Repair of the Link AX Part 5


You remember that since the Link arrived from Jake's barn in 1994, it had been used on the first floor as part  of our guided tours.   Very little work had been done on it.   In June of 2017, we moved it into the shop and started work.   Most of the detailed work is now finished and reassembly started.

We made and installed a new mandolin rail, but the pneumatics and system was supposed to work; but would not function.

For the next few days, we traced hoses and fixed problems, such as the soft pedal that did not work, because the tracker was plugged.

Every few hours, I went back and tried to find out why the mandolin rail actuators did not work.
I emailed Paul Manganaro and he sent me a photo of the pneumatic actuator group.

At first I did not see the difference, but after some more looking and thinking, I realized that the one I was working with would hold the bar off, while the one Paul sent me, showed an assembly that would hold the bar.

During the last rebuild, someone put the locking bar on backwards.   Once you understand the problem, it is an easy fix.   To get to it, I had to take a few things apart, but in 45 minutes the problem was resolved.

                                                            Repair of the Link AX Part 2

You remember that since the Link arrived from Jake's barn in 1994, it has been used on the first floor as part of our guided tours.   Very little work has been done on it, but it has become increasingly apparent that it could use a little maintenance.   On June of 2017, we moved it into the shop and started work.

The tambourine had shown some playing problems, so we looked it over.   The basic mounting was in trouble.   The lower support pin had fallen out, letting the upper pin take all the shaking load and it had worked loose while stripping the screw threads.

The hole was now so big that even an oversize screw would not work, so epoxy was used to hold the upper support screw in place.

Beyond that the next level support had split and had been repaired by adding screws to hold it together.   I cut off the split area and glued a new piece of oak in its place.

The wood nuts on the shaker link were rusted in place and also brittle, so they were removed and the threads wire brushed to clean them up.   Then it was reinstalled.

                                                              Repair of the Link AX

Since the Link arrived from Jakes' barn in 1994, it has been used on the first floor of the museum, as part of our guided tours.   Very little work has been done on it, but it has become increasingly apparent that it could use a little maintenance.   The most obvious problem was that the xylophone did not turn off and on reliably.   Jake had added a booster pump, which seems to indicate there were some other problems.

In June 2017, we moved it into the shop and started work.

The drum assembly was in the way, so we took it out.   This let us see that the drum assembly had been moved to the left, which interfered with the soft pedal pneumatic.   This was immaterial, as the soft pedal control was unhooked.  Set that aside for later.   We could also see that while the control was in place, the mandolin rail was gone, another set aside.   The control for the stop and start of the xylophone was removed for repair.

The vacuum valve was rebuilt; but was not in bad shape and should have worked, so the control for it was rebuilt.   Everything was then reinstalled.

As this point nothing has been tried, so we do not know what the next issue may be.

                                The Edison Standard Phonograph

The Edison Standard is a spring driven external horn phonograph model, that was introduced by Edison's National Phonograph Company, in April, 1899.   It sold for $20, but remember you were lucky to make $1 per day at the time.

We were given a good working one a couple of years ago and already had a non-functioning one.   Since the building is space limited, it seemed wise to sell one of them.

In order to sell one, it has to work.  So we decided to fix the broken one and sell it.   There were two main problems.   The spring was broken about 3 turns from the inner end.   The C reproducer  needed a lot of help.  We don't do reproducers, so we sent it out for repair.   The spring is simple, but as you probably know, it is dangerous to replace a spring if you are inexperienced at this job.   There was also a chipped tooth on one gear, which had to be replaced.

We got it all taken care of in early July of 2017 and will be sale shortly, but there is no horn to go with it, as they are readily available in reproduction form.

FACT SHEET FOR CREMONA J

What Is It?

The Cremona Model J orchestral style was built in Chicago, by the Marquette Piano Company, about 1915.   This was the largest orchestrion built by Marquette.

How Rare Is it?

There were fewer than 20 made.   How many survive is unknown.

How Does It Work?

The music is contained on a paper roll with holes punched in it, designated as style M, which normally contains 10 songs.   The punched holes are "read" by a vacuum control system, that in turn opens valves, allowing the compressed air  to enter the selected pipes and play music.   The vacuum and compressed air are supplied by wood and leather bellows pumps driven by a crankshaft, which is turned by the electric motor in the bottom of the instrument.

The M Roll controls the piano, mandolin rail, bass drum, snare drum, flute pipes, violin pipes, triangle, tympani and xylophone.

What  Is It Worth?   What Did It Cost?

In 2004, one sold for $37,000 on eBay.   The 1915 selling price is unknown, but it was probably in the $1800 range.

