Coinola Pianos and Orchestrions
The
Operators Piano Company, founded by Louis Severson of Chicago, Illinois in 1909,
became a prolific enterprise responsible for manufacturing a wide variety of
coin-operated pianos and orchestrions, which are highly prized by mechanical
music collectors today.
The Victor Coin piano was probably the first model made by Operators. It
was a sturdy A roll piano with three window openings in the upper front panel:
a rectangular one in the middle with an oval on each side. Victor Coin pianos
usually have simple but pretty art glass with colored borders surrounding clear
pieces through which the piano action can be observed as it plays. The pneumatic
stack and possibly the coin accumulator were obtained from the Marquette Piano
Co., which had begun in 1905 by manufacturing player mechanisms for other piano
companies prior to making its own coin pianos.
Within a few years, Operators introduced the Coinola brand name and made
its own mechanisms. The first Coinola model was the Style A, having the same
case design as the previous Victor but with all interior mechanisms now made
by Operators. Other styles of A roll pianos followed.
By the early teens, Operators’ line included a variety of case styles and
instrumentation, including several models of orchestrion that played style O
orchestrion rolls. Coinola orchestrions are noted for many exceptional musical
arrangements and rather unique but wonderful toe-tapping sound. Coinola instruments
are relatively scarce, compared to the surviving specimens made by Seeburg or
Wurlitzer.
In
early 1916, Operators introduced a self-playing, self-contained piano-pipe organ
for theatres and mortuaries called the Reproduco. Although they aren’t coin-operated,
we include them in the Coinola list because they are a related product and a
real hit with collectors, thanks in part to some well-arranged popular rolls
for theatre use.
Operators
also provided complete mechanisms for coin pianos and orchestrions to Lyon &
Healy, Chicago’s largest full-line music retailer. This firm either installed
the mechanisms in its own pianos, or had Operators install them, and sold them
under the Empress brand. Empress has its own section in the registry because
the pianos, cabinets, and art glass are different from Operators’ pianos and
fall into different serial numbering series.
Using the Information on This Page
This page continues with detailed descriptions and photos of various technical
and/or mechanical features, which are deemed important for a truly useful understanding
of both the database reports and to effectively fill in the Survey Reporting
Form. The actual database reports and
survey form can be accessed in the Distribution of Database
Information section and then clicking on the large
Download button at the bottom of
this page.
Types and Sources of Operators Pianos
Operators’ style letters and serial numbering are more complicated than most
other brands because many models of instruments with keyboards were mixed together
into several large groups of numbers, but each model of keyboardless instrument
had its own unique numbering series.
Three
main types of piano plates have been observed in Operators’ keyboard-style pianos,
with examples viewable by clicking on the small thumbnail image at right:
- The earliest Victor and Coinola keyboard pianos, made through the mid-teens,
were probably obtained from Smith, Barnes & Strohber, characterized by an
open face pinblock with a two-piece plate similar to those used in early
Cremona pianos. In this design, the upper portion of the plate surrounding
the pinblock is separate from the main plate below.
- The second type of piano has a full plate covering the pinblock,
with a normal tuning pin configuration. As in the early Coinola pianos
made by Smith, Barnes and Strohber, there is an extra break in the
middle of the treble section, with a total of four sections of hammers.
We now believe this piano is a second, later variety of Smith, Barnes
and Strohber.
- The third type is of a design used by Seybold (see images 3 and 4 by
clicking the above thumbnail image) with an odd tuning pin configuration,
with one vertical row of pins staggered much higher or lower than the next.
Plate types 2 and 3 might have been sold concurrently during the late ’teens
and the ’twenties, but more information is needed to confirm or invalidate
this. There may have been other types of keyboard style Coinola pianos as
well.
Operators’
first cabinet (keyboardless) style piano was the Midget, introduced in 1916.
It was available playing either A or O rolls with various combinations of extra
instruments. Early Midgets used the same style 61-note keyboardless Haddorff
pianos with an open face pinblock as used in the Link 2E, Seeburg K and KT,
Nelson-Wiggen 4X, 5X, and 6, etc. Later Midgets, representing most examples
surviving today, used a 66-note piano of unknown manufacture with the pinblock
entirely covered.
