& Guide For
Mechanical Music Enthusiasts
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Commentary, News Notes, FAQ, & Guide For Mechanical Music Enthusiasts |
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07/27/08 |
       
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What's new in the world of mechanical music? AND Social Notes!
The Exciting Happy Sound of Nickelodeons are
Available on New CD!
The sound of nickelodeons and orchestrions have been brought to life on the new CD, Rags, Blues, and Fox Trots! The orchestrions and nickelodeons on the recording are from the collection of John Motto-ros who resides in the famous California gold rush town of Sutter Creek. On the CD or download, you can hear a Wurlitzer Pianino, a Cremona G, an Empress Y with the finest sounding xylophone west of the Mississippi, a Seeburg G, and a wonderful sounding Coinola C2 with with flute pipes. The Irma Rag played on the Coinola C2 is worth the price alone! Treat yourself to a great recording! The only problem is that the recording is sooooo good, it will make you want to buy an orchestrion!!!! And, of course, I can help you with that! Click Here for New CD Info The Continual Thrill of Mechanical Music! I am here to tell you that the novelty, excitement, and enjoyment of mechanical music NEVER wears off! My large growing collection is proof of that! For most enthusiasts the interest lasts a lifetime. Music machines are not static items, they perform for you. They combine the arts of fine cabinetry, intriguing mechanism, and music. A reporter for the Chicago Tribune called Mechanical Music the ULTIMATE hobby! Vintage arcade machines, slot machines, vintage cars, etc. are ENHANCED by adding mechanical music to a display because it gives the display life. Once a mechanical music machine is restored, the fun begins as each roll, book, or disc becomes a NEW experience which is often educational. For example if you have been raised on Rock music, your horizons get expanded to Classical music, concert waltzes, cake walks, one steps, fox trots, Ragtime, blues, etc. And for your friends and guests you can demonstrate the instruments versatility though its library of music. Also you can enjoy a basic nickelodeon as well as a complex orchestrion from just it musical presentation alone! Recently carousel owner have rediscovered the fact that the carousel experience is enhanced 100% by adding a band organ! It is like adding sound to the movie. Christmas & Mechanical Music Mechanical music is always popular at Christmas! Many music boxes, especially the disc players, feature Christmas music that adds a magical feel to the air! Coin pianos, orchestrions, and band organs also have Christmas music. There is an especially good Christmas roll that was arranged in recent years for the "G" roll, "H" roll, and "O" roll. In addition there is a wonderful Mills Violano Christmas roll that immediately brings in the Christmas spirit! And there is nothing like a music machine to play in the New Year! "Gypsy Queen" Gasparini Fair Organ Gets a New Home! The famous Gypsy Queen Gasparini now has a new home playing for a beautiful restored carousel which is displayed with one of Americas fabulous car collections. For years the Gypsy Queen fair organ was a featured attraction at Bellm's Cars and Music. Before that it was part of pioneer collector, Paul Eakins, collection and was featured on many many recordings. This organ has 5 carved animated figures that add to the visual display. The organ was built in Paris circa 1895. Mechanical music adds life to the vintage car display and really enhances the atmosphere! If you have a vintage car display consider adding mechanical music machines. Bruce Springsteen's Band Organ! I was recently contacted by the staff of Bruce Springsteen to consult on their band organ. Bruce recently was given the band organ by two long time close friends and associates in memory of Terry Magovern, Bruce Springsteen's late personal assistant. The organ was built in the DeKleist Style by Bill Kromer of Pennsylvania. It plays the style 125 roll. Bruce Springsteen has long had an interest in Asbury Park, a historic amusement park New Jersey's Atlantic coast and even moved a carousel to the vacant Asbury Park carousel pavilion for a video. Bruce was thrilled to get the band organ and decided to take it on his current show! On October 21, I went down to see the organ. I drove up to the secured back door entrance. The organ was mounted on a lift to take it up to stage level. After going over the organ with the staff, I was invited to have dinner with the band. On the way I met Bruce Springsteen and complimented him on the band organ! I gave him and his staff two CD's; one of Asbury Park's Wurlitzer 157 courtesy of Chris Carlisle and the other of the Cushing's Thursford Collection in England After the dinner as the guest of him and his staff, I attended the show. The United Center was filled to capacity including the main floor. When the band organ came up and played, "The Man on the Flying Trapeze", it was cheered and applauded by thousands from the moment it started to play! The audience loved it! With the spotlight on it, the organ played the whole song. The audience kept on cheering during the whole song! The audience response to the band organ was spectacular! What an electric thrill for a band organ enthusiast such as myself! The organ then descended below the stage, Bruce and the band came out and the show began! The show was superb with Bruce and his famous E-Street Band performing many of their hits for the excited and enthusiastic fans. Many thanks to Bruce Springsteen and staff for a great experience! ALSO what great exposure to new generations of a BAND ORGAN! By the time the tour is over this BAND ORGAN will set the record for having played to hundreds of thousands! AND THE THOUSANDS CHEERED IT! WOW! Click the photo below for a picture tour of the event and the band organ.
