Wurlitzer / Philipps Orchestrions

Wurlitzer Style 29-C Mandolin PianOrchestra
Philipps Pianella Model 29 (Mandolino)

Original Location: Los Angeles, California

Original Catalogue Specifications:

• Philipps serial or work #???? stamped on chassis.
• Revolver Mechanism (roll changer) #445
• Date or date code cast into piano harp: 14 . xx . 09.
• Integral case and chassis format, with animated scenic effects.
• Standard 6 station, friction drive revolver mechanism (roll changer).
• Round belt/chain & sprocket reduction for feeder (pump) crankshaft.
• Pneumatic lock and cancel register controls.
• Uses Wurlitzer Mandolin PianOrchestra or Phillips PM (Pianella Mandoline) rolls.
• Height: 10 ft.
  Width: 6 ft. 8 in.
  Depth: 3 ft. 4 in.
  Shipping weight: 2600 lbs.

61 Note Musical Scale:

• A high grade (61-note) Piano, with Mandolin attachment
• 30 Violins (metal violin pipes, or gamba)
• 30 Violas (wooden violin pipes with brass freins)
• 24 Violoncellos (12 wooden viola with brass freins & 12 wooden violoncello pipes with wood rollers)
• 12 Piccolos (wooden flute pipes)
• 18 Flutes (wooden flute pipes)
• Xylophone, 30 bars (reiterating action)
• Chimes, 13 bars (orchestra bells)
• Snare drum (reiterating action)
• Bass drum, with cymbal
• Kettle drum (tympani effect using two beaters)
• Triangle (reiterating action)
• Tambourine (reiterating action)
• Castanets (reiterating action)

Pipework Notes:

• The basic pipework specifications mentioned above (excluding any breakdown explanations within parenthesis) are exactly as Wurlitzer described them in their catalogue. Wurlitzer was big on flowery advertising hype, but very short when it came to accurately describing the actual pipework contents of a PianOrchestra. Thus, more accurately, the pipework of the Style 29-C consists of three ranks, front to back, as follows:
  • 42-note viola rank, consisting of 30 wooden violins with brass freins plus 12 wooden viola pipes with brass freins.
  • 42-note violin rank, consisting of 30 metal violins (gamba), plus 12 wooden violoncello pipes with wooden rollers instead of freins.
  • 30-note flute, consisting of a 30 note rank of wooden harmonic flutes with nodule hole. Wurlitzer describes the top octave (or top 12-notes) as 12 piccolos, and the remaining lower pipes as 18 flutes.
• The Wurlitzer concept of suggesting, for instance, that a particular PianOrchestra contained 30 violins is a gross misnomer, unless you expect all of the 30 violins to simultaneously be playing a consecutive and different note, which would tend to create a cacophony of non-musical noise. Closer to reality, and depending upon the arrangement of the music roll, a 30 note violin rank would ideally play no more than a few coordinated notes across its entire scale at any one time. Thus, it would be more accurate to say that a single 30-note rank of violin pipes represented the sound of one violin (or maybe two violins if the musical score is arranged appropriately to produce this kind of effect).

Special Lighting Effects:

• Centered in the top center portion of the case is an animated scenic effect. It consists of a rural setting featuring a large waterfall painted on thin, vellum type paper, stretched over a wood frame, much like a painter's canvas, and protected on the front side by a sheet of glass. On the back side of the vellum paper, all portions of the scene are blocked out with by an opaque black paint, except for those areas of the waterfall where back lighted special animation effects are desired. Immediately behind the transparent portion of the scene, sturdily mounted to the chassis, is a wooden framework that supports a series of electric light bulbs, which are located between a pair of wide, wooden rollers. When the instrument is operating, the soft warmth of the electric lights illuminates the waterfall from the backside, as the two round-belt motivated wood rollers, which support a continuous fabric belt made of a loosely woven material similar to cheese cloth, are caused to move so that the belting facing the scene is descending. Dabbed on the cloth belt are numerous elongated splotches of thick black paint, which, due to the electric illumination inside the cloth belt and its movement, give the effect of water rippling over the waterfall. Enhancing the novelty of the animation, a small rotating drum pinned to operate two or three mercury-pot type electrical switches sequences the various electric lamps situated behind the waterfall portion of the scene.

Chronological History:

Circa 1909
Manufactured by J.D. Philipps & Sons, Bockenheim, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany.

Circa 1909/1910
Imported and sold by Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, New York.

Circa 1910/1911
Shipped to Los Angeles, California.

