Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 67, No. 3 May/June 2021
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Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 67, No. 3 May/June 2021
Editor/Publisher
Russell Kasselman
(253) 228-1634
editor@mbsi.org
MBSI Editorial Office:
Iron Dog Media
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
editor@mbsi.org
Publications Chair
Bob Caletti
All manuscripts will be subject to editorial
review. Articles submitted for publication may
be edited or rejected at the discretion of the
Publications Committee and the Editorial
Staff. The article will not be published with
significant changes without the author’s
approval. All articles are considered to be the
author’s personal opinion. The author may be
asked to substantiate his/her statements.
Mechanical Music (ISSN 1045-795X) is published by
the Musical Box Society International, 130 Coral Court,
Pismo Beach, CA 93449 six times per year. A Directory
of Members, Museums and Dealers is published
biennially. Domestic subscription rate, $60. Periodicals
postage paid at San Luis Obispo, CA and additional
mailing offices.
Copyright 2021. The Musical Box Society International,
all rights reserved. Mechanical Music
cannot be copied, reproduced or transmitted in
whole or in part in any form whatsoever without
written consent of the Editor and the Executive
Committee.
MEMBERS: SEND ADDRESS CORRECTIONS TO:
MBSI, PO Box 10196,
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
Or, make corrections on the website at www.mbsi.org.
POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO
MBSI, PO Box 10196,
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
MBSI NEWS
5 President’s Message
7 Editor’s Notes
8 Outreach Corner
11 Mid-Year Trustee
Meeting Minutes
14 Trustee Nominee Bio,
Richard Dutton
50 In Memoriam
Chapter Reports
51 Golden Gate
Features
16 Nickel Notes
by Matt Jaro
23 A changeable cylinder
box prototype
30 Plérodienique, a special
kind of music box
44 Organilleros, Mexico
City’s music makers
MBSI has replanted 139 trees so far as
part of the Print ReLeaf program.
On the Cover
A changeable cylinder prototype
of unknown maker is detailed
by Bill Wineburgh who recently
restored this instrument to pristine
condition. Page 23.
Plérodienique
Peter Both delves into the known
boxes of this type, providing details
on each one. Page 30.
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 3
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
M
M
echanical music is a fascinating hobby! It
appeals to the artist, historian, craftsman, and
musician all at the same time. Play an automatic
musical instrument in a room full of people and all else
will stop as the machine enraptures the audience with the
sparkling melodies of yesteryear!
Mechanical music instruments are any sort of auto
matically-played machine that produces melodic sound
including discs and cylinder music boxes that pluck a steel
comb; orchestrions and organs that engage many instru
ments at once using vacuum and air pressure; player and
reproducing pianos that use variable vacuum to strike piano
wires; phonographs; and self-playing stringed, wind, and
percussion instruments of any kind.
The Musical Box Society International, chartered by the
New York State Board of Regents, is a nonprofit society
dedicated to the enjoyment, study, and preservation of
automatic musical instruments. Founded in 1949, it now
has members around the world, and supports various
educational projects.
Regional chapters and an Annual Meeting held each year
in different cities within the United States enable members
to visit collections, exchange ideas, and attend educational
workshops. Members receive six issues of the journal,
Mechanical Music, which also contains advertising space
for members who wish to buy, sell, and restore mechanical
musical instruments and related items. Members also
receive the biennial MBSI Directory of Members, Museums,
and Dealers.
The only requirements for membership are an interest in
automatic music machines and the desire to share information
about them. And you’ll take pride in knowing you
are contributing to the preservation of these marvelous
examples of bygone craftsmanship.
More Information online at www.MBSI.org, or
Call: (417) 886-8839, or
Email: jbeeman.mbsi@att.net
Copy this page, and give it to a potential new member. Spread the word about MBSI.
Last name First Name Initial
Last Name First Name Initial
Address
City State / Zip Postal Code / Country
Phone Fax E-mail
Sponsor (optional)
Membership Dues
US members (per household)……………………………………….$60
Student Membership $20
(online journal access only)
Canada…………………………………………………………………………$70
Other International………………………………………………………$75
(Add $20 for International air mail.)
Join online: www.mbsi.org/join-mbsi
Check or Money Order Payable to: MBSI Treasurer (US Funds Only)
Mail to: New Member Registration – MBSI
PO Box 10196
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
Visa/MasterCard
Exp. Date CCV
Signature
4 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
By Tom Kuehn
MBSI President
Several items deserve attention as
we transition from spring into summer.
I will begin with some important
decisions made at the recent Trustees’
mid-year meeting held via Zoom on
March 20. See the minutes on pages
11–13.
The COVID pandemic continues
to shape many of our discussions.
The most important decision before
the board was whether to continue
planning for our annual meeting at
the end of the summer to be hosted by
the Southeast Chapter. I asked Matt
Jaro, chair of our Meetings Committee,
to conduct a brief survey of our
members who normally attend annual
meetings to determine if they would
attend an annual meeting this year if
it was conducted in a safe manner.
Results showed that approximately
2/3 would do so. There was sentiment
that not holding a meeting again
this year could lead to a decrease in
meeting attendance in the future.
Members of the Southeast Chapter
voted to continue the planning efforts
at their March 19th meeting. The next
day, the trustees voted unanimously
to continue preparations under the
assumption that the pandemic would
largely be over by the end of the
summer and additional safety precautions
would be implemented to protect
the attendees. Registration fees will be
fully refunded up to August 1st to help
alleviate members’ financial concerns.
So let’s remain optimistic that many of
us will be able to meet again at the end
of August and share a wonderful time
together.
The Trustees voted to grant $10,000
from the MBSI Endowment Fund
to the endowment fund that helps
support the Herschell Carrousel
Factory Museum for restoration and
maintenance of band organs and roll
perforating equipment. The initial
request had been made last year. The
trustees received additional clarifying
information concerning the museum’s
endowment fund that allowed the
request to be granted at this meeting.
Amendments to the society’s bylaws
and policy and procedures documents
were approved by the board. Some
changes were approved at the emergency
board meeting held last May
as a result of the cancellation of the
annual meeting last year. The substantive
changes this time completed the
changes in society operation that
would be needed should an annual
meeting be canceled or held without
a quorum. After the board approved
the changes, members of the Executive
Committee went through both
final documents very carefully before
giving their approval. Copies of both
revised documents can be found on
the “Members Only” section of our
website.
The bylaws and supplemental
material submitted by the new Japan
Chapter were approved by the board.
Naoki Shibata is the new Chapter
Chair. I sent Naoki my congratulations
for completing the last requirement
for the establishment of a new MBSI
chapter.
In other matters, the Executive
Committee agreed to a request by
our sister organization in France,
AAIMM, to reprint, in French, the
article “The Queen, the Sultan and
the Organ Clock” by Dr. Robert Penna
published in the September/October
2020 issue of Mechanical Music. The
article is scheduled to appear shortly
in the AAIMM publication, issue 118.
It is refreshing to know that our sister
organizations can collaborate in a
number of ways.
I wish all of you a safe and rewarding
summer and hope to see many of
you in Ft. Myers.
MBSI MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
EACH ONE/REACH ONE NEW MEMBER
MBSI is always interested in increasing its membership and is pleased to offer new members a $15
discount off their rst year’s membership. You are considered a new member if you have not been a
member in the past three years. This discount is also available on our website, www.mbsi.org.
Current MBSI members who sponsor a new member will receive a $5 discount off their next year’s
MBSI membership renewal for each sponsorship. Attach a copy of the discount voucher below to a
copy of the membership application form on Page 4 of this issue of Mechanical Music. Place your
name as “sponsor” on the application form.
Please make copies of these forms as needed and send the completed forms with checks to the MBSI
administrator at the address listed below.
★
★
★★
®
(INTERNATIONAL)
ORGANIZED IN 1949
DEVOTED TO ALL MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
★
★
★★
®
(INTERNATIONAL)
ORGANIZED IN 1949
DEVOTED TO ALL MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Musical Box Society International
P.O. Box 10196
Springeld, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax: (417) 886-8839
Musical Box Society International
P.O. Box 10196
Springeld, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax: (417) 886-8839
Dues Voucher –$15
New U.S. members may join MBSI for one year at $45 (instead
of $60); Canadians $55 (instead of $70; and, other International
members at $60 (instead of $75). This certicate must accom-
pany payment and a copy of the completed membership
application from page 4 of this issue of Mechanical Music.
New Member Name(s):
Authorized by MBSI Administrator
NEW MEMBER
GIFT CERTIFICATE
New members are those who have never been members of MBSI
or those who have not been members for three years prior to
submission of this voucher.
New members are those who have never
been members of MBSI or those who have
not been members for three years prior to
submission of this certicate.
