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.