How many of you have heard a Kalliope disc music box? The Kalliope firm built fine disc music boxes in Leipzig, Germany. In their later years, around the turn of the century, they redesigned their music boxes to feature short bedplate mechanisms which allowed the case of the music box to act like a soundboard. The Kalliope discs featured great musical arrangements! I recently acquired one of these for my collection. It is a Style 107D playing 45 cm (17 3/4") discs which is the largest and most deluxe table top Kalliope disc music box. It simply sounds GREAT! Other Kalliope disc music boxes will soon be available. If you are interested in learning more about these, contact me by e-mail. The Lake Michigan Chapter had a meeting on July 14, 2007 featuring the fabulous Krughoff Collection! Jim Krughoff recently had his Ruth 38 Concert Fair Organ restored and it sounds great! In additional to the rest of the instruments in the collection, Jim Krughoff will be featuring his huge Philipps Paganini Orchestrion and his Hupfeld Helios model 25. Boz Bulovic and I gave a historical tour of the instruments in the main house. We covered the history of mechanical music from pinned cylinder instruments to Jazz Age German Orchestrions. I have recently acquired the famous Empress Electric Model Y which was once in the Q. David Bowers Collection. It was found by restorer Jim Carroll of Chicago in the early 1960's. It has the instrumentation of a Coinola X but is displayed in a unique Arts and Crafts style case. Jim Carroll found it in a red brick saloon on Cermak Road in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. This neighborhood was the settlement point of Chicago's large Czech community. It was untouched by the Chicago Fire. At one time it was full of drinking establishments. The Czechs were known to consume more beer than the Germans! Later on the Czech community moved to Berwyn. Is it any wonder then why Al Capone set up shop during Prohibition to service the large number of Czech beer flats and speakeasies! You see... Cicero was right next to Berwyn and the heart of the Czech community. Mills Violano Virtuosos remain perennial favorites with collectors. If you have one for sale do not hesitate to call me! I have eager buyers waiting for these interesting instruments.Summer is band organ season. Make sure you take part in on of the Summers rallies such as the one in Wabash, Indiana or the ones offered by COAA. Check out the MBSI and COAA links for more information! Again due to popular demand a new section has been added on Reproducing Pianos! You will see views from vintage advertising, trade journals, and sales literature. No collection of mechanical music is complete without a reproducing piano! You can have the most expensive orchestrions and yet find hours of pleasure listening to a fine reproducing piano! And YES reproducing pianos ARE affordable! You can purchase restored instruments or buy an unrestored one and have the pleasure and satisfaction of restoring it yourself. There are books available on the topic! And then there is the music...... No matter what your taste, you will find superbly arranged rolls for the reproducing piano! More Original Catalog Views have been added! Some are very rare such as the early Wurlitzer Pianino pictures. There are historic views of Eugene DeKleist's North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory taken inside and out! There are other views of the North Tonawanda Musical Instrument Works and its employees. There is an interesting catalog view of a Nelson-Wiggen orchestrion with pipes. Oscar Nelson and Peter Wiggen were designers of the famous Seeburg G Orchestrion. They went on to found their own company which built high quality instruments. There are several rare band organ views. One is of a large Bacigalupo fair organ once offered by their New York office. Another is a look at the back side of a pressured operated Artizan band organ. There is also an early view of the famed Euclid Beach Gavioli with the A. Berni name on it. The famous Great Dorset Steam Fair was another success this year! If you like Fairground organs you will love the Great Dorset Steam Fair! At this fair you will see many many large fair organs like the White's Gavioli, the Anderton & Roland Marenghi, the Oktoberfest Gavioli, and many more! You can ride vintage steam powered rides like Saunders' Steam Yachts, and several Steam Powered Carousels! To learn more click on: The Great Dorset Steam Fair!That Link Orchestrion did it again! As some of you know, I have my Style E Link Orchestrion in historic Riverside, Illinois at a machine shop/mechanical art museum for repair. Joe, the owner asked me to demonstrate it last Thursday night for a community festival featuring vintage cars. The Link really stole the show, ONE MORE TIME! Who says the kids don't relate to these things? Everyone loved it! The instrument