Original Catalogue Specifications:
-
Philipps
serial or work #1456 stamped on chassis.
- Date or date code cast into piano harp: ??????.
- Integral case and chassis format.
- Standard single music roll mechanism.
- Round belt/counter pulley reduction for feeder (pump) crankshaft.
- Mechanical slider lock and cancel register controls.
- Uses Wurlitzer Style 17 PianOrchestra (Phillips type unknown).
- Height: 7 ft. 10 in.
Width: 5 ft. 9 in.
Depth: 2 ft. 10 in.
61 Note Musical Scale:
- Piano (56-note), with automatic loud & soft pedal
- 37 Violin and Violoncello Pipes (30 wood violins + 7 violoncellos)
- Chimes, 13 bars (orchestra bells)
- Tenor Drum (reiterating action)
- Bass drum, with cymbal
Notes:
- The bells are mounted in a lyre shaped framework mounted on the front
of the case, with the individual bell strikers affixed behind each bell
bar, hiding the mechanical mechanisms from public view.
- Each bell note is operated by its own special tracker bar position,
allowing the bells to play independently of all other playing notes. This
is unlike the large Mandolin and Concert PianOrchestras, whereby the orchestra
bells play in unison with the top 13 playing notes on the piano scale, and
are turned on and off by a register on/off control.
- The bottom 12 piano bass notes are two string unison.
- Wurlitzer seems to have generally based their style number designations
upon the Philipps model number, which suggests this model was identified
by Philipps as a Model 17 Pianella, as well as being designated by the Philipps
model name, "Special."
Chronological History:
Circa 1906/8
Manufactured by J.D. Philipps & Sons, Bockenheim,
Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany.
Circa 1906/09
Imported and sold by Rudolph Wurlitzer
Company, New York.
Circa 19??
Original Location:
According to Frank Rayle, who bought the PianOrchestra from Otto Carlsen
in 1965, Otto mentioned that this style 17 was discovered in the basement of
an amusement park in Oklahoma. Later, during the early 1980s, when Frank Rayle
had the PianOrchestra as an attraction in an ice-cream parlor he had built,
a customer came in and seeing the machine began to cry. The man stated that
he once had a paper route in Oklahoma in the early 1900s and remembered the
instrument, or a duplicate of it, in the lobby of a bordello. While it is certainly
possible that this is the same style 17 PianOrchestra, with the information
currently at hand it is impossible to confirm or deny any stories or speculation
regarding the instruments original location.
Circa 195?
Jack Forney collection, Denver, Colorado.
Jack Forney owned the Forney Museum of Transportation in Denver, Colorado.
The collection was, according to Art Reblitz, housed in a huge old brick power
plant, with a badly leaking roof. Pigeon feathers and droppings were all over
the cars and a Mills Violano, with buckets located around to collect some of
the dripping water. "Jack's hearing damage and the small holes in the roof were
attributable to the same cause -- shooting pigeons," says Art Reblitz. The museum
must have been an interesting place, if not a happy home for the collection!
Circa 1965
Otto Carlsen, Monrovia, California.
It is unknown exactly when Otto Carlsen acquired the style 17 PianOrchestra.
I am estimating it to be circa 1965. As I remember, Otto had sold the instrument
before I met him, and I probably first set eyes on his collection in mid to
late 1965. Art Reblitz notes that the style 17 PianOrchestra was no longer part
of the Forney collection when he visited in 1968.
Circa 1965
Frank Rayle, Encinitas, California.
In
the late 1960s I remember Mr. Rayle buying a few "Regular PianOrchestra" and
many "Style 17 PianOrchestra" music rolls (Regular and Style 17 rolls are the
same, except for a notation on the label) from Hathaway & Bowers, Inc.,
adding to his already exceptional collection of the rare style 17 music rolls.
By the early 1970s Mr. Rayle had done enough restoration work on the machine
to get the PianOrchestra into fair playing condition. Then, during the mid to
late 1970s, it was placed on display in the Movieland Wax Museum Restaurant,
Buena Park, California, where it entertained patrons for several years.
In
the early 1980s the PianOrchestra was moved to a newly built "turn-of-the-century"
ice-cream parlor built by Frank Rayle, where it entertained patrons at the drop
of a coin. During this time, a customer came in, saw the machine and began to
cry. He remembered it, or a duplicate of it, in the early 1900s when he had
a paper route in Oklahoma. He said it was being used in the lobby of a bordello.
During
the year of 1998, a complete restoration of the PianOrchestra had begun, with
the majority of the work being done by Randy Potter of Bend, Oregon (http://www.pianotuning.com).
The piano sounding board repairs, new pin-block and the rebuilding of the piano
action was carried out by Joe Garrett, of Gales Creek, Oregon.
As an interesting side note, according to Joe Garrett, his step-father,
along with several friends, opened the Red Dog Saloon in Juneau, Alaska,
during the late 1940s. It was supposedly a typical Yukon Territory looking
kind of place, with sawdust on the floor and swinging front doors. As a
young man, Joe remembers the place as having many coin pianos, and even
some orchestrions. But when I asked Joe what kind, all he could remember
was putting nickels in the machines, because, he said, at that young age
he was not interested in anything but hearing them play. Joe's step-father
left the saloon business in the 1950s, and Joe has no clue as to what happened
to all the coin pianos and orchestrions.
As of mid 2001, the restoration and final regulation of the PianOrchestra
was completed, and the smallish PianOrchestra, with only one rank of violin/violoncello
pipes, reportedly sounds much larger and fuller than what was expected. This
sense of musical enhancement or development is much the same as is experienced
with the diminutive Style 12 PianOrchestra, which also sounds mightier than
its music producing components logically suggest. But this is partially explained
by the loud voicing of the pipes, which tends to also increase the harmonic
content, thereby providing a richer and fuller sounding tone. Then, the relatively
large, uncramped spaciousness within the casework helps to further develop and
enhance the tone, too. The open or loud voicing of pipes was common in the smaller
PianOrchestras -- instruments with one or two ranks--so that the music would
carry in noisy commercial locations.
Now that the restoration is finished, the PianOrchestra is on display in
Frank Rayle's winery/art gallery/museum complex, along with numerous other coin-in-the-slot
pianos, including a Link 2E from the fabulous Raney collection (which was located
near Whittier, California and sold off in the early 1950's). Frank Rayle's museum
complex, consisting of several historic and restored buildings, is located on
Whidley Island in the beautiful Paget Sound area, about fifty miles North of
Seattle, Washington. Visitors are welcome. During the summer the complex is
open weekends, and other times by appointment. The address is:
3112 Day Road
Greenbank, WA 98253
(360) 678-3964
Credits:
Information provided by Terry Hathaway, Frank Rayle,
Art Reblitz, Joe Garrett and Don Pease.
Photographs:
Circa 1910 Wurlitzer catalogue.
