The Philipps Pianella
Model 14 Paganini Geigen Orchestrion

The Philipps Model 14 Paganini in the Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement, Utrecht, Holland.

This late style Paganini Geigen (Violin) Orchestrion is the only known surviving example of an original large Philipps Pianella Paganini Orchestrion. It is an orchestrion in the fullest sense, with an expression piano, a wide range of orchestral pipe voices (in addition to the violin toned pipes common to all Paganini type instruments) and extensive trapwork (drums, bells, et cetera).

Wurlitzer is known to have imported (from photographic evidence) at least several very large Paganini Orchestrions, as well as many of the relatively small Model 3 or less instruments. Only one Wurlitzer Paganini instrument remains today, a style 3 Violin Piano, that is described and illustrated elsewhere in this web site.

Interior view of the Philipps Model 14 Paganini in the Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement, Utrecht, Holland.This view, with the side access doors open and the bottom panel removed, reveals some of the trapwork section at the far left. Below, the large vacuum and wind-pressure feeder system sits at the bottom of the big machine. In the middle is the 10-station roll-changer. To the left of the roll changer the bottom part of the xylophone action is visible, and to the right of the roll-changer the orchestra bell action can be seen.

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