was an absolute hit with the kids! And Microsoft, Disney, and Apple had NOTHING to do with it! It was just that nifty Link with the Xylophone playing up a storm with those snappy timeless Ray Deyo arrangements! Cudos to the LINK! The Chicago area remains the center of mechanical music in the United States. I take great pride in my major role in putting the focus on Chicago! Is it any wonder that the upcoming AMICA Convention in the Chicago area has sold out? Right now the top experts such as Art Reblitz, Tony Decap, Jens Wendel, and others are in the Chicago area working on outstanding instruments most of which were found by me for their owners. Another super orchestrion made a debut this week in the Chicago area. I discovered it in the storage room of a museum in former East Germany. It is a one-of-a-kind Hupfeld Helios Style 32 with a Kaleidoscope. And you thought moving scenes were awesome! Wait till you see the Hupfeld Kaleidoscope! Speaking of rarity, a fantastic Philipps PE Orchestrion, the only one in the world just arrived by container in Chicago. This orchestrion features solo violin pipes with tremolo and a special mandolin section. Are nickelodeons still affordable? You bet they are! In the Items For Sale section there is a bargain priced Wurlitzer coin piano for the new enthusiast. This instrument has a fascinating history. The original location where it was found still survives and is a time capsule of saloon history! The price is only $2,750.00! E-mail today and reserve it! The fantastic Ruth 38 Concert Fair Organ has now been restored for Jim Krughoff. I located this great fairground organ for Jim in Berlin, Germany. It has one of the most spectacular facades. For those of you attending the upcoming AMICA convention, you will be able to see its debut. Mills Violano Virtuosos continue to be a popular instrument with collectors, especially coin-op collectors. I always have these instruments available for sale. They are an exciting addition to any collection! Check out the Items For Sale section. Visit the new section that takes you on a tour of the Violano Virtuoso division of the Mills Novelty Company. All pictures are from a rare original booklet in my archive that takes you from department to department. Mills Violanos are electrically operated via solenoids and are fascinating instruments indeed! They were the only American made mechanical instrument that was cited by the United States Government as an outstanding invention. One Violano is on display in the Smithsonian Institution. If you have a question about one of these instruments, e-mail me! There are additional pictures added to the Original Catalog View section. Be sure to look at them! The restoration of my Seeburg KT with harmonic flute pipes has just been completed. A picture of this instrument is in the Rotogravue section. It sounds GREAT! Seeburg KT pianos are some of the most fun nickelodeons ever built. They are very attractive with their "eagle" art glass. KT's with pipes are quite rare, especially late ones. In later years Seeburg built them with mainly a xylophone. American coin pianos are being discovered as fine works of furniture art. Many of the coin pianos have Arts and Crafts inspired cabinets. The Gustav Stickley design influence is clearly evident. Most cabinets feature elegant art glass fronts. Just look at the Rotogravure and the Original Catalog Views for examples. If you are thinking of a piano for your home, why not consider a work of art, an American coin piano or orchestrion! Due to many requests a new exciting feature has been added that shows scans from original mechanical music company catalogs, brochures, postcards, and literature from my archives. I am sure that you will enjoy them! Note the rare views of the inside of the Seeburg Orchestrion Factory! Just click on "Original Catalog Views". The restoration of the fantastic 80 keyless Elite Apollo Orchester Bruder fair organ has just been completed by Jens Wendel of Rudesheim, Germany for the famous House on the Rock in Spring Green, Wisconsin. This grand instrument was sold into the United States by William F. Mangels of Coney Island. This grand instrument is on its way back to Wisconsin and will be displayed in the aviation building. I have been a consultant to the House on the Rock for many years now. This attraction is a must for people interested in mechanical music. I was recently interviewed by New York Public Radio about my research into Rattlesnake Pete who was a Saloon/Museum owner in Rochester, New York. Rattlesnake Pete was an original purchaser of a Wurlitzer C Orchestrion. He also claims to have invented the first coin piano in 1894. Go to the Favorite Links for a link to the Rattlesnake Pete story. The largest free standing Welte Concert Orchestrion in the world residing in the science theater in the David Solomon Mansion in Tunbridge Wells, England is