It is unknown who received the PianOrchestra in Los Angeles. Two possible candidates are:

1. The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company of California. It is unknown when Wurlitzer first opened a store in Los Angeles. However during the twenties, the company (I.H. Lyons, Vice-President and General Manager), maintained some kind of sales facility on the ground floor of the rather impressive Wurlitzer building. This building was, and still is, located at 816 South Broadway in the downtown Los Angeles entertainment district, although it is no longer associated with Wurlitzer. The original high-relief cartouche emblazoned with the Wurlitzer name is still beautifully intact above the street level retail shops. The building, built in 1923, was designed by Walker and Eisen, and is a 12-story Spanish Renaissance polychrome terra cotta structure with decorative bands and arched windows. Among the decorations are various musical instruments: violin, drum, horn, Irish harp and lyre. Interspersed with the musical instruments are small red medallions bearing the names of famous composers: Verdi, Mozart, and Bizet. The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company of California was still listed at the Broadway address into the early 1930s.
   
2. William L. Glockner, a Musical Instrument Dealer, (a.k.a., Glockner Music) located at 917 South Broadway, later moved (circa 1919) to 325 New High Street (now Spring Street) in Downtown Los Angeles, California.

Circa 1911/1912
Banner Theater, Los Angeles, California.

Little is known about the instrument during its stay at the Banner Theater, other than it sat on the second floor mezzanine and entertained patrons.

Circa 1952
Bob Huish collection, Anaheim, California.

According to the book, "Music Boxes, Their Lore and Lure," by Helen and John Hoke, "Years went by while collectors ran down every lead for the vanished machine. In 1952, during the remodeling of the [Banner] theater, workmen were astonished to uncover the long-lost, walled-up Orchestrion – and Robert Huish spent eighteen months painstakingly restoring it."

Durrell Armstrong, Wichita, Kansas, relates some interesting details regarding the discovery of the style 29-C PianOrchestra, one that corroborates some tidbits of information that I had heard myself from Mrs. A.C. Raney (Raney collection, Whittier, California) in 1954. In fact, when I had expressed an interest in the 29-C PianOrchestra to Mrs. Raney, I was literally warned by her, "to stay away from that machine, as it was trouble." I did not understand what she meant by trouble, but she was so forceful in her admonition, that I did not ask anything more. It was not until much later, when I learned about the serious problem between Huish and Knott's Berry Farm, his employer, that her remark made sense.

As the story goes: It was known to several collectors, including Bob Huish, that a Wurlitzer PianOrchestra had once been located in the old Banner Theater, an early nickelodeon theater located at the corner of 4^th and Main Streets in downtown Los Angeles. No one, however, could remember what had happened to the machine. It had simply vanished without a trace. Huish, sniffing around the old theater for any hint as to what had happened to it, was tapping on a wall on the mezzanine, where the PianOrchestra had supposedly been located. Detecting a dead space in the wall, Huish was certain that the machine was secreted away behind it. After some fancy talking, Bob Huish got permission to poke a small hole in the wall. His suspicion was correct, through the little hole he could clearly see the long forgotten orchestrion. When the bricked-up wall was torn down, the derelict orchestrion was revealed, and beside it was a pile of music rolls. It was such an unusual discovery that a news story about the fantastic PianOrchestra long lost behind a brick wall appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

Why anyone went to the trouble to wall-in the PianOrchestra, instead of just hauling it away as junk, as was the case with so many other similar instruments, is not known. A possible answer comes from another passage in Hoke’s book: "When talking pictures came in, the owner [of the Banner theater] was faced with a giant music-maker he could not use, and it was an unbelievably formidable task either to move or dismantle it. He decided to wall it in, and did so!"

Durrell Armstrong remembers visiting Bob Huish in December of 1954, and hearing the 29-C PianOrchestra play. It was the centerpiece of the house, Bob Huish remarking that he had built his house "around" it. Durrell thought so, too, since "the top of the instrument disappeared into the ceiling, and seemed to be holding up the house."

The following excerpts, which have been edited for conciseness and clarity, are taken from an article in The [Orange County] REGISTER, dated October 20, 1954. They help to provide some sense of Bob Huish:

Some of the comments in the above newspaper excerpt take on a new meaning in light of the tragic story that follows next.

Circa 1955/56
Ownership acquired by Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, California.

The events that led up to Knott’s Berry Farm owning the PianOrchestra were both unfortunate and tragic. What allegedly happened between Huish and Knott’s was no secret to many Southern California collectors. Although I had heard parts of the story from both Mrs. A.C. Raney and Herbert N. Vincent (who was in the business of rebuilding coin-pianos and band organs) in 1954-55, it is Durrell Armstrong’s recounting, as told by Orval Cooper, that I am using here. Durrell had been in contact with Huish, and had actually visited him in his home in December of 1954, not too long before Huish’s growing legal problem with Knott's Berry Farm came to a head.

According to the late Orval Cooper, who was a close friend of Huish, and who had apparently helped him remove the 29-C PianOrchestra from the Banner Theater, Bob Huish had been the caretaker of the coin operated pianos at Knott’s Berry Farm. When Huish went on vacation for two weeks, someone else collected the money from the coin-pianos. The trouble began when Walter Knott realized that the receipts for the two weeks Huish was absent were double that normally collected. Suspecting foul play, Walter Knott confronted Bob Huish upon his return to work, and not wanting to prosecute, he offered to let Huish repay the money allegedly taken.