Gift Membership Name
Address, City, State, ZIP
Phone Email
Sponsor
SPECIAL OFFER: Purchase one or more rst-year MBSI gift
memberships at $45 each U.S., $55 Canadian, or $60 other International
and you will receive $5 off your next year’s MBSI membership
renewal for each “New Member” gift.
Please mail this form together with your check made payable to “MBSI” to the MBSI Administrator at the address listed
above. Memberships are $45 for U.S. residents, $55 for Canadian residents, and $60 for other International residents.
Editor’s Notes
We seem to be slowly but surely
advancing toward a time when we can
all look back at the global pandemic
restrictions on travel and public gatherings
and marvel at how we were able
to stay sane during this time. I can tell
people are itching to get out of their
homes and go anywhere, as evidenced
by the Golden Gate Chapter’s report
in this issue. Time to socialize was
mentioned in only one line of the
report, but it was clear by the pictures
showing happy faces sharing their
mechanical music and fellowship with
other enthusiasts, sometimes for the
first time in a year, that told me when
the green light is finally given, chapter
activities across the nation will ramp
up faster than we can blink.
It makes me excited to think that
this year’s annual meeting might be
MAILING ADDRESS
MBSI Editorial / Advertising
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
EMAIL ADDRESS
editor@mbsi.org
PHONE
(253) 228-1634
one of the best in some time, not for
the collections toured or presentations
given, but rather for the friendships
renewed and new connections being
formed between both long-time and
brand-new members.
I encourage everyone to stay safe
and healthy, which to me means
taking whatever time you need to
re-enter society on a level where you
feel comfortable. Once you reach that
point, however, I say get out there and
enjoy spending time with each other.
Share the music. Share the machines.
Invite new people over. Aaron Muller
has good thoughts on this in his
Outreach Corner column in this issue.
Be sure to give it a read.
Huge thanks go out to Linda Birkitt
for compiling the Mid-Year Trustee
Meeting Minutes, which is a monster
job each year. She has taken on the
task performed for so long by David
Corkrum and is really getting the hang
of it.
I can’t forget to thank our contributors
in this issue as well. Matt Jaro’s
Nickel Notes column is a roller-coaster
ride through the history of Welte-Mignon.
Bill Wineburgh details a curious
prototype changeable cylinder box
found in a storage locker. Peter Both
gives us the lowdown on the Plérodienique
style musical box and Robert
Penna introduces us to the Organilleros
of Mexico City. Enjoy!
Welcome new members!
Ellen Domeny & Brad GowinFebruary 2021
Greenbrae, CA
Elaine Pease Janey & Frank BrandonGlendale, GA Sulphur Springs, TXRandy Garner Michael Hammond
Albuquerque, NM San Francisco, CA
Sponsor: Don Caine
Greg Keefover March 2021
Centennial, CO
Philippe & Eve CrasseCarole Ann Brown
Toulouse, Haute Garonne, France Dallas, TX
Kevin & Maryann OswaldEric Johnson
Titusville, NJHenderson, NV
Rod & Linda Moore Sponsor: Don Caine
Greensboro, NC
Sponsor: Bob Caletti
William Kearns & Tom English
Tampa, FL
John Banta
Chester, PA
Ziwen Fan
Beijing, China
A Lasting Legacy
Throughout its history, MBSI has fostered an interest in and preservation of
automatic musical instruments. Your gift to the Endowment Fund will
support programs that will help future generations appreciate these
achievements of man’s creative genius. Visit www.mbsi.org to learn more.
In order for anything
once alive to have
meaning, its effect
must remain alive in
eternity in some way
– Ernest Becker, Philosopher
The Musical Box Society International
is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
All donations to the Endowment
Fund are tax deductible.
A gift of any size is welcome.
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 7
Outreach Corner Outreach Corner
By Aaron Muller
Special Exhibits Committee Member
Hello fellow members.
Many changes have come about in
the past 60 days since we published
part one of “Mixing Play with Work.”
Most significantly, vaccinations are
now being offered to help combat
COVID-19. This is great news! First and
foremost, the health benefits that all
of us will begin to enjoy will be significant.
Secondly, we may have begun
to turn the corner on a pandemic that
shook the world. For many the healing
process has just begun and for others
the sense of loss may never subside.
Let us pray for loved ones lost and
give thanks to those who sacrificed so
much in the fight against this devastating
virus. MBSI may not be the most
well-known group out there, but we
can do our part. After all, how many
organizations can lay claim to playing
the “Happiest Music on Earth”?
Undoubtedly, happiness is what
most of us are after anyway and MBSI
is perfectly positioned to provide
exactly that to a public soon to be in
search of in-person entertainment
outside their own homes. If you don’t
already have a special exhibit in mind
for the day when we are all free to
gather again in groups, now might
be the most ideal time to put one
together. It won’t take much, just pick
out your favorite machine or two and
find a way to spread the joy.
In this, the second half of my
Outreach Corner article, we will look
at exactly how to do that. The possibilities
are endless, but for now I will
share with you a few of the different
ways the Lake Michigan Chapter has
tried to make the world a happier
place. Each event we host is given the
consideration of inviting the press or
media. In the March/April 2021 issue
of Mechanical Music you saw pictures
of a newspaper article telling the story
of the “Magic of Music.” That particular
day, like many others, we made the
We saw our Special Exhibit in the Barrington Resale Mini Museum grow by a number
of instruments. Special thanks must go out to an anonymous family whose incredible
generosity made it possible for us to purchase nine additional instruments from
their private collection. We added seven new music boxes, a KT Special and this
1916 Wurlitzer 146 band organ to our ever-growing museum. The Carousel Dropper
Board is from a 1900s British Switchback. It is 9 feet long and 3 feet tall and features
a depiction (painting) of Lord Edward Roberts from the Boer war of 1899. We will be
bringing the Wurlitzer out front to play for the public on Sunday afternoons.
Mini Museum available to a group of in a few weeks earlier and told me how
kids and their chaperones. The group the class was learning about sound
came from the Christian Liberty Acad-and how it traveled through different
emy located near our resale shop in materials such as wood, glass, water
Algonquin, IL. Their teacher had come and air. I showed her how we could
8 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
Always a good idea to have some MBSI material on hand when setting up a special exhibit. Just the basics will do. The MBSI trifold
brochures and a membership application should be enough to hand out to anyone who might be interested. These should
both contain the MBSI website address and, if possible, a link to our MBSI video.
put our elbows on the edge of a larger
Regina music box and our hands over
our ears and listen to the bass notes
resonate in our ears through bone
conduction. After trying it for herself,
she quickly asked if I wouldn’t mind
showing that fun technique to her
entire classroom of children. Not only
did the kids love it, but each group
that came after that seemed to grow
larger and larger until we had almost
one adult for every child. Sharing a
special exhibit like this is always a
two-way street. The kids were having
a great time and so was I.
In my last article, I also spoke about
utilizing new resources as they become
increasingly available. Right now, the
newest and best resource I know of
is the internet. I have compiled a list
of helpful Facebook groups that have
some very helpful people as members.
On Facebook, simply search any of
the following terms to find the group:
• Musical Box Society Forum
• Band Organs, Fairground Organ
and Street Organs
• Antique Phonograph Enthusiast
• Player Piano Enthusiast
• Mechanical Music Chat
Roadside attractions can also be a very fun and effective way to get the word out
about mechanical music instruments, especially if you have a friend who will let you
borrow the company calliope truck for your chapter meeting. We had many families
and individuals stop by for pictures and videos with the Fisher Calliope Truck. Most
of them never having seen or heard one before. Special thanks to Jeffrey Sanfilippo
and the Sanfilippo Family Foundation for letting us borrow this wonderful instrument
every few years for a chapter meeting.
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 9
Newcomers to the special exhibit at Barrington Resale are a A special exhibit doesn’t have to be very large. Two or three
15½-inch mahogany serpentine case Reginaphone and base machines and a fun banner can do the trick just fine.
cabinet next to a Seeburg KT Special.
• Mechanical Musical Instruments,
• Association of Musical Box
Collectors (AMBC)
• McClinsey’s House of Music
• Orchestrions of Europe
• Mechanical Musical Instrument
and Parts Sales/Wanted UK
• National Carousel Association
• Orchestrions of America
• Carousel Connoisseurs
• AMICA (Automatic Musical
Instrument Collectors’
Association)
• American Carousel Organs
• Musical Box Society of Great
Britain
• Mechanical Music Media
• Mechanical Music and Midi
Systems
• Mechanical Music Parade
• Band Organ Music, Carousel
Music, Mechanical Music
• Australian Collectors of Mechanical
Musical Instruments Inc.
