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.
