Original Catalogue Specifications:
-
Wurlitzer
#????? stamped on piano pinblock.
- Philipps Chassis #????
- Revolver Mechanism (roll changer) #???
- Unit chassis with separate wrap-around case (with integral floor) format.
- Standard 6 station, friction drive revolver mechanism (roll changer).
- Round belt/chain & sprocket reduction for feeder (pump) crankshaft.
- Wurlitzer pneumatic lock and cancel controls.
- Manual on-off control for violin pipes.
- Uses Wurlitzer Mandolin PianOrchestra or Phillips PM (Pianella Mandoline)
rolls.
- Height: 8 ft. 6 in.
Width: 5 ft. 6 in.
Depth: 3 ft.
Shipping weight: 1500 lbs.
61 Note Musical Scale:
- Piano (Wurlitzer ??-note), with Mandolin attachment
- 37 Violin and Violoncello Pipes (30 wood violins + 7 wood violoncellos)
- Chimes, 13 bars (orchestra bells)
- Tenor drum (reiterating action)
- Bass drum, with cymbal
Special Lighting Effects:
- In addition to interior lighting to illuminate the colorful art glass
panels, atop the PianOrchestra sits a Peacock type "Wonderlight." The large,
circular peacock's tail consists of a reflective metal shroud, bent to form
many individual reflective "facets". Behind the peacock's decoratively painted
cast metal body is a tapered glass tube, with an electric light bulb inside.
The glass tube is painted with transparent pigments in a design representing
peacock tail feathers. When the PianOrchestra is operational, the glass
tube rotates, driven by a pulley on the backside, which is connected via
a round leather belt to another, smaller pulley located on the pump crankshaft.
As the painted tube rotates, colorful tail feathers are projected onto the
reflective metal shroud's facets, producing a striking, moving kaleidoscopic
effect.
Notes:
- The piano bass is strung with two unison strings, with a third string
an octave lower, for a total of three strings for each bass note.
- The eight rectangular sections in the lower parts of the roll case door,
situated just below the glass music roll viewing window, are for holding
tune-cards, which were individually printed cards somewhat like the standard
music roll labels. These cards could be easily slipped into an appropriate
slot by removing the holder assembly from the backside of the roll case
door. Six music rolls per changer load, six tune cards. So, then, why eight
slots? Many early Wurlitzer instruments had the ability to display up to
eight tune-cards, even though only six rolls could be loaded on a machine
at any one time. The two "extra" slots were used for instructional cards,
i.e., how to use certain aspects of an instrument. Different styles of Wurlitzer
instruction cards have been observed explaining things like (1) how to use
the coin accumulator, i.e., you get one tune for each nickel deposited,
up to about twenty, and (2) how to select a specific music roll on a roll
changer equipped instrument. However, for the PianOrchestra there is no
provision for selecting a specific music roll, as with many of the Wurlitzer
65-note coin-pianos, so perhaps there were other kinds of instruction cards
unknown to this author.
Chronological History:
Circa 1912/14
Chassis and the majority of its components manufactured by J.D. Philipps & Sons,
Bockenheim, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany.
Circa 1912/14
Chassis components imported by Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, New York.
The chassis is basically Philipps, with components added by
Wurlitzer. The piano, mandolin attachment, pipes and pipe chest, lock and cancel
controls, drums and associated actions and the free-standing, wrap-around furniture
case appear to all be Wurlitzer designed and manufactured components. The coin-accumulator
and all associated electricals were added by Wurlitzer.
Circa ????
Original Location unknown.
Circa ????
Robert Caudill (a.k.a. "Doby Doc") collection, Elko, Nevada.
Robert Caudill (a.k.a. "Doby Doc," the name a possible contraction
from "Adobe Doc") was a Northern Nevada rancher and collector of Western relics
for some 35 years, before becoming the curator of the "Last Frontier Village,"
a Las Vegas strip tourist attraction established by William J. Moore, Jr., in
the early 1940s. Robert Caudill was a collector on a large scale, hoarding items
such as mechanical pianos, guns, lamps, chamber pots and various Indian artifacts.
He reportedly had over 900 tons of relics kept in some 1,700 packing cases,
stored in warehouses located in Elko, Nevada.
Circa 1940s
Last Frontier Village, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Doby Doc, acting as curator of the Last Frontier Village,
filled it with many of his own antiques, mechanical pianos and other collectibles.
In 1958, after the Last Frontier Village was closed, the PianOrchestra, along
with many other rare and highly desirable coin pianos, sat in the dirt, becoming
seriously water damaged almost beyond any hope of repair, covered by a crudely
built wood and corrugated metal shed. Dust blowing through the cracks in the
shed walls settled on the instruments. Then, when it rained, water leaked through
the roof, soaking the machines. The cycle of rain and the growing accumulation
of dust and dirt, becoming a thick layer of encrusted mud, held the rainwater,
keeping the machines wet for long periods of time. Each instrument gradually
became little more than a pile of unglued, warped wood and rusted metal. Some
machines were suitable only as a pattern for reconstructing a replica. The PianOrchestra
did not suffer as much as many of the machines, and, as such, was mostly in
restorable condition.
Circa 1966
Kenneth Vaughn collection, Los Angeles, California.
Discovered by Warren Dale in 1966, the collection of instruments
was purchased by Kenneth Vaughn, Los Angeles, California. Many of the rare and
highly prized and dilapidated machines were restored by Warren Dale and displayed
in the Vaughn home, but there was no attempt to restore the PianOrchestra, although
it was safely stored to prevent any further deterioration.
Circa 1970
Hathaway & Bowers, Inc., Santa Fe Springs, California.
During the short time the PianOrchestra was in the possession
of Hathaway & Bowers, Inc., certain portions of the instrument were cleaned
and assembled in a more or less logical order, suitable for presentation in
the showroom area. The pipework was beyond easy assembly or placement in the
pipe chest. It was mostly unglued, and was therefore placed on a floor pad in
front of the chassis and partially erected case.
Circa 1971
Eckman collection, California.
As yet unrestored, the PianOrchestra is scheduled for eventual
restoration.
Credits:
Information provided by Terry Hathaway, Art Reblitz and
Don Pease.
Photographs:
Circa 1912 Wurlitzer catalogue.
