Barrel piano, street piano

Street or barrel piano manufactured by the London firm of Pasquale and Company located in Phoenix Place. With music arranged and recorded by R.Hall a piano-organ specialist based in Sheffield.
The manufacture of street or barrel pianos was believed to have been developed in London in the early 19th century. By the start of the 20th century there were up to 500 barrel organs and pianos bringing music to the streets of London. The street musicians, many of whom were Italian immigrants, usually hired organs and pianos on a daily basis from Italian owned firms such as the Faccini Barrel Organ Depot in Ernest Street, Stepney, run by the Italian migrant Albert Faccini . Such pianos were programmed to play up to 12 tunes. These were changed every six to eight months to keep up to date with the popular tunes of the day.