The Wicki System

[Robert Gaskins]

The concertina keyboard system known today as the

"Hayden" system, which was independently discovered by Brian

Hayden and patented by him in 1986, had also been discovered

and patented 90 years earlier by a Swiss inventor named

Kaspar Wicki, only twelve years after Maccann's patent.

 

Wicki's 1896 Swiss patent (CH13329) is clear and

unambiguous, with a keyboard diagram labeled in standard

musical notation. (Göran Rahm gave me the tip on this.)

 

A full discussion, including a scan of the patent, is on the web at

www.maccann-duet.com/wicki/wicki-system-1896.htm