about ready to play for the first time in decades! It is 18 feet tall, 28 feet wide, by 12 feet deep! It plays 150 roll Philharmonic rolls as well as 120 note style 10 Welte orchestrion rolls. I have been informed that this instrument will make its musical debut in the Spring. The Elite Apollo Bruder in Coney Island has been SAVED! New York City Mayor Bloomberg announced that the City of New York will purchase the famous B and B Carousel with its rare 69 key Elite Apollo Orchester Bruder! Purchase price of the carousel and organ: $1.8 MILLION. The restoration of the Wurlitzer 32 Concert Pian-Orchestra is now finished! This grand instrument played for years in the Disneyland and Disney World Penny Arcades. It is a huge instrument with hundreds of pipes! I recently displayed my Link style E orchestrion in Riverside, Illinois during the Oktoberfest Festival. The instrument was displayed at the Riverside Works. This is the first time I have displayed an orchestrion for the public. The orchestrion was an absolute success! The response was outstanding. People of all ages from children to seniors raved about the instrument. Requests were made again and again to play it! As soon as it shut off, another nickel went in and YES they were the new Buffalo Head nickels! It is almost as though the public is starved for a melody. Today's popular music is often just rhythm with no melody. These wonderful instruments are so old that they are NEW, a new experience for the public! AND THEY LIKE IT! In today's computer age there IS room for mechanical music...... A LOT OF ROOM! There are many new items on the Items For Sale page! Click on the side link! What qualifies you to be an expert on mechanical music?For over 30 years I have been actively involved in all aspects of mechanical music as a collector, dealer, restorer (of my own instruments), historian, lecturer, and consultant. I have written articles for the Journal of the Musical Box Society International and have served on their publication committee. I have written e-articles for MMD, the Mechanical Music Digest. I have presented lectures and workshops on various mechanical music topics to the annual meetings of the Musical Box Society International, MBSI; the Automatic Musical Instrument Collector's Association, AMICA; the Mid-America Chapter of the MBSI, and the National Carousel Association, NCA. I have supplied instruments and music boxes to countless collectors and have helped build some of the largest collections of mechanical music in the world. I have helped form international museum collections. I have been a consultant to corporations that use mechanical music such as the House on the Rock, the Marriott Corporation and the Six Flags Corporation. I collect mechanical music. Over the years I have put together a premier collection. I put my money where my interest is! Do you have more mechanical musical instruments available than what you show in your photo gallery of items for sale? Always! I am always being asked to sell mechanical musical instruments. Thus the inventory is constantly changing. If you don't see something you are looking for, don't hesitate to e-mail me with your request. What if I have a mechanical music item I would like to sell? Can you help me? Yes! E-mail or mail me photos and a description of the piece. Or give me a call at 630-269-3059. You will find that I am easy to talk to and willing to give you all the necessary information that you require. Are you too busy to help a new enthusiast? NEVER! I always make time for the new collector and enthusiast! Remember at one time I was a new collector and seasoned enthusiasts made time for me. I am YOUR friend in mechanical music. AND free advice is always given! Just e-mail or call me today! Why Mechanical Music? A mechanical musical instrument is the ULTIMATE antique! Mechanical music combines art, music, mechanism, and design into a very entertaining antique! Not only are you intellectually entertained, you are also having fun! Each roll or cylinder is a time capsule of history! No other antique can give you the same concert that was given to generations years ago! YET mechanical musical instruments are not tied to the past. New arrangements of new songs can be made. Each newly acquired roll, disc, or cylinder adds a new dimension to enjoyment. There is also a special excitement that comes from sharing the music from a restored instrument with others. Many collectors tell me they have moved from hobby to hobby over the years until they discovered mechanical music. Once the discovery is made, the fascination and interest literally lasts forever! Is mechanical music affordable? This depends on your annual income. Generally mechanical music IS affordable! Most beginning enthusiasts can afford a player piano, a gem roller organ, a small monkey organ, or a table top disc music box. Price is generally a function of