• Vintage Fairground Stuff and
Organs Chat Sales and Wants
• Organists and Organ Lovers
I cannot imagine being a part of
mechanical music in today’s world
without being in touch with these
groups. Information can be shared
around the planet instantly. If I have
a question about anything related to
mechanical music, I can go to one of
my groups that most closely fits my
question and ask them.
There must be a group for everything
on Facebook. In fact, social
media comes in a lot of formats but
by far I think the most popular one is
still Facebook. The list of websites on
the internet you can find to visit is just
as endless when you search through
Google or any other search engine.
Many times, however, I have simply
started with the Facebook groups and
almost every time they will send me
a direct link to a very useful website
without all the need to search on
your own. Usually, it ends up being a
website I have never heard of before.
Access to this level of knowledge and
expertise is why I am such a strong
believer in Facebook and the new
friends I have made all over the world
because of it.
That is about all the information I
had to share with you for now. I hope
you have enjoyed reading my two-part
article and I look forward to writing
more in the future. Remember, special
exhibits can be any size and just about
any place. Check with your local
museum or historical society and
see if they will let you come in for a
day with a couple of your machines. I
like to go camping from time to time
and even bring a machine with me
for that. You never know when you
can brighten someone’s day through
mechanical music.
10 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
MBSI Mid-Year Trustees’
Meeting Minutes
Top row, left to right: Mary Ellen Myers, Dave Calendine, Clay Witt, Bob Caletti. Second row, left to right: Tom Kuehn, Matt Jaro,
Ed Cooley, Linda Birkitt. Bottom row, left to right: Wayne Finger, David Corkrum.
Mar. 20, 2021
These minutes will be official when
approved and voted upon during the
annual meeting of the Board of Trustees
in Fort Myers, FL, in 2021.
On Mar. 20, 2021, at 9:05 a.m., the
2021 Mid-year Trustee Meeting was
called to order by President Kuehn.
The following Trustees were present:
Tom Kuehn, President presiding, Dave
Calendine, Bob Caletti, Ed Cooley,
David Corkrum, Wayne Finger, Matt
Jaro, Mary Ellen Myers and Clay Witt
(nine of nine present, a quorum).
Linda Birkitt attended as recording
secretary.
President Kuehn informed the group
that Trustee Witt will be retiring as
a trustee as of the conclusion of this
meeting, Trustee Witt acknowledged
that it was his great privilege to serve
MBSI, and that he will miss some, but
not other aspects of the position. He
then thanked this body for all their
hard work. President Kuehn thanked
him for his many years of service.
The minutes of the Sept. 4, 2020,
Trustees’ Meeting were presented
by Secretary Birkitt. Trustee Finger
moved to approve the minutes, with
corrections noted by Trustee Witt. The
motion carried and the minutes were
approved as corrected.
Old Business
Secretary Birkitt presented the
current board actions for review.
Trustee Jaro reported on the progress
of CDL – Controlled Digital Lending.
Digital Controlled Circulation is used
to circulate electronic copies of books,
but there is no software for DCC, so
circulation evolves through the honor
system. Although Jerry Maler is our
lending librarian, he reports only two
to three books have been checked
out over several years. Trustee Finger
indicated that we need a webmaster
to develop this electronic library to
provide value to the membership.
Trustee Witt suggested that Russell
Kasselman work with Trustee Caletti
to develop this electronic lending
library system.
Trustee Finger commented that
Terry Smythe deserves a response
back regarding his gift of 29 scanned
books. Smythe also has other historical
materials digitized which would be
invaluable to MBSI.
The status and possible development
and use of rack cards for
advertising MBSI at the American
Treasure Tour (A.T.T.) Museum in
Oaks, PA, was briefly re-addressed.
More information is needed on the
whereabouts of the initial content
and drawings for the proposed card
design. The use and value of these to
MBSI was also discussed.
President Kuehn then presented
the Herschell Carrousel Factory
Museum Funds request which will
be funded by our Endowment Fund.
During the discussion, Trustee Witt
noted that now MBSI has received
the additional documentation from
the museum requested by the board.
During the initial discussion, Trustee
Calendine moved that the board
approve the grant request in the
amount of $10,000. During the course
of discussion after the main motion
was seconded, Trustee Witt offered
the following motion as a substitution
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 11
for the main motion: “I move that we
approve a grant of $10,000 from MBSI’s
Endowment Fund to the Herschell
Carrousel Society of the Niagara
Frontier Endowment Fund to be used
for the restoration and maintenance
of band and carousel organs and roll
perforating equipment at the Herschell
Carrousel Factory Museum.” After the
amendment motion was seconded and
debated, it was adopted by a seven to
two majority via voice vote. There
being no further discussion, the main
motion was unanimously adopted as
amended.
Officers’, Administrator’s And
Committee Reports
Vice President Corkrum presented
the Vice President’s report. He
informed the trustees that he is
responsible for coordinating the
annual awards process and ensuring
timely nominations are presented to
the board at the mid-year meeting.
Additionally, he is required to create
the annual report for MBSI which is
submitted to the Board of Regents of
the University of New York by June
2021. He also gives guidance and
advice to the society’s chapters, keeps
himself informed of chapter activities,
and reviews and recommends
revisions of bylaws and policies and
procedures. The report was received.
Since Treasurer Ed Kozak was not
present, President Kuehn read the
treasurer’s report, Finance Committee
report and the Endowment Committee
report. There is no change to the
budget approved at the last meeting.
The treasurer’s report was received.
6a. Endowment Committee report.
As of Dec. 31, 2020, MBSI’s financial
statements reported the Endowment
Fund balance, a perpetual duration
asset, to be $160,270. The fund balance
increased by $4765 from the previous
year’s balance of $155,505. The
“Endowment Interest Earned Fund”
has a balance of $52,511 as of Dec.
31, 2020. Two-thirds of this amount is
available at this date for projects or
programs. The trustees are reviewing
the additional information submitted
by the Herschell Carrousel Factory
Museum, to support a donation to
their endowment fund. The report was
received.
6b. Finance Committee report. A
question from Vice President Corkrum
about museum restoration funds will
have to be postponed as there was no
museum committee representative at
the meeting who had that information.
The report was received.
President Kuehn read the Administrator’s
Report. As of Dec. 31, 2020,
MBSI totaled 1,003 memberships. This
compares to 2019’s numbers of 1,079
members. Currently, the membership
has grown to 1,073 as of Mar. 1, 2021.
Twenty-six new members between
Jul. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020, joined
MBSI. Of these 26, 20 (77 percent)
were generated via the website. For
the calendar year 2020 the grand total
was 58 new members, of which 42 (72
percent) were website generated. The
report was received.
Chair Cooley presented the Audit
Committee report. As is required by
New York statutes and regulations
which govern MBSI, our financial
statements must by reviewed annually
by an independent CPA. Cinda
Rogers, CPA, has been doing this and
has agreed to an additional contract
extension. Although two new revenue
standards were written in 2019,
they had no financial impact on our
accounting. The Audit Committee will
no longer audit the comparison of
sales items to reported income as the
monies generated were insignificant
monetarily. Treasurer Kozak’s revenue
analysis indicates that the MBSI net
membership revenue for 2020 was
$69,029. Using 2019 data, the total
estimated revenue would be $71,100.
The difference is -2.9 percent and this
percentage difference will continue
to increase annually since declining
membership impacts this analysis.
The Audit Committee audited the
returned Conflict of Interest (COI)
forms and found that nine were missing
for the current year. All Officers,
Trustees and Committee members are
required by MBSI policy to sign these
forms yearly and be conversant and
compliant with the policies governing
COIs.
The report also made suggestions
concerning setting a specific time
of year for COI statements to be
gathered and about developing easier
to use methods of transmitting them
electronically. Trustee Witt noted that
we have legal constraints and agreed
to do some research concerning what
we are allowed to do about the matters
raised and to work with the Secretary
and Vice President to determine what
might be done to reduce the annual
COI statement gathering burden. The
report was received.
The Marketing Committee Report
was presented by Trustee Finger. The
video interview project is evolving
slowly as one interview has been
completed and two are in the works. If
sufficient funds are available, a fourth
interview will be included. Trustee
Finger and the Editor of Mechanical
Music (MM) are promoting a Facebook
Forum discussion group. The
certificate program giving auction
houses the ability to award one
free year of membership when they
hold auctions is being evaluated. To
enhance membership involvement, a
quiz or puzzle related to our hobby will
appear in Mechanical Music thanks
to Judy Caletti. The committee is
looking for other ideas to make MBSI
more visible to the public and attract
more new members. The report was
received.