Where Has It Been?

Its original location was at the Salt Air Amusement Park in Salt Lake City, UT.   It was then owned by someone in Casper, Wyoming.   Jake bought it from the third owner, George Schubert, in Gering, Nebraska for $4000.

Background Information

The Marquette Piano Co. started in Chicago, building piano actions but about 1915, expanded to building complete instruments, thus becoming one of the first American firms in this industry.   Until 1907, J.P. Seeburg worked for them until founding his own company.

Sold under the Cremona name, their major production was between 1905 and 1920.   They built high quality machines with interior parts highly finished, even though not visible.

Our Stewardship

Jake wanted instruments to play and was not hesitate to bypass "unnecessary" features to that end.   There was a booster pump added; but many of the "unnecessary" features such as treble soft, piano volume and xylophone were bypassed.   We have rebuilt the piano stack, reconnected the original pump and activated the other bypassed features.   After three attempts to get the xylophone playing, we have been only partially successful in this regard.

MILLS VIOLANO VIRTUOSO

                                                   

What Is It?
Mills Violano Virtuoso Home Model which plays a violin piano duet.   First available for sale in 1912.

How Rare Is It?
It is thought that there were about 4000 of the single violin versions made.

How Does It Work?
The music is contained on a paper roll with holes punched in it, similar to a player piano roll.   The punched holes are "read" by a unique electrical system, where thin wires "feel" for the holes and make electrical contact which energizes a solenoid, which performs a function of playing a note on the piano or violin.

What Is It Worth?   What Did It Cost?
Sold for $2500 in 1925.   Most recent single violin units have sold from $20,000 to $60,000.

Where Has It Been?
We have little factual verified information about this machine's history.   It is alleged that Jake bought it at a sheriff's sale after a house of ill repute was closed in Warren, Ohio.

Background Information
The Mills Novelty Company built a series of gambling machines in their Chicago  location.   The violin portion of this machines was first built as a stand alone device, which was to be accompanied by a piano player.   It became obvious that it would be more practical to include the piano in the machine and that was done.   They built machines with up to three violins incorporated.

One was present on the Titanic when it sank.

President Taft saw one in Chicago in 1911 and was so impressed he supported a joint resolution of Congress declaring it one of the 8 great inventions of the decade.

What Were the Eight Greatest Inventions in the 1900 to 1910 Decade as Voted by Congress?
In 1911 Mr. H. C. Armstrong, Principal Examiner of the US Patent Office, was authorized to compile a list of the eight most meritorious ideas of the previous decade.   His list, in no particular order was:

-Steam Turbine Electric Power Generation and Distribution
-Electric Light Generation
-The Calorimiter (basis for color photography)
-The Telegraph
-International Harvesting Machine
-The Violano-Virtuoso

An Early Cremona

This is a Cremona style C Nickelodeon, serial number 17268, built in Chicago by the Marquette Piano Company about 1905.   Cremona is an Italian town famous for violin and other stringed instrument production.   Perhaps this is why Marquette used this name for their piano based instruments.

This was one of the earlier Cremona styles and was also sold by the Piano Player Mfg. Co. as Rhapsodist style B.   Thus quite a few may survive in collections today. 

The music is contained on a paper roll with holes punched in it, designated as style A, which normally contains 10 songs.   The punched holes are "read" by a vacuum control system, which controls the piano and mandolin rail.    The vacuum is supplied by wood and leather bellows pumps driven by a crankshaft, which is turned by the electric motor mounted in the bottom of the instrument.   The roll drive is also located in this area and is a well designed system, more durable than many of the competitors.

We have no information prior to 2011, when this instrument was donated to us by Joan Hick, who donated it as the executrix of her brother Robert Sabo's estate.   Robert had started the restoration before he died and Joan wanted the work to be completed, with the instrument available to be viewed and played for the public.   The machine was delivered in many pieces and it was not until 2012 that Joan found the original stained glass and delivered it to us.   All the piano action parts beyond the 65 notes played by the A roll were missing and had to be reproduced from our "junk pile".    Most of the case had been stripped for refinishing, which we did not complete.   The carriage lamps were missing and a grant from one of our Board members paid for their reproduction.

We completed the necessary work and moved it to the first floor in 2013.


Background Information:
The Marquette Piano Co. started in Chicago building piano actions but about 1905 expanded to building complete instruments, thus becoming one of the first American firms in this industry.   Until 1907,  J. P. Seeburg worked for them until leaving to found his own company.

Sold under the Cremona name, their major production was between 1905 and 1920.   They built high quality machines with interior parts highly finished even though not visible, using a lot of mahogany for the wood parts.

