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| Victor Harold Ward |
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| Maestrovox Designer |
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| Coronation Model |
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| Larger Speaker Grill than the Consort |
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| Maestrovox Coronation |
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Victor Harold Ward - Maestrovox Designer
Born: 14th September 1908 - Died: 15th March 1991
Link: Click here for the Valuations Page
Below are pictures of Thomas Donofrio's Maestrovox Consort
Serial No: 1225 which he purchased on Ebay UK in October 2006.
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| Joy Ward Playing the Maestrovox Coronation |
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This is the front cover of the brochure for the Maestrovox Coronation. Seated at the piano is my
mum, Joy Curtis (Joy Ward at the time) aged 22. She was a well known
singer who worked with many top acts of the time including the Peter Knight Singers.
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| Maestrovox Coronation Brochure |
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The Maestrovox Coronation was I think the culmination of a number of models. |
| Maestrovox Coronation |
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Look how simple it was to place under a piano and face the speaker in the direction you wanted it. |
| Maestrovox Coronation Brochure |
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Text of the brochure for the Maestrovox Coronation....... |
| Maestrovox Coronation Brochure |
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......text Continued. Note how It folded down into one easily transportable box. |
Maestrovox later brought out other non keyboard products. I am aware their reel to reel tape recorders,
I have one myself and one other came up on ebay UK in 2005, but I don't know of anything else. If you have any other
Maestrovox product info, please let me know.
| Maestrovox Stand - British Industries Fair 1952 |
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| Seated is Broadcaster & Renowned Organist, Frieda Hall, who demonstrated the Maestrovox at the Fair |
Maestrovox Ltd, the factory, was based at 30, New Broadway, Uxbridge Road, Hillingdon
Heath, Middlesex. The address, Holly Tree House, shown here on the stand, was I think, most likely the home address of
co director Mr Hewitt.
| B.I.F. |
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| British Industrie Fair 1952 |
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1952 Clippings "British Industries Fair" held
at London, Olympia. The Maestrovox took
the biggest order of the whole show!
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The Coronation & Consort models were first made available in 1953. (This was of course the
'Coronation Year' of Queen Elizabeth).
| Stanley Black Endorsed the Maestrovox |
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Stanley Black
& Maestrovox
Pianist Stanley Black endorsed the Maestrovox Consort. The Consort in this brochure is in fact the
Consort De-Luxe version, which had a larger amplifier, not shown, which had a 7 to 8 watt output. This model was
aimed more at the professional market.
GNS - This stands for Guineas - A Guinea was a former British gold coin worth 21 shillings (£1.05p
in todays money) so 63 GNS. would have been £66.15p in todays money.
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| Maestrovox Consort |
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Note how the Consort sits on a single pole, I feel there must be other attachments which support
it against the underside of the piano. I gather from research that a lot of musicians ended up making or adapting a more convenient
stand.
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| Stanley Black Maestrovox Consort Brochure |
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Stanley Black Maestrovox Consort Brochure Vic Ward, lived at Le Vallon, Lower Road, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire when he designed
the first Maestrovox. He had a shop in the Swillett where he sold and repaired televisions and radios.
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Link: Click here for Stanley Black's Biography
The Prototype?
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| Maestrovox Prototype ? |
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| Maestrovox Prototype & Vic Ward |
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The above two pictures we think is the original creation, the prototype, there is a possibility that
this came after Maestrovox as Vic went on to make a similar keyboard with my dad Eddie. The fact that it has less buttons
makes me think it is most likely earlier. I am hoping my elder 2nd cousins are going to answer this question when I meet up
with them in the near future. Vic is clearly being silly with his 'Proud Pose' in the second picture, always joking around!
I'll update this when I know more.
The pictures below are of what I believe is a Maestrovox Consort De-Luxe
that Greg Middleton purchased on ebay Uk in December 2005. The interest this sale created led me to create these Maestrovox
Pages.
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Maestrovox
Orchestrain
This version of the Maestrovox was attached directly to the keys mechanism
of the piano so that when you played the piano, it automatically triggered the Maestrovox!
' Mechanical Midi ' !!!!
The Orchestrain boasted the following sounds - Violin, Viola, Cello, Saxophone, Trumpet,
Trombone, English Horn, Orchestral Horn, Bassoon, Cornet, Oboe, Flute, Arabian Flute, Piccolo, Bagpipes, Hawiian Guitar, Electric
Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Harpsichord, Theatre Organ, Church Organ, Musical Saw.