Chair Jaro read the Meetings
Committee Report. This year’s Annual
Meeting is in the planning stages for an
in-person meeting. The event will be
held in Fort Myers, FL, at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel between Aug. 30 and Sept.
4, 2021. Trustees Jaro and Calendine
surveyed a group of MBSI members
to see, if they were vaccinated, would
they attend the Annual Meeting. Sixty-
eight percent indicated they would, if
proper distancing and masking were
utilized. Additionally, the Southeast
Chapter voted unanimously at their
Mar. 19 meeting to move forward
with hosting the meeting. European
attendees are concerned about a
refund policy if the meeting should be
canceled. Trustee Calendine moved to
provide a full registration refund for
any reason for the Annual Meeting in
Florida, up to Aug. 1, 2021. After that
date, a case-by-case decision will be
made. Motion carried.
Dave Calendine has graciously
12 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
agreed to serve on the Meetings
Committee, replacing the late Mary
Pollock. The report was received.
President Kuehn was asked if the
Japan Chapter will host an Annual
Meeting. He will investigate this question.
Trustee Jaro suggested that Japan
hold a Special Meeting which would
not be as expansive as an Annual
Meeting. Trustee Myers suggested that
we include Japan Chapter meetings
reports in MM.
Trustee Jaro gave the Museum
Committee report as Chair Sally Craig
was not present. The Guitarophone
and the PAPA JANO donations are now
on display and working at the A.T.T.
The repair cost for the Guitarophone
was completed. Due to Covid-19,
the A.T.T. Museum was closed most
of this past year. Final Inventory
reconciliation is still open regarding
the Barry Johnson donation to MBSI
for the A.T.T. Museum until all items
have been received. This item requires
annual review until 2023 as per Board
Action. The report was received.
The Nominating Committee Report
was read by President Kuehn as Chair
Dan Wilson was unavailable. Trustee
Witt is resigning as a trustee as of
Mar. 20, 2021. His position will remain
open until the election during the next
annual meeting. Richard Dutton has
been nominated to begin his first four-
year term as a trustee at the upcoming
annual meeting.
The Nominating Committee’s
recommendation for officers and
trustees to be approved by the board
for presentation to the members for
election at the 2021 MBSI Annual
Meeting is as follows:
• David Corkrum to serve a
two-year term as President
• Matt Jaro to serve a one-year
term as Vice President
• Richard Dutton to serve his first
four-year term as a Trustee
• Tom Kuehn to serve an additional
two-year term as a Trustee per
the bylaws
• Ed Kozak to serve another
one-year term as Treasurer
• Linda Birkitt to serve another
one-year term as Recording
Secretary
The report was received.
President Kuehn asked for a motion
to approve the committee’s slate of
officers and trustees. Trustee Witt
moved to approve the new slate of
officers and trustees. The motion
carried.
Special Exhibits committee chair
Mary Ellen Myers presented her
committee’s report. The Special
Exhibits committee has been
hampered somewhat by Covid19;
however, with Chair Myers’
innovations, she has surmounted the
problem. A new Outreach Corner in
Mechanical Music was initiated in
the November/December 2020 issue
of Mechanical Music with an article
written by Wayne Myers. Aaron Muller
has also written one article and plans
to write a follow-up article for the next
issue. Jack Hostetler has reported that
the Christmas Show at the Villages in
Florida is scheduled for the weekend
before Christmas, subject to pandemic
restrictions that might be in effect.
The report was received.
Publications Committee Chair
Caletti presented the committee’s
report. He noted that our editor had
been able to convert our journal to a
text version on the website going back
as far as 2015. These text versions can
be translated to other languages on
the website and used by non-English
speakers along with the images in
the printed version. The report was
received.
The editor’s report was presented by
Trustee Caletti. Per the editor, advertising
revenue and pages are moving
both up and down in Mechanical
Music. New advertisers in Mechanical
Music can now receive free ads on
the MBSI website that may encourage
more advertising. Several new authors
submitted articles for Mechanical
Music this past year. The report was
received.
The Website Sub-Committee Report
was presented by Chair Rick Swaney.
MBSI now has a Facebook Forum. It
is a Facebook group with easy posting
procedures. Currently there are 335
members in the Facebook Forum.
The emphasis of the Facebook Forum
is to increase membership renewal.
There are also plans to redesign the
MBSI website’s homepage to improve
interest in the site. The report was
received.
New Business
Bylaws and Policies and Procedures
documents were updated by the President’s
Special Committee consisting
of Vice President Corkrum, Trustee
Finger and chaired by Trustee Witt.
President Kuehn requested a motion
to approve the updated Bylaws and
P&P documents as recommended by
the committee. Trustee Calendine so
moved with the correction of the date
of the mid-year meeting from Mar. 19,
to Mar. 20, 2021. The motion carried
unanimously.
President Kuehn presented the
Japan Chapter’s draft of their bylaws
and supplemental material. Trustee
Witt stated that in Article ll on amendments
to the bylaws, the amendments
should be approved by MBSI before
they go into effect for the Japan
Chapter. A motion was requested to
approve the Japan Chapter bylaws and
supplemental material. Vice President
Corkrum so moved. The motion was
approved unanimously.
President Kuehn stated that the
Membership Committee Chair has
been vacant since Rob Pollock vacated
the position. President Kuehn had tried
to find a chair for this committee, but
without success. Trustee Myers noted
that four chapters have no members
on this committee. She suggested two
potential candidates. The search for a
Chair of the Membership Committee
will continue.
The Trustees entered a closed
session to evaluate nominations for
MBSI awards.
Trustee Calendine moved, seconded
by Trustee Cooley, to adjourn the
meeting. The motion passed. The
Mid-Year Trustees’ Meeting adjourned
at 2:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted on Mar. 26, 2021
Linda Birkitt
Recording Secretary
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 13
MBSI Trustee Nominee Richard Dutton
I was first exposed to mechanical
music when I was only a small boy.
In 1953, when I was six years old, my
father brought home a Concert roller
organ and 30 rollers (“cobs”) which
he had bought at a roadside auction
on Long Island, NY, for $6. The case
was dark brown with age and the
stenciling barely visible, but the organ
itself played well. I was immediately
fascinated with it and, because no one
else in the family cared about it as
much as I did, it became a plaything of
mine growing up. I played each one of
the cobs many, many times and knew
every note of every tune and each tune
by name (except for the titles of tunes
on two cobs without labels, which I
did not learn until many years later).
Often, I would drag the organ around
the way other children carry a favorite
toy and I would play it for my friends
on the picnic table in our backyard.
By the time I reached my teens, I was
less interested in the organ, and after
I went away to college, it spent many
years in the cellar before I took it to
Rita Ford’s music box shop in New
York City, NY, in 1977 and had one of
her repairmen completely overhaul it.
At that time, I became seriously interested
in acquiring additional cobs to
play on it, but (in the days long before
eBay) I had no idea where to look for
them. Rita sold me a few and I was
able to buy a few more from a woman
who at that time had a music box
shop up in Westchester County, NY. I
bought a larger number from a fellow
out on Long Island who, I somehow
found out, at that time bought and
sold roller organs and repaired them
in his basement.
Then, more than a decade later, in
the mid-1990s, I heard from an antique
dealer I had contacted about cobs that
there was a mechanical music show
being held in Bound Brook, NJ, and
when I went to it my whole perspective
on roller organ cobs changed.
While I had always thought that my
roller organ was very special and rare,
I found that there were a number of
other people around who had them
and that there were even people who
specialized in cob roller organs and
had large numbers of cobs for sale,
such as the late Alvin Moersfelder in
Wisconsin (who had driven all the way
to Bound Brook in his old Cadillac,
loaded up with roller organs and cobs,
catching naps at rest stops on the
way). At that point, I began acquiring
any cobs I could find that I did not
have, sometimes buying large lots of
them, sight unseen, often with organs,
keeping the cobs I needed and trading
the duplicates for others I could add
to my collection. I met more and more
people in the mechanical music realm
as one transaction led to another
and, with the advent of eBay, I began
buying cobs and organs in online
auctions as well. In my “wheeling and
dealing” I eventually completed nearly
500 transactions and expanded my
collection to more than 1,000 different
cobs, all but about a dozen of the
1,050-plus 20-note cobs known to have
been made.
As I acquired cobs, often in large
batches that included many without
a label containing a legible number or
title, I found that I had a special ability
to remember tunes and associate them
with titles and then numbers so that,
after a while, I was able to recognize
hundreds of tunes on the roller organ
and identify cobs immediately upon
hearing them played. As a result of
this, people all over the world send
me cobs or recordings of cobs with
missing, partial or illegible labels for
me to identify by ear. Sometimes, they
even call me and play them for me
over the phone.