The smaller keyboardless Coinola Cupid, introduced in 1921 and later called
the “Tiny Coinola,” used a 53-note piano similar to the one installed in the
small Seeburg L and Western Electric Mascot, but of unknown manufacture.
The SO, the largest keyboardless model, used a full 88-note piano back made
by Seybold, the same as the pianos used in all other late model Coinola and
Reproduco pianos.
Operators Serial Numbers
The following list summarizes major groups of numbers shown in the registry
report, setting the stage for further research and a more complete history of
mechanical development after more details become known.
Unfortunately, certain restorers have occasionally put a Coinola decal on
a Victor piano because the piano plate has the Operators name and they think
the Coinola decal is prettier or might make the piano more valuable. The presence
of a Cremona stack helps to substantiate the Victor brand, but the most conclusive
evidence is an original fallboard decal or a photograph of the piano before
refinishing.
Keyboard-style pianos:
- 10,xxx series (circa 1909-1910): Very early Victor
A roll pianos with Marquette stacks, early Operators roll mechanisms, vacuum
pumps and reservoirs, and pianos that appear to have been made by Smith,
Barnes and Strohber with two-piece piano plates. The Operators name is cast
into the upper part of the piano plate but the Coinola name is not used.
- 11,xxx series (probably circa 1910-1911): One example
of an early Coinola A roll piano.
- 20,xxx through 30,xxx (unknown era): A few examples
of various keyboard-style models. More information is needed.
- 110,xxx through 182,xxx (middle through late era?):
Many different models of Coinola keyboard-style pianos, a few Victors,
early 61-note Midgets and one early Reproduco. It seems likely that all
pianos in this group are of the second type (the later variety of Smith,
Barnes and Strohber, with a full plate covering the pinblock and
ordinary tuning pin configuration), but more information is needed to
confirm this. The wide spread of numbers in this group obviously represent
far more pianos than were ever sold by Operators.
- 279,xxx through 285,xxx (circa late teens through end of production):
Many different models of Coinola keyboard-style pianos, and many late Reproducos.
It is possible that all pianos in this group were made by Seybold, that
the numbers are Operators’ numbers, and that the highest number in this
series minus 279,000 represents a total of all Seybold pianos used by Operators.
When submitting information on Coinola and Reproduco pianos, please note
the type of piano plate, as shown in the photos above (in the Types
and Sources of Operators Pianos section).
The transition from early to late style pumps and roll mechanisms seems
to have been made during the time Operators was using Smith, Barnes and
Strohber pianos. It will be possible to create a dating chart and chronology
of mechanical improvements only after many more piano stack numbers have
been submitted, allowing us to put the various numbering series and designs
in chronological order, to know if various numbering series overlapped, etc. Coinolas and Reproducos
share the same numbering series. To facilitate study of each brand separately
or both groups together, they are listed both ways in the Registry.
Keyboardless (cabinet-style) pianos:
- 8,000 through 9,xxx (1921 through end of production):
All known examples of the keyboardless Coinola Cupid (or Tiny), and no other
models, are in this series. The highest number in this series minus 8,000
probably represents the total number of Cupid/Tiny pianos made.
- 80,000 through 80,999 and 90,000 through 90,xxx (1916 through
end of production): Most examples of the 66-note keyboardless Coinola
Midget, and no other models, are in this series. The highest number in the
90,000 series minus 90,000, plus the 1,000 pianos in the 80,000 series probably
represent all 66-note Midgets made.
- 300,xxx (1920 through end of production): All three
known original examples of the large keyboardless SO orchestrion, and no
other models, are in this series. With the three examples numbered 300,011,
…16, and …23, Q. David Bowers has pointed out that fewer than 50 were made,
as suggested by rules of probability.
Summary of numbers, sorted numerically (not chronologically):
- 8,000 - 9,xxx (1921 through end): All Cupids.
- 10,000 series (c. 1909-1910): Very early Victor A roll
pianos.
- 11,000 series (c. 1910-1911?): Early Coinola A roll
piano, one example.
- 20,000 – 30,xxx (unknown era): Various models.
- 80,000 – 80,999 and 90,000 – 90,xxx (1916 through end):
66-note Midgets.
- 110,xxx – 182,xxx (c. early teens through mid or late teens):
Many different models with keyboards, and 61-note Midgets.
- 279,xxx through 285,xxx (c. mid or late teens through end of
production): Many different keyboard-style models.