rarity. Remember, however, that price or rarity has nothing to do with enjoying piece. An inexpensive common foot pumped player piano can give you hours of enjoyment as can a Gem roller organ that you find at an antique market. As your income progresses you can afford larger or rarer pieces of mechanical music such as coin pianos, reproducing player grand pianos, orchestrions, automata, large upright disc music boxes, violin playing machines, calliopes, etc. What if a mechanical instrument is unrestored or not playing? For all types of automatic musical instruments from disc music boxes to automata to orchestrions to calliopes, there are qualified restorers. E-mail me or call me if you have questions regarding restorers. You CAN also restore many items yourself! Do not be intimidated. For the most part you will find restoration work to be relaxing, enjoyable, and rewarding! Many restoration projects are straight forward. There are restoration books available that can help. It also helps if you are mechanically intuitive and have basic wood working tools and metal working tools. If you run into a complicated component, this can be sent to a professional restorer. There is nothing like the thrill of "turning it on" for the first time! Can I make money with a mechanical instrument without selling it? Yes. You can rent a band organ, calliope, or monkey organ to festivals, store openings, parades, and events. Not only are you enjoying your instrument, you are the life of the party and you are getting paid for it! Typically you can charge $400.00 and up for such events. Not only that, you can also sell recordings of your mechanical instrument to the eager and interested public! Nickelodeons can be put on location and can collect the coins from the public. Most coin operated old nickelodeons can be fitted with a remote relay operated coin mechanism or dollar feeder. Remember with inflation a nickelodeon should now be a Buck-a-lodeon! I recently visited an ice cream parlor in New Hampshire that has a nickelodeon. The kids and adults were constantly feeding the instrument money! One WWII double amputee I knew owned a string of coin pianos which he placed throughout northern Wisconsin. Over the years he made a comfortable retirement income from his collection! Should I buy a reproduction mechanical musical instrument? For the most part, a reproduction mechanical music machine is NOT an investment. Do not be lulled into complacency by a cheap price. Very few reproductions go up in value or hold their value. Also you have to be very careful in your research of such instruments. Many reproductions are built poorly. They simply are not up to the quality of the original instruments. Beware of instruments that are heavily converted from their state. In the past a many player pianos were converted into "O" roll orchestrions. For the most part the conversions are poorly done. All that being said, there are some superb reproductions being made by qualified builders. The quality is reflected in the price. If you have a question about a particular instrument, send me an e-mail for my opinion. It may save you money, time, and effort. I am considering the purchase of a mechanical instrument from another dealer or seller. Can you advise me on the piece? Yes! Many collectors regularly contact me for advise on such instruments. Remember that my advice is freely given! What do you think about buying mechanical instruments from Internet auction sites? Caveat Emptor! or Let the buyer beware! I have watched items being sold on internet auction sites for several years now. I have seen many items that are over-described with reproduced or missing parts and displayed with poor pictures. Also some items are NEVER meant to be sold and are used as lost leaders to attract the viewer. Then there is "auction fever" where the bidder gets carried away and overpays. Then there are the "sniping" programs that force the last higher bid over yours. As a rule, the more expensive the item is, the more cautious you should be. Beware of those in the shadows who after bidding is closed, offer a sold instrument to you. I was once offered an instrument by 4 such shadow operators after the bidding was closed on an instrument. In other words, you REALLY have to know what you are doing and you have to exercise due diligence and caution. What is the story behind the photo that is located in the upper left corner of your website pages? This is a picture from the Gavioli fairground organ catalog. I collect original catalogs of mechanical musical instrument manufacturers for my archive. This rare catalog was purchased from the granddaughter of the famous street organ builder, Carl Frei. If you have any such catalogs or original literature you would like to sell, please contact me!
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This site was last updated 07/27/08
© 2008 Tim Trager