In 2002, at the “mart” at an annual
meeting of MBSI in Chicago, IL, I had
the opportunity to buy a Grand roller
organ, the larger, much scarcer 32-note
model that plays 13-inch cobs, and I
immediately went back to my roller
organ contacts to acquire as many
different Grand cobs as I could find. I
now have all but four of the 160 Grand
cobs known to have been made.
The records I kept of my hundreds
of transactions involving roller organ
Richard Dutton
cobs provide a large volume of data
about the frequency with which the
various cobs have turned up. I have
organized this data and assigned each
cob a “scarcity rating” of either “most
common” (MC), “very common” (VC),
“common” (C), “less common” (LC),
“scarce” (S), “very scarce” (VS) or
“no known copy” (N). The rating of
“most common” was given to just five
cobs that turn up many times more
than the others. Perhaps these were
manufactured in much larger quantities
because they were included with
an organ as a “starter package.” At the
other extreme are cobs of which I am
unaware of any existing copy. Of these
14, all but four are Spanish or Polish
titles.
I have always been interested in
the music on the roller organ as
well, the hymns because of my own
religious background and long-standing
interest in hymnology, and the
popular songs, dance tunes, classical
pieces, etc. because of my general
fascination with the “roller organ era”
and the prevailing popular culture of
that time. My love and appreciation
for the music stem in part from the
fact that so many of the cobs contain
appealing, harmonious, full arrangements
of very pretty tunes. It was a
remarkable accomplishment for the
Autophone Company of Ithaca, NY,
the manufacturer of all cob roller
organs and cobs, to put hundreds and
14 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
hundreds of musical pieces popular in
the mid-1880s through the early 1920s
onto pinned cobs and it is a joy for me
to crank through them and listen to
them.
The late Todd Augsburger generously
provided me space on his roller
organ website, rollerorgans.com, for
my long-standing and ongoing project,
Dutton’s Roller Organ Cob Handbook,
which includes statistical information
about the relative scarcity of the various
roller organ cobs and combines it
with details concerning the individual
tunes—how they came to be written,
who performed or popularized them,
what role they played in the culture of
the times, etc.—as well as providing
references to sources of sheet music
for anyone interested in finding lyrics
or playing the tunes on their own
musical instruments.
I have now, after more than 13
years, completed my individual write
ups about the pieces on all but about
20 of the 1,200-plus 20-note and Grand
cobs and I hope to add to the website
my paragraphs about the remaining
ones shortly.
Professionally, I am a retired lawyer
who spent more than 32 years at
the same large Wall Street law firm
practicing in the area of wills, trusts
and estates. I graduated from Yale
College, received a master’s degree
in Celtic Languages and Literatures at
Harvard, specializing in Irish literature
and folklore (including traditional
music; consistent with my interest
in reed instruments, I play the Anglo
concertina), but instead of completing
my Ph.D. thesis there I returned to
Yale for law school.
I currently live with my wife of 36
years, Marlene, in Little Egg Harbor,
NJ, a nautical community in the southern
part of the New Jersey shore on
the edge of the Pine Barrens.
Interesting Tidbits
A piano specially constructed for use by the bedridden. This photo is reported to be taken in Great Britain around
1935. Image provided by the Dutch National Archives / Spaarnestad Collection / Photographer unknown. For a
variety of other interesting historical photos, feel free to visit https://beeldbank.spaarnestadphoto.com/
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 15
Nickel Notes
By Matthew Jaro
A Music Trade Press Reader’s
History of the Welte-Mignon – Part Two
In the last exciting episode of And the following week this Sale of Welte Stock
Nickel Notes, Edwin Welte went back appeared on Page 21. On Mar. 22, 1919, (after the end of
to Germany to serve in the German the war) this appeared on Page 22 of
army in 1914. An agreement was MTR.
reached between Welte and the Auto
Pneumatic Action Company with the
evil George W. Gittins as president
of Kohler and Campbell (the parent
company of Auto Pneumatic).
Now, the U.S. declares war on
Germany and I left the reader to
wonder what would happen to Edwin
Welte’s business interests in the U.S.
The Alien Property Custodian
On Jun. 29, 1918, the following
appeared on Page 20 in the Music
Trade Review (MTR).
16 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
The advertisement at left appeared on Page 23 of the
Mar. 22, 1919, issue.
Gittins Steps In
In May 1924, the article at the bottom of this page
appeared in the Music Trades.
Notice that Gittins did not waste any time in buying the
Welte Company from Mitchell – gee, do you think this was
planned all along? According to Doug Hickling (September
1971 AMICA Bulletin):
Gittins considered it a serious personal affront that Kohler
had failed to name him as an executor of his will and had
instead named Richard W. Lawrence, who was at that time President
of Autopiano Company and a relative newcomer to the
family of Kohler businesses. Friction immediately developed
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 17
between Gittins and Lawrence with
the result that Gittins was let go,
Lawrence replacing him as President
of Kohler & Campbell.
Thereafter, in 1917, Gittins
acquired control of the Estey Piano
Company, which had a large factory
at 133rd Street and Lincoln Avenue,
Bronx, New York.
When, in 1919, the Alien Property
Custodian auctioned certain Welte
patents and the controlling shares
of the stock of M. Welte &Sons, Inc.,
Lawrence sent an underling to the
sale with limited authority to bid
on the Welte assets. Lawrence’s
agent was outbid, however, by a
group of businessmen who, having
paid $100,000 to the Alien Property
Custodian for the property, promptly
sold their acquisition to George W.
Gittins. Gittins thus gained control,
not only of the Welte physical assets
and patents, but of the right of M.
Welte &Sons, Inc., to receive royalties
from the manufacturers of reproducing
piano mechanisms, including a
payment of $30,000.00 a year from
the Auto Pneumatic Action Company
under the terms of the Licensee agreement
under which Auto Pneumatic
built and marketed the Welte-Mignon
(Licensee) reproducing piano mechanism.
Since Auto Pneumatic was one
of the Kohler industries, Gittins’ coup
must have been particularly galling
to Lawrence.
The Factory Sale
The article above appeared in
August of 1919, in MTR on Page 25.
Notice that Gittins bought the entire
Welte enterprise including patents for
$100,000 and sold the factory alone for
$150,000 a few months later.
So now, in December 1919, it was
apparently time for a little flag-waving,
and Gittins, the new president of
Welte announces:
This passage seems so self-serving
to me. Gittins had nothing to do with
the tradition of Welte. He got the business
for next to nothing and he talks
about American ownership.
Moving Right Along
Things get pretty complex and intertwined
at this point.
On Feb. 7, 1920, an arrangement
was consummated where M. Welte
and Sons, Amphion Piano Player
Company and Kohler Industries (for
the Auto Pneumatic Company) would
control all of the Welte reproducing
piano patents. (The American Piano
Company owned Amphion). The
music rolls would be cut from the vast
Welte library. Kohler got a recording
piano from Welte so that new rolls
could be recorded (the DeLuxe Reproducing
Roll Corp.). Kohler would be
building a new roll plant.
At the same time, the Amphion
Piano Player Company is ready to
market a reproducing piano invented
by Lewis B. Doman. Note that Doman
was involved in the Stoddard Ampico
system.
Also, the American Piano Company
(Ampico) has admitted the validity of
the Welte Bockisch patents.
In March 1920, Gittins formed a new
corporation named the Welte Mignon
Corp. and from now on M. Welte and
Sons would be known as the Welte
Mignon Corporation with a capitalization
of $1 million.
In a lawsuit trial, a woman who
bought a Welte licensee piano was
told by a Welte representative that she
did not have an original Welte. She
sued on the grounds that the piano she
bought was misrepresented. The trial
showed that the mechanisms were
identical, with the exception of the
tracker bar and therefore she had no
grounds to complain.
The article below appeared in the
Mar. 20, 1920, issue of MTR, Page 27.
Further News
On Sept. 17, 1921, the Aeolian Corp.
after being sued for infringement of
the Welte patents, settled out of court
and agreed to pay royalties to Welte.
On Nov. 5, 1921, the Auto-Pneumatic
Company began recutting the original
Welte Mignon to the standard nine
holes per inch format. (More on the
roll formats later).
It must have been painful for Edwin
Welte to have all of his assets in the
United States seized. Notice that the
article below from Jun. 11, 1927, says
they are descendants and does not
18 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
mention anything about their contribution
to the success of the company.
In one respect, he was an enemy
combatant, having enlisted in the
German army, but on the other hand,
he was talking about becoming an
American citizen, and I think he was
really just caught in the middle. I don’t
think he ever received compensation
for the seized business, and it must
have been hard to visit the Welte
studios years later.
Receivership
Now it seems like Mr. Gittins has
run the company into the ground.
