- Barker lever
The Barker-lever is named after
Charles Spackman Barker (1804-79), engineer and organ-builder. Thislever , multiplying the force of a finger on an organ key, allowed for the development of larger, more powerful organs still responsive to the human hand. These larger organs first flourished inFrance , e.g., the organ produced byCavaillé-Coll atSt. Sulpice .A similar lever was developed by
David Hamilton in 1835, and there has been debate whether Barker stole the design. The rest of Barker's career was undistinguished.Bibliography
*cite episode |title=Of Organs and Engines |series=The Engines of Our Ingenuity |serieslink=The Engines of Our Ingenuity |credits=John H. Lienhard |network=NPR |station=KUHF-FM Houston |airdate=2005 |number=1973 |transcripturl=http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1973.htm Compares Barker-lever to similar devices in the
Corliss steam engine . He cites the Grove's article below and other good web sources, e.g. Bridgeman-Sutton.
*Bridgeman-Sutton, David, [http://www.nzorgan.com/vandr/barker-lever.htm "Barker-lever"] . This is based on the following two print sources, Hinton suggesting Barker's copying & Thistlethwaite noting the differences in design.
*Hinton, John William, The Story of the Electric Organ. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., 1909.
*Thistlethwaite, Nicholas, The Making of the Victorian Organ. Cambridge Musical Texts and Monographs. Cambridge University Press, 1990. Pp. 352-354.
*Williams, P., "Organ." The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians. (Stanley Sadie, ed.) Vol. 13, New York: Macmillan, 1995, pp. 710-779.
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