistle]]. In 1851, William Hoyt of Dupont, Indiana claimed to have conceived of a device similar to Stoddard's calliope, but he never patented it. Later, an employee of Stoddard's American Music, Arthur S. Denny, attempted to market an "Improved Kalliope" in Europe, but it did not catch on. In 1859, he demonstrated this instrument in [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]], London. Unlike other calliopes before or since, Denny's Improved Kalliope let the player control the steam pressure, and therefore the volume of the music, while playing.

While Stoddard originally intended the calliope to replace bells at churches, it found its way onto riverboats during the [[Paddle steamer|paddlewheel]] era. While only a small number of working steamboats still exist, each has a steam calliope.{{cn|date=December 2022}} These boats include the ''[[Delta Queen]]'', the ''[[Belle of Louisville]]'', and ''[[President (1924 steamboat)|President]]''. Their calliopes are played regularly on river excursions. Many surviving calliopes were built by '''Thomas J. Nichol''', [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], who built calliopes from 1890 until 1932. The Thomas J. Nichol calliopes featured rolled sheet copper (as used in roofing) for the resonant tube (the bell) of the whistle, lending a sweeter tone than cast bronze or brass, which were the usual materials for steam whistles of the day. David Morecraft pioneered a resurgence in the building of authentic steam calliopes of the Thomas J. Nichol style beginning in 1985 in [[Peru, Indiana]]. These calliopes are featured in Peru's annual Circus City Parade.  Morecraft died on December 5, 2016.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dahlinger |first1=Fred |title=Passing of Dave Morecraft, Steam Calliope Builder |url=https://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/201612/2016.12.06.01.html |website=Mechanical Music Archives |access-date=25 September 2018}}</ref>

Stoddard's original calliope was attached to a metal roller set with pins in the manner familiar to Stoddard from the contemporary clockwork [[music box]]. The pins on the roller opened valves that admitted steam into the whistles.  Later, Stoddard replaced the cylinder with a keyboard, so that the calliope could be played like an organ.

Starting in the 1900s calliopes began using [[music roll]]s instead of a live musician. The music roll operated in a manner similar to a [[piano roll]] in a [[player piano]], mechanically operating the keys. Many of these mechanical calliopes retained keyboards, allowing a live musician to play them if needed. During this period, compressed air began to replace steam as the vehicle of producing sound.

Most calliopes disappeared in the mid-20th century, as steam power was replaced with other power sources. Without the demand for technicians that mines and railroads supplied, no support was available to keep boilers running. Only a few calliopes have survived, which, unless converted to a modern power source, are rarely played.

A relatively recently-built calliope is that of Carl Bergman of [[Aspen, Colorado]], which was built in the mid 1970s.  The 6 foot tall wood-fired steam boiler was originally used by miners at [[Independence Pass (Colorado)|Independence Pass]] and requires its owner to maintain a boiler operator's license.  The calliope produces 10 notes and takes 8 hours to get ready.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Agar |first=Charles |date=2008-01-13 |title=Carl's calliope a hit at Aspen parade |url=https://www.aspentimes.com/news/carls-calliope-a-hit-at-aspen-parade/ |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=www.aspentimes.com |language=en-US}}</ref>