It can’t pay its debts and is placed
in receivership. It looks like Gittins
overextended the business, since he
acquired six subsidiaries a few months
earlier.
An article in the Nov. 26, 1927, issue
on Page 29 reported the news.
To summarize some of the events
that follow: The appointed receivers
wanted to sell the Estey piano business
in order to free up cash to pay
the creditors. They did this in March
1928. At the same time, the good old
Auto Pneumatic Action Company was
quick to point out that they were doing
fine and they were not associated
with the original Welte Company – so
customers should continue to buy the
licensee pianos without worry.
The receivership was finally ended
with a reorganized Welte-Mignon
Company.
On Jan. 5, 1929, William C. Heaton
resigned as sales manager of Welte
Mignon. He had held the position only
since the spring. He quickly found a
job as manager of sales for the Fada
Radio Corporation. Earlier, Heaton
was president of the Auto Pneumatic
Action Company. It’s funny how
people’s fortunes changed. Since Auto
Pneumatic was responsible for the
licensee business, maybe Gittins was
hoping to attract customers back to
the original Welte-Mignon Company.
The End of the Line
By February 1929 Welte-Mignon was
back in receivership. This time, the
explanation was that the company had
to be protected from small lawsuits.
On Jul. 15, 1929, Donald F. Tripp
(a Wall Street financier) bought the
Welte organ business for $79,000 at
auction – that’s less than it would cost
you to buy one organ today. The new
company was named the Welte-Tripp
Organ Company.
Tripp moved the organ business into
a modern new plant at Sound Beach,
CT, but there was no production for
over a year. Mr. Tripp lost his considerable
fortune in the continuing slide
of the stock market and was forced
to liquidate his assets to pay off creditors.
He sold the business to the W.W.
Kimball Company on Jul. 1, 1931, for
the sum of $35,000. Kimball marketed
the organ as the Kimball-Welte but
did not record any new rolls. Installations
continued into the late 1930s.
After World War II, Kimball worked
on developing electronic organs and
abandoned the pipe organ business
(according to Doug Hickling).
In February 1930, the Krakauer
Brothers bought the contents of the
Welte Factory, which included several
hundred unfinished grand pianos.
The name Welte-Mignon was sold by
the receivers to a group that would
become known as the Welte-Mignon
Piano Corporation. They continued to
install Welte mechanisms in people’s
pianos.
They ran the ad above until 1931
and then there was no more heard
from them. The most important Welte
patents expired in the 1930s.
Loose Ends
What ever happened to our friends
in the pneumatic action business?
Remember that Kohler and Campbell
owned the businesses.
In the October 1930 Presto, this
article appeared on Page 31.
What happened to our friend
Gittins? He was squeezed out of the
corporation by the receivers and his
common stock was worthless. Further,
in March 1931, Presto reported:
What about all the rolls? In 1932, the
MTR had the following classified ad.
As far as the German interests were
concerned, in 1931 the Welte firm in
Germany turned out its last repro-
ducing instrument and Edwin Welte
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 19
resigned.
Finally, in 1932, the notice above
appeared in the Zeitschrift für Instrumentbau
(ZI).
It announces that the Welte firm
went into receivership.
Edwin Welte
During World War II, the retired
Edwin Welte worked on an idea for
an electronic organ, but it did not get
support.
In 1947 Richard Simonton struck
up a friendship with Edwin Welte and
they exchanged about 150 letters.
The Welte factory was destroyed by
Allied bombs during World War II and
living conditions in Post-War Germany
were harsh.
“Our fine old city [of Freiburg] was
within 20 minutes time and without
any defense by an aerial attack to 2/3
destroyed, with it also completely the
factories of M. Welte and sons with
everything in it.
My private house was saved. I
live now in three rooms of it, with
my wife and daughter. The rest of
the house is occupied [requisitioned
without rent] by a French officer and
his family.” 4-30-47
“The French officer cut off the
radiators of my apartment to save
coal for the first floor. Naturally there
is only one furnace in my house and
no stoves. Heavy snowfall today and
the rooms ice cold. SO I write this
letter in the kitchen where we have
a kitchen-hearth which is heatable
with coal or wood. Mrs. Welte is just
running around in the town to find
somebody to place a little stove in
the bedroom. I do not think that such
things do happen in the American or
English zone.” 11-18-47
“We cannot escape our destiny,
when we see and hear about the lives
of other people we are satisfied again.
The conditions here in regard to food,
clothing and housing are intolerable.
We have an excellent archbishop in
Freiburg, who does everything possible
to help. He showed a great deal
of courage during the Nazi-period.”
11-18-47
The Welte Rolls
In order to end this article on a
happier note, I would like to say a few
words about the rolls. The Aeolian
DuoArt was the only system that never
changed encoding schemes. Ampico
had the A and B systems, although
these were largely compatible with
each other. Welte, on the other hand,
had quite an evolution.
The first system was the T-100
rolls or “red Welte rolls.” These rolls
were 127/8 inches wide and had 100
holes with 80 playing notes, motor
speed controls and assorted control
channels. These rolls had no tempo
markings because the motor could be
sped up by means of the two lock and
cancel signals.
The instruments made in Germany
and imported to America before
World War I used red rolls. The Welte
Artistic Player, made in America prior
to the war, used pianos such as Mason
& Hamlin and Krakauer that also used
the red rolls.
The T-98 or “green Welte rolls” were
the standard 11¼ inches wide with
nine holes to the inch. There were a
full 88 playing notes and 10 control
notes. Instead of lock and cancels, the
green rolls used chain perforations
for the control. This made it the only
reproducing system that could play
a piano’s full 88 key compass. All the
green rolls run at the same speed. The
green Welte mechanisms were never
marketed in America.
The Welte-Mignon “licensee rolls”
were the standard 11¼ inches wide
with nine holes to the inch with 80
playing notes and 18 control channels.
The licensee rolls’ use of the lock and
cancel required two channels for each
function and therefore there are only
80 playing notes.
The licensee rolls were primarily
made by the Deluxe Reproducing
Roll Corp. (a subsidiary of the Auto
Pneumatic Action Company). Many of
the original Welte rolls were recoded
and reissued to play on the licensee
pianos. See image on the facing page.
This concludes my marathon writing
sessions to produce this two-part article.
I find the story to be fascinating.
There has been much written about
the history of nickelodeons but not
much about the reproducing pianos
in the last 40 years. I hope my minor
effort goes some way to alleviating
this deficiency.
Please contact me with questions or
comments. I have tried to be accurate,
but I may have made some mistakes
or rash judgments. Please tell me!!
Email Matt Jaro at mjaro@verizon.
net if you would like any information
about style “A”, “G”, “4X”, “H” or “O” rolls.
Also, comments and suggestions for this
column will be appreciated.
Reprinted with permission of the
author and The Automatic Musical
Instrument Collectors’ Association
(AMICA). Originally printed in the
September-October 2015 issue of The
AMICA Bulletin.
20 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 21 May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 21
22 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021 22 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
A Changeable Cylinder Box Prototype
Questions remain as to who made this particular musical box as it has markings indicating Jaccard but has no definitive
provenance.
By Bill Wineburgh
Not too long ago I restored an interesting
changeable cylinder musical
box. It came out of a storage unit in
nearby Yonkers, NY. It had belonged
to a recently deceased collector (of
many things) whose daughter needed
to clear out the storage unit. It has a
unique design that is unlike any I have
ever seen. I would like to share it with
you.
A Jaccard / Cuendet / Abrahams
Prototype
The subject piece has a grain-
painted case with side handles and
transfer borders made to look like
inlaid wood trim and color floral decorations
on the lid and front to also
look like inlays. There is a drawer in
the base that can hold three cylinders.
The design is quite like those by B H
Abrahams of Ste Croix, Switzerland
and London, England, who was also
the London agent for Jules Cuendet.
It came with three cylinders that
measure 13 inches in length and 21/8
inches in diameter. Two of the cylinders,
numbered 60702 and 60712, have
accompanying tune sheets. The third
cylinder is numbered 60704 and has
no tune sheet. Each cylinder plays six
airs.
The two tune sheets are the “terrace
at right” design, seen as Sheet No.
6 in H.A.V. Bulleid’s book “Tune
Sheets” and is used by Jules Cuendet
in his catalog. The tune sheets are
marked “Lith. Picard-Lion Geneve”
on the lower left and “DEPOSÉE” on
the lower right. The tune names are
typewritten rather than written in pen.
The bedplate is forged with “Jaccard
BRS” on the underside (which Jaccard
brothers?). It has numerous holes that
have been filled in where it may have
once been prepared to use for another
set-up (1).
