People v. Hiden

In 1942 defendant was in the throes of inventing an attachment for a piano, which he called “Music-in-Color.” The attachment was to project colors upon a screen, or upon the walls of a room. These colors would change with musical notes, as keys of a piano were struck.

Defendant met the complaining witness at the home of a mutual friend. He talked about no other subject than his invention; he was impecunious, and needed money to bring his brain child into the world.

■ The complaining witness was an elderly woman, whose husband and whose son were dead. She was trustee and executrix of the son’s…