lmost all organ-builders in this country, in Germany, and elsewhere.
Schulze's method of treatment added largely to the assertiveness and
power of the tone, but gave the impression of the pipes being overblown
and led to the loss of the beautiful, musical, and singing quality of
tone furnished by the older Diapasons. Hard-toned Diapasons became
almost the accepted standard. Willis even went so far as to slot all
of his Diapason pipes, and Cavaille-Coll sometimes adopted a similar
practice. Walker, in England, and Henry Erben, in this country,
continued to produce Diapasons having a larger percentage of foundation
tone and they and a few other builders thus helped to keep alive the
old traditions.

In the year 1887 Hope-Jones introduced his discovery that by leathering
the lips of the Diapason pipes, narrowing their mouths, inverting their
languids and increasing the thickness of the metal, the pipes could be
voiced on 10, 20, or even 30-inch wind, without hardness of tone,
forcing, or windiness being introduced. He ceased to restrict the toe
of the pipe and did all his regulation at the flue.

His invention has proved of profound significance to the organ world.
The old musical quality, rich in foundation tone, is returning, but
with added power. Its use, in place of the hard and empty-toned
Diapasons to which we had perforce become accustomed, is rapidly
growing. The organs in almost all parts of the world show the
Hope-Jones influence. Few builders have failed now to adopt the
leathered lip.

Wedgwood, in his "Dictionary of Organ Stops," pp. 44, 45, says:

"Mr. Ernest Skinner, an eminent American organ-builder,[2] likens the
discovery of the leathered lip to the invention by Barker of the
pneumatic lever, predicting that it will revolutionize organ tone as
surely and completely as did the latter organ mechanism, an estimate
which is by no means so exaggerated as might be supposed. The
leathered Diapason, indeed, is now attaining a zenith of popularity
both in England and America.[3] A prominent German builder also, who,
on the author's recommendation, made trial of it, was so struck with
the refined quality of tone that he forthwith signified his intention
of adopting the process. A few isolated and unsuccessful experimental
attempts at improving the tone of the pipes by coating their lips with
paper, parchment, felt, and kindred substances, have been recorded, but
undoubtedly the credit of having been t