- 300,xxx (1920 through end): SO orchestrions.
Operators Stack Numbers
Stack serial numbers might be either on the front or back of a stack; only
a few stack numbers have been reported. Seeburg and Marquette stack numbers
have proven to be very useful in helping to put various groups of serial numbers
in order, because stacks were numbered sequentially through the years regardless
of brand or model of piano. As more stack numbers are added to the Operators
Registry, it might become possible to make more sense of all the different piano
numbering series.
Extra Instruments
Most Coinolas with pipes have open wooden flutes, metal violins, or both.
Many ranks of metal violins were supplied by Jerome B. Meyer and Sons of Milwaukee.
A few model C-2 orchestrions had vacuum-operated harmonium reeds instead of
pipes.
In instruments with bells or xylophone, the earliest instruments have bells
and the latest usually have xylophone, but certain models, including the Midget,
were offered with a choice of either instrument.
Most standard model Reproduco organs have 98 pipes arranged in 1˝ ranks.
The Diapason register controls the low flutes, 12 large stopped wooden bass
flute pipes behind the soundboard, plus 12 smaller stopped wooden accompaniment
pipes under the keyboard inside. The treble has separate registers for 37 open
wooden flutes, and either 37 metal quintadenas (usually) or 37 small scale metal
violins (very rarely). The combination of 24 bass/accompaniment stopped pipes
and 37 treble pipes forms a continuous 61-note organ scale at 8’ pitch.
Art Glass
Standard art glass designs are shown in Bowers’ Encyclopedia of Automatic
Musical Instruments and the forthcoming Reblitz-Bowers Guide to Coin Operated
American Pianos and Orchestrions.
Mechanical Design Changes
In general, the earliest Operators A roll pianos with keyboards had the pump
and roll mechanism under the keyboard and the extra instruments above, if present.
After orchestrions were introduced, most keyboard style pianos except the tall
style CO had these parts reversed, with the pump and roll mechanism above the
keyboard and any extra instruments below.
Roll Mechanisms
Early
Operators A roll pianos have spoolboxes with cast iron side frames. In these,
the music roll unwinds from the front of the feed spool, over the tracker bar,
and winds onto the front of the takeup spool as in a Seeburg or Cremona.
An
intermediate type of A roll spoolbox has steel side plates instead of cast iron
side frames, again with the music roll winding from the front of the feed spool,
over the tracker bar, and onto the front of the takeup spool. This type is less
common than the other two types.
The
final type of A roll spoolbox has steel side plates, but the roll is turned
around so the paper unwinds from the back of the takeup spool, over the tracker
bar (which is mounted farther back than in the earlier types), and onto the
back of the takeup spool. With this configuration, the lowest notes are toward
the right side of the roll, so the tracker bar tubing must be crossed on its
way to the pneumatic stack.
All
O roll orchestrions have spoolboxes with steel side plates. In these, the paper
winds off the back of the feed spool, over the tracker bar, and then onto the
back of the takeup spool. O rolls are perforated with the notes running up the
scale from left to right with the paper coming off the back of the spool, so
the stack tubing is connected to the tracker bar in order from left to right.
Theatre model Reproduco piano-organs have 10-tune spoolboxes with steel side
plates like typical O roll orchestrion spoolboxes. Some models have one spoolbox
to the right above the keyboards, a rotary vacuum pump to the left and an electric
motor in the middle. Others have twin spoolboxes and have the vacuum pump mounted
in the remote blower box. Mortuary models have a smaller wooden spoolbox driven
by a vacuum motor, as in a home player piano.
Pneumatic Stacks
The
earliest Victor Coin pianos have pneumatic stacks made by the Marquette Piano
Co.
The
first stack made by Operators has the pneumatics and valves mounted in deck
boards. In some examples, the top seats are Bakelite rings. There may be other
styles as well.
The next design is similar but has unit pneumatics, each pneumatic having
its own self-contained valve and pouch for easy servicing of individual notes
without disassembling the entire stack. At least three configurations of unit
pneumatic stacks were made. One is similar to the deck board stack, with Bakelite
rings for the top seats. Another has an adjustable brass tube threaded into
the wood for each top seat, with the valve and Bakelite bottom seat inserted
from the bottom of the valve well before the unit is glued together. In the
most common type, each top seat is an adjustable brass tube threaded into a
fiber washer, with the fiber washer screwed to the wood so it can be removed
from the outside without breaking the unit apart.