Another, and rather different, story about how Mr. Huish allegedly got into legal trouble is recalled by Q. David Bowers. The firm of Hathaway & Bowers, Inc. (1967 - 1972) had limited business dealings with Knott's Berry Farm, but during the course of this interaction came the story that Bob Huish had been caught swiping gold nuggets that Knott's Berry Farm used to "plant" for paying tourists who "panned for gold" at the popular gold-panning amusement attraction. But whether this story is true, or not, or whether both this and the above version have some validity, cannot be confirmed. What is known for certain is that the outcome of the dispute between Huish and Knott's Berry Farm resulted in a tragic ending for Mr. Huish.

The exact chain of events that followed is unknown, but during this period of accusation and growing tension, Durrell Armstrong had agreed to buy a group of Wurlitzer Concert PianOrchestra rolls from Huish. Before the rolls were shipped, however, Durrell thinks this was in 1956, Bob Huish shot himself in the head, ending the life of an apparently very talented but disillusioned man. When Durrell Armstrong contacted Huish's wife, she remembered the sale of the rolls to Durrell and shipped them off to him without delay. The 29-C PianOrchestra, as part of a negotiated settlement with the Huish estate, became the property of Knott’s Berry Farm.

In May of 1965 I had my uncle, Richard F. Hathaway, telephone Walter Knott regarding the 29-C PianOrchestra. My Grandfather, Jesse E. Hathaway, first met Walter Knott during one of his circa 1900 bicycle trips from Los Angeles to Julian, California, to supervise and assist in the de-flooding of gold/silver mines in the area. Walter was a bellboy in a small hotel in Pomona, California, where my Grandfather stayed overnight on his way to and from Julian. Walter Knott began his farming career in Santa Fe Springs, under the name of Preston & Knott, on property that belonged to my Grandfather. Then, when the partnership fell apart, Walter moved to Buena Park, starting a Boysenberry farm. Thus, my grandparents and parents had intimately known the Knott family. That is why I had my "Uncle Dick" telephone Walter Knott.

Agreeing to look into the matter, Walter Knott responded to my uncle in writing, with a long and friendly letter, reminiscing about old, mutual acquaintances. Only the first paragraph refers to the orchestrion, and is as follows: "It is true, I find that we do have the machine that you refer to and due to its size and height, we have never put it out although our man has nearly completed the overhaul. When I saw the room it is taking up in his shop, I thought he would be delighted to get rid of it, but he was not. For one thing, the one Terry has is pretty big too, and almost as high. He has the idea that it is worth a minimum of $3500.00--money must be getting awfully cheap."

Since that time, the PianOrchestra has been displayed intermittently at Knott’s, for certain during the years 1982 through 1985, when it was on display in a museum building, but mostly it remained stored in a damp and cluttered warehouse.

Circa 1998
Yaffe collection, Florida.

The instrument was removed from the Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California, warehouse area immediately after purchase and then shipped to Ron Cappel, Atascadero, California, for a complete cosmetic and mechanical restoration. As of the year 2007, work on the casework has been completed, as well as the meticulous and very time consuming work on many of the interior components.

In January, of 2008, the spectacularly restored Style 29C Mandolin PianOrchestra was once again back to beautiful playing condition, and its quality and appearance rivaled that of a brand new orchestrion. Then, after partial disassembly and careful packing the grand machine was ready for shipment to its eagerly awaiting owner in Florida.

Anyone familiar with the PianOrchestra prior to its total restoration can attest to its thoroughly worn out condition due to many decades of commercial use and abuse. numerous original parts were missing, all of which were painstakingly recreated right down to the smallest detail. For instance, all lead tubing and the special Philipps wide-radius brass fittings were carefully re-manufactured, with the large cardboard wind and vacuum trunks re-created in the same style as the original. The piano was so worn out that it required many new parts, and the main valve chest/stack assembly below it had to be re-constructed, using newly stamped valve plates replicating the original ones. Additionally, the animated scene had to be re-created, since the original scene and all related components were missing without a trace. All in all, the meticulous cosmetic and mechanical restoration was a monumental undertaking, but one that fortuitously came together easily and magnificently. Without a doubt, the PianOrchestra is once again as perfectly beautiful as it was when it originally shipped from the Wurlitzer factory.

Credits:

Written by Terry Hathaway, with information provided by Durrell Armstrong, Terry Hathaway, Art Reblitz and Brian Smith.

Photographs:

Circa 1912 Wurlitzer catalogue; Art Reblitz; and Brian Smith.

Additional Resources:

"Music Boxes, Their Lore and Lure," by Helen and John Hoke, 1957, Hawthorne Books Inc., New York.

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