A German Organ in Texas

This is a Wellershaus Brothers Organ with 58 keys (notes).   It has 5 bass, 12 accompaniment, 18 melody, 11 trumpets, 6 trombones, 3 drums and 2 rank controls.   It has a total of 214 pipes.   Both control and play are driven from compressed air bellows.   The Wellershaus Brothers departed from the then usual colors of black with red or gold trim, to use a bright front on their organs.   The music was happy, the facade should be happy.

How Rare Is It?
We have no way of knowing how many of this model were built, but as far as we know, this is the only one in the USA.

How Does It Work?
The music is contained in a stack of "Book Music" composed of layers of cardboard glued to a central linen sheet.   The cardboard sections are about 7" long and accordion fold with the linen as a hinge.   The punched holes "read" a series of valve fingers, which open small primary valves that in turn opens pneumatics which move push rods opening the final valves, allowing the compressed air to enter the selected pipes and play the music.   The compressed air is supplied by wood and leather bellows pumps driven by a crankshaft which is turned by the electric motor mounted on the side of the case.   The book music is connected in a continuous loop and is the music installed in 1934, when it was converted from a barrel organ.

Where Has It Been?
Built in the village of Saarn in the Ruhr Valley in Germany before 1904, as a stepped case hand cranked barrel organ.   We know the pre 1904 date, because in 1994 Saarn was annexed by Mulheim and the front of the Wellershaus Organs carried the new town name.    It was in Holland in April of 1934, where it was converted to play book music by Louis Ch. van Deventer.   It was still in Holland in 1973, when Hank Veeningen owned it.

After coming to the U.S., it was repaired in Texas.   It appears to have traveled with some sort of carnival based on the damage from lots of assembling and tear down.   While in this use, it was repaired many times with unusual patches.   The attitude must have been let's keep it playing for one more day.   Jake bought it from a dealer in Rochester, PA.   When it came to us in 1994, it was not playing.    After being declared unrepairable by professional restorers, it was put back in operation over a two year period by our volunteers.   To the best of our ability, we undid the quick and dirty repairs and put the organ back into original condition.

Background Information
The Wellerhaus Firm was founded by Wilhelm Wellershaus in Remscheid Germany in 1793.   Wilhelm built and repaired clocks and then church organs.   Wilhelm's son Frederick, started his branch  of the firm in Saarn in early 1832, building church organs for outdoor use, which slowly grew in size up to 140 key models.   Julius' sons, August and Wilhelm, organized Gebruders Wellerhaus in 1880.   With August as the driving force, they moved into big high quality fairground organs.   They built the first colorful organ fronts as opposed to others with black finish.

The factory was destroyed in WW2, but rebuilt and struggled on until 1965, when August Jr. died.

ABOUT OUR WURLITZER MODEL 148

This is a WURLITZER model 148 Duplex Military Band Organ, built by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company in North Tonawanda, New York.   It is a 49 key organ, which plays 46 notes.   It has 4 manual stops and plays 2 drums & a cymbal.   It has 129 brass pipes, 3 trombones, 15 trumpets, 16 clarinets and 16 piccolos.   (Some keys play more than one pipe.)   It was probably built in the early 1920s.

How Rare Is It?
There were 46 of this particular model built, the first one in 1916 and the last one in 1936.   We don't really know how many are still in existence, but it must be a pretty small number by now.   As far as we know, there is only 1 other of this model presently in use in public, at Gage Park in Topeka, Kansas.   Wurlitzer made many other models of Band Organs and there are surviving examples of most of them.   The DeBence Music Museum has one of each of three other models of Wurlitzer band organs.

How Does It Work?
The music is contained on a Wurlitzer style 150 paper roll, with holes punched in it, similar to a player piano roll.   The punched holes are "read" by a vacuum control system that in turn opens valves allowing compressed air to enter the selected pipes and play the music.   The vacuum and compressed air are supplied by wood and leather bellows pumps, driven by a crankshaft which is turned by the electric motor mounted beside the organ.   This model Wurlizter is equipped with two tracker frames which allows it to play continuously, since while one is rewinding the other plays.

What Did It Cost?
In 1916 the selling price was $1,050.

Where Has It Been?
It was used in a skating rink in the Stoneboro/Sandy Lake area of Western PA until 1935.   When it quit working, it was allegedly replaced by an amplified phonograph, playing 78 RPM records of Ken Griffin at the Hammond Organ.   There is a problem with this story as the first Hammond was not available until 1935 and Ken Griffin was not recording yet.   Jake bought it and had it put back in playing condition.