The comb has 93 teeth (92 playing)
and gamme number ‘1766’ on the bass
lead, referring to the comb’s tuning,
and the comb base (plinth) is marked
for tuning to exclude the highest treble
tooth and has a “J” and “99” (or “66”?)
impressed in the underside (again,
which Jaccard?).
The cylinder drive and locking
mechanisms are unique to this mechanism
and are unlike any I have seen.
The mechanism matches a patent by
Eugène Félix Jaccard of Ste Croix,
Switzerland. The German patent is
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 23
Completely restored and ready for play, this unique musical box includes a drawer to hold three cylinders.
No. 42511, dated Feb. 22, 1888, and the
U.S. patent is No. 382,879, dated May
15, 1888. The Swiss patent is No. 421,
dated Dec. 14, 1888. Illustrations from
the American patent accompany this
article.
The cylinder drive mechanism
works using an indented groove in a
drive plate that is turned by a double
spring barrel and governor control
mechanism. The cylinders have a pin
extending from the left end of the
cylinder that fits into that groove. As
with any interchangeable cylinder
box, at the tune’s end, the comb teeth
are aligned with the break in the
pinning, allowing the user to change
the cylinder without damage to the
cylinder pins. Changing these cylinders
demands some caution as there
are no “handles” on the cylinder ends
with which to lift the cylinder. Later
interchangeable musical boxes such
as those by Mermod Frères and others
incorporated handles or extended
cylinder shafts to allow lifting the
cylinder up and off the mechanism
without fear of damaging the cylinder
pins (2).
The tail stock has an indented steel
bar at its left end that marries with
the pointed pin on the right end of the
cylinder shaft. The steel bar is spring
tensioned within an iron housing that
is part of the cast bedplate. The right
end of the steel bar is bored to hold
a perpendicular steel rod that can
be rotated towards the front of the
mechanism along a curved lip in the
cast housing in order to release the
cylinder tail stock. The top of the rod
has a knurled cap that can be removed
24 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
Restored bedplate and cylinder installed. Caution is required when changing tunes as the cylinder has no handles.
The left end of cylinder no. 60712 with
rod extended to catch the drive gear. The right end of cylinder no. 60712.
The cylinder drive notch and drive mechanism. Patent images for this technology
are shown on pages 28 and 29 of this issue.
when removing the wooden start/
stop and change/repeat cover. I noted
that the curved lip was worn from
repeated movement of the release rod
and needed some repair in order to
work as intended (3).
So, who made this? There are no
numbers or other marks anywhere
on the bedplate or works to help
identify the maker. We know it was
made after 1888 as that is the date of
the E.F. Jaccard patent and none of
the listed tunes were published after
that year. The bedplate casting is by
one of the Jaccards. The tune sheets
are Cuendet’s design and the case is
a typical Abrahams design used in
Britannia, Imperial disc boxes as well
as in cylinder boxes. Phillipe, Jules &
Charles Cuendet, Ami, Charles, Justin
and other Jaccards, from Ste Croix
and L’Auberson, and Barnett H. Abra-
hams of Ste Croix, the London agent
for Cuendet, seem to be the players.
A Similar Prototype by L’Épée
David Evans wrote an article in the
Winter 2019/2020, Issue 19, of Mechanical
Music World, published by the
Association of Musical Box Collectors
(AMBC), about a L’Épée experimental
changeable cylinder movement. The
similarities and differences to the
example that I recently restored are
most interesting.
A patent for the L’Épée mechanism
was issued to James Yates Johnson
dated Oct. 14, 1887, about four months
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 25
The cylinder pin holder shown with the cylinder removed.
A closeup of the cylinder pin holder in the released position.
Jaccard BRS as seen on the bedplate, but no indications are
made as to what set of Jaccard brothers made it.
The cylinder pin holder extended as it would normally be while
playing the musical box.
earlier than Jaccard’s German patent
referenced earlier.
The differences between the L’Épée
prototype described by Evans and
the piece described in this article lie
in both the cylinder drive mechanism
and in the tail stock design. The drive
mechanism is reversed from one to
the other, and the tail stock in the
Jaccard design adds the internal
tension spring to better hold the cylinder
in place and a steel shaft to release
the cylinder from above the fall board.
Both designs use a typical snail cam
on the right end of the cylinder and a
coil spring on the left end of the cylinder
shaft to help steady the cylinder
on its shaft.
Competition Among Makers
At the time these patents and
prototypes were made, the German
disc musical box manufacturing was
severely impacting Swiss cylinder
box sales. As a result, the Swiss and
French cylinder box manufacturers
were struggling to compete. One way
to do that was to add more music to
the fixed number of tunes on pinned
cylinders. This was done in several
ways. One method was to either make
the distance between the tooth tips
further apart to allow more pins to be
placed between them and thus more
tunes to be pinned on a cylinder, or to
use only every other tooth in a comb by
clipping off the tip of alternate teeth.
Another method was to pin two tunes
in a single rotation, thus doubling the
number of (albeit shorter) tunes on
a cylinder. Fat cylinders were also
employed (having a larger diameter)
that would allow for a longer program
or for two tunes of more normal
length in one rotation. The revolver
26 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
A sideways letter J and the number 99 are impressed into the comb plinth, but it is not clear which Jaccard cast this piece.
Markings on the comb plinth (shown before restoration) indicate that the highest treble piece is to be excluded when tuning.
box provided a very complicated Competition among the cylinder My observations and research lead
and expensive way to do this as well. box makers must have been fast and me to believe that this piece was a
Further, and appropriate to this arti-furious and new ideas likely spread prototype for a mechanism that was
cle, providing additional cylinders was quickly among them. That might never put into production for at least
also tried, using either changeable or account for the similarities between the three reasons noted at (1), (2) and
interchangeable cylinders. the L’Épée and Jaccard designs. (3) above, as well as the likely high
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 27
One of the two typewritten tune sheets that came with the musical box.
An image from American Patent No. 382,879 showing a cylinder change mechanism.
28 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
Another image from American Patent No. 382,879, this time
showing the cylinder drive mechanism.
In this image you can see the additional holes in the bedplate
that were later filled in as if the bedplate had been originally
used in a different configuration.
An example of a B H Abrahams musical box that somewhat
resembles the box detailed in this article.
cost of manufacturing it. I attribute it to one of the Cuendets,
likely in the 1890s, as an attempt to make a changeable
cylinder box to compete with other cylinder box makers as
well as with the German disc musical boxes. If any reader
knows of another movement like this, please let me know.
Perhaps further research can help nail down the maker.
Samples of the music may be heard at:
https://youtu.be/OsqURW0xCvw
https://youtu.be/vYuY8eZEJro
Smartphone users may scan the QR codes at right to go
directly to the videos.
More online
Smartphone users can scan the QR code above to be
taken directly to videos showing the box in this article
playing tunes.
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 29
PlérodieniquePlérodienique Plérodienique
A special kind
of music box
Text by Peter Both
(Translated by Deepl.com and corrected by
Carol and David Beck, and Alison Biden)
Photos from various sources
Plérodienique 9735, located at Museum Speelklok, Utrecht.
The exterior of the case features boulle inlays, a technique
named after André Charles Boulle who introduced it in the
first half of the 17th century. Here this technique was used
on ebonized ground by inlaying engraved brass, ivory and
mother-of-pearl.
For every collector and enthusiast of mechanical
music there are extraordinary objects. One of them is
the Plérodienique. Unfortunately, one rarely gets to
see and hear them.
Rediscovery
From the very beginning the name had something
mysterious about it. It is composed of ancient Greek,
here phonetically rewritten as “pleres” which translates
to “abundantly equipped, densely populated,” and
“dienekes” which translates to “continuous, continuous,
connected, uninterrupted.” An inquiry about the
origin and meaning of the word Plérodienique was
answered like this in Mechanical Music in 1963:
“Dear Mrs. Fabel
With reference to your inquiry on the word Plérodienique,
I am pleased to inform you that, since I do
not consider myself an expert, I contacted the French,
the Swiss Embassy and the Music Department of the
Library of Congress here in Washington D.C. and it
comes to this: “Plero” is a word of Greek origin
meaning “many” [and] “dienique”
is just a word ending. Therefore,
Plérodienique could mean
many sounds, fullness, full
volume or the name or type of a
of a music box. Also the following
address was furnished for technical
information – The Chambre Suisse
d’Horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds,
Switzerland. I hope to have helped a
little. Sincerely,
Maria A. Balanger”
As early as 1938, L.G. Jaccard
wrote the following in a series of
articles on “The Origin and Devel
opment of the Music Box” in the
magazine Hobbies, thus encouraging
the first generation of American
collectors to specifically search for
this type:
“Plérodienique
In about 1878 Albert Jeanrenaud
invented a new type of rechange
cylinder, the ‘’Plérodienique.” It may
be considered the most perfect of long
tune music boxes ever made and is
capable of playing, without interruption,
one tune of six revolutions. The
chief characteristic of this piece is that tunes of
unequal length can be played on the six revolutions.