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| Maestrovox Orchestrain |
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Maestrovox Orchestrain Brochure - Front Cover
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Orchestrain Brochure Page 1
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Orchestrain Brochure Page 2
Maestrovox the company was jointly financed by a friend of Vic, R.G. Hewitt, a local Estate Agent.
I can find no more information about Mr Hewitt, If you know anything about him, please let me know.
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Orchestrain Brochure Back Cover.
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| Carroll Gibbons, Composer, Bandleader & Arranger |
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Where Is the
Orchestrain from the Toby Jug in Tolworth, Surrey?
Steve Fay has contacted us, his
Dad, Vic Fay, used to play an Orchestrain which was attached to the piano in the pub's dining room and dance hall in the
late 50's early 60's!
So what happenned to it? We understand the pub got demolished by Tesco! Was
the Maestrovox ever rescued?
The manager at the time was a Mr Seaton, did you, or do you know him or his descendants?
Do you know of any pictures showing the Maestrovox Orchestrain that was there?
Please let us have any information
in the hope we can find out more!
This is Gabor Tarjan's Maestrovox Coronation which he found hidden away
in a Netherlands Antique Shop in 2006.
It is the only surviving Coronation Model we currently know of!
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Sadly, it is not working and the case is in poor condition. However,
Gabor is intending to have the electronics restored to a working condition and will have the minimum amount of work carried
out to the case to keep it as original as possible
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| Thorpe Park - Surry |
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| Click for Thorpe Park Web Pages |
Thorpe Park - The Connection
Vic Ward descended from ‘The Wards of Egham’. His grandfather was a landowner & agricultural
engineer who farmed the land that is now 'Thorpe Park’ in Surrey. The family owned most of Thorpe Village. When Vic’s
grandfather died, the estate was to be divided equally between his 3 sons, however, Vic’s own father. Richard Ward,
died just a few days later, Vic was 12. Vic maintained that his uncles colluded with his Mother’s solicitor to cheat
her out of his Father’s share. They did pay her a good sum of money and she got to keep some cottages, but it was only
a fraction of what she should have had. Shortly after accepting the advice of her solicitor, he then suddenly expanded to
become a large London firm! A fat bonus from the uncles? Sadly, Vic’s mum (Ethel) became a heavy drinker and before
long the money & cottages were gone. The remaining land and properties were progressively sold by other Ward descendants,
the gravel pits were dug and eventually along came Thorpe Park. A picture at the park’s farm, (once a Ward farm) is
of a man with a striking resemblance to how Vic looked in his latter years, we believe it to most likely be a relative.
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| The Pianomaker - No.480 Vol.41 June 1953 |
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Advertisement from
The Pianomaker
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| Pianomaker Advert - No:480 Vol:41 June 1953 |
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No.480 Vol, 41 June, 1953
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| Pianomaker Article - No.480 Vol.41 June 1953 |
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Article from 'The Pianomaker'
June 1953 No.480 Vol.41
| Maestrovox Consort |
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The Maestrovox was by no means the first of its kind, however, it was the first to use a normal sized
set of piano keys!
Here are some recent pictures of Australian musician Ed Leckie's Maestrovox Consort
Serial No: 1360
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each Picture to
ENLARGE IT
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Vic was married to Helen Amelia Ward (formerly Parker) they had one child Joy (my Mum) she married
Trombonist, Big Band Leader and Music Arranger Eddie Curtis (my Dad) - I was their only child. My dad also had great skills
in electonics and also designed and built electronic keyboards & organs, in fact it was through working with Vic
after Maestrovox that he met my mum! My dad was actually the designer of the very first UK manufactured all electronic organ,
many of his designs were produced by Selmer. I don't have much info on my dad's creations but I'll touch on them later.
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The Original Maestrovox.
This was the first model produced which was exhibited at the British Industries Fair held at London
Olympia in 1952. This is a newspaper advert cutting, publication unknown.
Carroll Gibbons (1903-1953
playing the Maestrovox at the British Industries Fair in 1952. Carroll was a famous composer, bandleader
& arranger.
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| The Original Maestrovox |
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| Carroll Gibbons at the BIF 1952 |
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Strange Sounds By Mark Brend
Published in 2005, this book is all about unusual musical instruments - it
has quite a long chapter on similar piano attachment keyboards like the Solovox, Clavioline and Univox. It also gives
the Maestrovox a mention.
Link : Strange Sounds by Mark Brend
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| Vic Ward's TV & Radio Shop Window |
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