Music or noise? Bristol's Nineteenth-Century Barrel Piano Trade

The city streets of nineteenth-century Britain were noisy, and street musicians were frequently accused of being major contributors to this noise. If this was the case, what part did the barrel piano makers of Bristol have in this business of noise? The paper will examine the role of, particularly, the Hicks family of barrel piano makers, currently credited with inventing the instrument in 1805 – this particular fact is in the process of being challenged by Prof. Latanza (Rome) and myself and may well prove not to be true - and the impact of this family’s contribution to 19th-century street music/noise.