Production
dates for each type remain unknown, although it seems that unit stacks with
Bakelite seats or brass and fiber seats might have been made concurrently for
different models or price levels. More information is needed.
Pumps
Operators’
first style of pump has a square steel frame sitting up on one corner. This
style was used in early Victor Coin and Coinola pianos and was mounted under
the keyboard.
The
next style of vacuum pump has two pairs of vertically mounted bellows with the
crankshaft between, typically mounted above the keyboard. The bellows are mounted
with the hinge ends facing down in some examples, and up in others.
The
last style is a typical box pump with a wooden frame that holds four bellows
and conducts the suction to the vacuum reservoir, also mounted above the keyboard.
Several styles of connecting rods or straps were used to connect the crankshaft
to the bellows.
In
Coinola pianos with pipes, a similar box pump was used but it was enclosed with
sheet metal on the front and back to capture the pressure exhausted from the
flap valves on the vacuum bellows.
Reproduco piano-organs have a blower to supply pressure to the pipes. In
some instruments, a box-type vacuum pump is mounted above the keyboard, and
in others, it is mounted in the separate blower box.
Coin Entry Chutes
Operators
used several types of coin entry chutes for coin-operated pianos and orchestrions.
One early style had a push-pull coin slide mounted horizontally. A mid-era style
also had a push-pull slide, but it was mounted diagonally. The last major style
had a pushbutton with a vertical slot immediately above.
Coin Accumulator Mechanisms
Victor
Coin and early Coinola pianos have a coin accumulator mechanism similar to the
Cremona type 2. Later coin-operated instruments have a spring-loaded ratchet
wheel similar in concept to a Nelson-Wiggen or Wurlitzer accumulator.
The Operators Piano Company Database
The primary information that went into building up the Operators Piano Company
(Coinola) database has been meticulously gathered over a period of 45 years
by Art Reblitz, a longtime expert in the restoration, history, and music of automatic
pianos and organs. Whenever he has had access to or enjoyed the opportunity
to rebuild a Cremona piano or orchestrion, he has carefully recorded mechanical
and historical details of interest. Many other people, listed under
Acknowledgements in the Introduction to the Registry, also submitted information
to Art. The result of his painstaking effort is presented in an orderly, easy
to read format in the report offered below.
By default, current ownership information is not integral to the database
project, but a provision exists whereby the current owner's name information
can be accommodated and then shown in database reports. However, this will be
done only if and when specific written permission is granted to the Mechanical
Music Press specifically authorizing us to show and/or distribute individual
ownership information. Furthermore, if and when such authorization is granted,
the Mechanical Music Press and/or its authors shall assume no liability or responsibility
of any kind, nor to any extent, regarding any inferred, purported, or actual
privacy intrusions, incidents, or claims.
Updating the Database and Reporting Errors
We cordially invite and solicit additional information for the database
on any Operators Piano Company instruments under the brand names of Victor Coin,
Coinola, and Reproduco, and that are not in the current database report and/or
additional details for instruments that are already listed but have little information.
To facilitate the reporting of database errors and/or new or additional information
regarding any Operators Piano Company instruments, please click on the
Survey Reporting Form button in
the options panel below. Please note: We welcome any survey information, whether
it be only the brand, model, and serial number, or all requested details. We
realized that it can be difficult (even for an experienced restorer) to find
certain serial numbers without partially disassembling an instrument. Nonetheless,
please submit a form regardless of how many spaces you can currently fill in.
- Please be aware that the Mechanical Music Press and/or its authors may,
at their sole discretion, require some sort of verification as to the authenticity
and accuracy of any submitted information and/or material.
All database report information is offered
"as is," without any guarantee or warranty whatsoever of any kind, neither stated,
implied, nor inferred, as to the accuracy, correctness, exactness, suitability,
or usefulness of any content.
Distribution of Database Information
Last Updated on February 14,
2012
Download the current database report as
a PDF
by clicking the left hand button, or report another
instrument by clicking the right hand button. |
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310 KB file. |
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Please do not contact the Mechanical Music
Press or Art Reblitz for further information regarding individual entries, because
all available information regarding each line item has been included in the
downloadable Coinola (Operators Piano Company) database report.