Background Information
The Wurlitzer Company got its start in Cincinnati, OH in 1856 when Rudolph Wurlitzer, a German immigrant, started importing German musical instruments for sale in the USA.   The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company was incorporated in 1890 and operated a manufacturing plant in Cincinnati.   In 1909 they bought the distressed deKleist firm in North Tonawanda, NY, which had been making mechanical music machines.    This factory became the Wurlitzer manufacturing center for their line of player pianos, orchestrions and band organs.

The Artizan Air-Calio

                                                        
Our Air-Calio, serial number 604, was built in 1927 in the Artizan Works in North Tonawanda,
New York.   This 46 note model was introduced as "The new Calliope with an Extra Punch.   Special  voicing  of pipes pitched  to play with band and lower bass tones than any other calliope made makes the instrument smooth, of pleasing tone and great volume without being offensive."   It started life on the midway at Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh, PA.   It is visible on page 144 of Jacques "Kennywood, Roller Coaster Capital of the World".   From there it joined the Larry Givens collection, where it was photographed for inclusion on page 844 of Bowers "Encyclopedia of Mechanical Music".   When that collection was broken up, it was then owned by Mr. Clark of Meadville, who used it in parades in the Sharon, PA area, until it failed. 

In 1957 it was stored in a barn in New Wilmington, PA.  Jake heard about it and went to see if it was for sale.   The story passed to us, was that he was told "it doesn't work, it's in our way, just take it".   To which Jake's reply was "I need a bill of sale", so he paid $1.00 and got a bill of sale.

The tracker bar is scaled to play 65 note Wurlitzer Caliola or APP rolls once you reverse them side for side, but since Artizan used a pneumatic system for play (they called it rewind stop) rather than the Wurlizter mechanical system, you need to add the "play" holes in the roll as well as reversing it for use here.

When it came to us, it was missing the mechanical parts to stop and start the roll drive and the tapered speed control cone was split in two.   The keyboard allowing hand playing was defeated and the play & rewind buttons were disconnected.   All this and several other features have since been restored.

The accepted story is that only 3 of this model were built.   Only one other is now known, residing in Wisconsin.   It was badly damaged in a fire and has been rebuilt.   It has a set of bells mounted behind the pipes.

The Talking Machines Made in Pennsylvania

Modernola talking machine

The first talking machine was invented by Thomas A. Edison in 1877. This crude machine was hand operated and was named the Phonograph (meaning Voice-writer). To record sound the operator spoke loudly into the mouth piece. The sound waves were embossed by a stylus on a sheet of soft tin foil wrapped around a revolving cylinder. To replay the sound a second stylus was run along the groove, picking up the embossed vibrations and transmitting them to a diaphragm from which a copy of the original sound could be heard.

In 1893 a new talking machine of totally different design to the cylinder machines was put on the market. Emile Berliner had devised a machine which he called the Gramophone. Compared with the cylinder machines it was very crude, being hand cranked. It used disc records seven inches in diameter. It was however louder than the cylinder machines, and the records were cheaper and easier to store.

By the early 1920's most of the basic patents had expired, and many other companies began to produce talking machines. One such firm in Johnstown, Pennsylvania was the Modernola Talking Machine Company, which produced various versions of phonographs. One of its unique products was a floor model phonograph with a lamp; and example is featured in the exhibit. By 1922, the company had a small factory on Station Street. In addition to console and portable record players, the company also made several models of radios, such as the "Delano Sheraton."

The company, however, closed in 1929, probably because few people could afford luxury items at the onset of the Depression. 

The Berry-Wood A.O.W. Orchestrion

Established in Kansas City, Missouri in 1907, the Berry Wood Piano Player Company was an early entry into the coin-operated piano field. They built very rugged, yet extravagant pianos, instruments and orchestrions. The Berry-Wood A.O.W. Orchestrion combined a piano with 34 wood flute pipes, 34 wood violin pipes, a tambourine, a triangle, a cymbal, a wood block, castanets, a bass drum, a snare drum, a marimba, metal bells and a mandolin rail all in one! This player piano operated via a paper roll and featured three stained glass panels and two decorative lamps. Because the A.O.W. Orchestrion plays 10 instruments it was perfect for use in "motion picture houses."

Even so, the company went out of business in 1920. Shortly thereafter demand for coin operated pianos increased dramatically as they became widely popular in public facilities, bars, and dance clubs or the era.

Today there is only one functional Berry-Wood A.O.W. Orchestrion (pictured here) in existence and it resides at DeBence Antique Music World in Franklin.