The cylinders are about twenty inches long and thirty-
six lines in diameter and require about two hundred
prongs on two combs of equal length. Similar to the
Sublime Harmonie type. The cylinder was made in two
sections on a common shaft, with a coil spring between
them, pushing each section against its respective “limacon”.
When the first revolution is ended, section one
stops and changes, meanwhile section two continues to
play. After the change takes place it resumes playing
and gives time for section two to go through the same
process of stopping and changing of revolution; the two
sections are now in position to play simultaneously.
The music will cease to play at the sixth revolution if
set at “stop.” Regardless of the oncoming of the popular
tune sheet music box, the phonograph and the player
pianos, this beautiful piece retains its unique position
because of its unusual mechanism.”
It is not surprising that many of the 18 researched
boxes known today were once owned by MBSI
co-founders. Again and again, more details were
sought after, as the following excerpts from Mechanical
Music show. As early as July 1960 in the article
“Simple ways to determine the age of music boxes”
written by Marguerite Fabel, we read the following,
among others:
“Remember that Interchangeable Music Boxes were
not invented until 1878, and also by this time the
different combinations of music were in use, Sublime
Harmony, Piccolo, Tremolo, and all sorts of combinations
of these. By this time the music box industry had
really advanced and the larger table boxes and elaborate
models were much in evidence.
It is well to remember too, that nickel plating was
not discovered until 1878, so boxes with it are apt to be
from 1880 on.
The Longue Marche, the music box with the long
playing capacity was made in 1876. The Revolver type,
1878, the Plérodienique (split cylinder) 1878, this box
was capable of playing tunes of unequal length. In 1886
the Ideal Interchangeable Boxes were started, there are
a lot of these, and they produce quite pleasing music. By
this time too, boxes wound with cranks on the outside,
and we now begin to find disc boxes.”
In 1963 Murtogh Guinness wrote an article with
questions that still occupy us today:
“Plérodienique or telescope music box”
“It would be interesting to know how many of our
members own a Plérodienique; it is said that there are
five or six known; that would make them seem rare, but
as to how many were made, it would be harder to know,
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 31
Plérodienique No. 21296, located at the Bayernhof Museum, Pittsburgh, PA.
unless some records ever turn up.
Anyone might easily pass one by
not knowing what it was unless they
had seen one, or had a description.
Roughly, the combs are like a
Sublime Harmony the cylinders made
in two halves, on one shaft, usually a
small band round the middle fills the
gap between the two halves. There is a
star wheel snail tune changer at each
end; a spring in the middle between the
two halves of the cylinder, keeps both
halves pressed against their snails;
an important point to understand in
the operation of this mechanism, is
that snails are not set in exactly the
same place at both ends, one being
further round the cylinder than the
other, by a very small amount, so that
while one half of the cylinder is being
pushed inwards, and not playing;
after both ends have changed, they
play together, as in most musical
boxes. The advantage of this system
is, that since one half changes while
the other is playing, it makes possible
continuous playing of music, for as
many revolutions as the cylinder was
made for, or for several shorter pieces.
If anyone is on the lookout for one,
things to look for are: a band round
the middle of the cylinder, (Fig. 1).
and a tune changing snail at each
end.” (Fig. 2)
Fig. 1, showing the band at the middle
of a cylinder.
Fig. 2, showing the tune changing snails
at either end of the cylinder.
32 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
Present
My wife and I were soon made
aware of these music boxes and
wanted to listen to them at every
available opportunity. Unfortunately
for us, we have never been able to
hear the instrument exhibited at CIMA
(Musée du CIMA [Centre International
de la Mécanique d’Art], Sainte-Croix,
Switzerland) until now. It remained
under lock and key during all our
visits. Another one, in the Nethercutt
Collection in San Sylmar, CA, was not
played during our visit either as it had
been damaged in an earthquake. We
were lucky to hear one at Francis and
Esther Crawford’s home and at the
Morris Museum. At the 2019 MBSI
Annual Meeting, I attended Alison
Biden’s talk titled “Sleeping Beauties:
A Happy Ending or Grimm Fairytale.”
On this occasion Alison presented
the Plérodienique of the Pitt-Rivers
Collection, which unfortunately is
stored in the museum’s depot and will
remain hidden from the public for the
time being. I further learned that Alison
was looking for information about
the Plérodienique. When we recently
added a music box of this type to our
collection ourselves, I contacted her
and we decided, together with Dave
and Carol Beck, to look for more
information. We also wanted to find
the whereabouts of all the known
instruments. The research with the
help of many collectors and museums
has resulted in the following.
The manufacturer of the Plérodienique
is listed as Paillard & Cie.
of Ste-Croix, Switzerland, although
a single insert cylinder music box
(Seewen) is signed “G. Mermod
& Bornand, Successeurs d’Albert
Jeanrenaud” and the “Rosenberg
box” is often referred to as the only
Mermod Plérodienique. Jearenaud
was the inventor of the system but his
U.S. patent of 1882 is assigned to M.J
Paillard & Co, New York. It could also
happen that the sales agent used his
name as a trademark (for example J.
Manger).
Details and contradictions
We distinguish basically two different
types. On the one hand there
are the Plérodienique boxes with
Plérodienique No. 11025 in the collection of Peter and Jacqueline Both.
a fixed cylinder. The Museum fuer
Musikautomaten in Seewen and the
Nagamori Culture Foundation each
have an example in their collection.
The cylinder is about 42 centimeters
long with a diameter of 6.5 centimeters
and it plays six revolutions in just
under 6 minutes. On the other hand,
there are the Plérodienique music
boxes with interchangeable cylinders
in two sizes, 42 centimeters and 53.5
centimeters with a diameter of 5.5
centimeters and 6.5 centimeters,
respectively. The cases were individually
manufactured according to taste.
Probably, they were not only made in
Ste Croix, but also in England. The
exact release date of the first boxes
of this genre is by no means clear.
According to Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume,
a Plérodienique was presented at the
1862 London Industrial Exhibition. A
closer study of the sources, however,
reveals that John E.T. Clark already
wrote in his book, published in 1948,
that Messers Paillard of Ste. Croix
presented a very large and elaborate
music box with a greatly improved
cylinder exchange system in London
in 1862. It was the largest and most
complicated music box ever seen in
this country, with six telescopic interchangeable
cylinders. Clark examined
this instrument and further notes that
the cylinder was 53 centimeters long
and “The Barber of Seville” could be
heard on one and on another “Invitation
à la Valse.” Although both works
were composed long before, one
must assume that Clark was mistaken
about the date and that the whole
thing probably took place 15–20 years
later. Probably, Ord-Hume’s statement
was also based on Clark’s dating. It is
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 33
hard to imagine that all Plérodieniques
still in existence are attributed to
the period between 1880 and 1890,
implying that it took 20 years before
this type was built in larger numbers.
Paillard’s company history would also
contradict this. According to Laurent
Tissot, the Paillard brothers were
bankrupt on Apr. 3, 1861. During the
subsequent liquidation it turned out
that Marius-Justin Paillard from New
York was also involved in the bankruptcy
because of some real estate.
It was agreed to continue producing
music boxes and to establish a rescue
company called C. Paillard & Cie. in
1865. The new company flourished
not least because of Amédée Paillard’s
inventions, such as a new, simpler
exchangeable cylinder system, the
Sublime Harmonie and the so-called
revolver system. The Plérodienique
was another such new development.
In 1873, it was possible to pay back the
debts and the Paillard brothers were
rehabilitated at the court in Grandson
in 1874. Be that as it may, it is very
difficult to find reliable time sources.
Patent offices were partly established
later: France in 1792 (1900), USA in
1836, England in 1852, Germany in
1877 and Switzerland in 1888. Other
music box patents can be found from
1869 on.
Jere Ryder of the Morris Museum
recalls the following incident that
supports this thesis.
“I recall about 40 years ago,
during a visit to Guinness’ residence
by Speelklok Exec. Dir. Dr.
Jan Jaap Haspels, Jan Jaap related
to Murtogh & ourselves the story of
after having purchased their piece,
they proceeded to remove the heavy
mirror inside the lid, because the
backing material had been chafing
against the silvered side so much
so as to create heavy wear & silver
losses. As they removed the mirror,
hand fulls of old account ledger paper
fell out. To their surprise & pleasure,
they were original business debtor’s
journals, sort of an original version of
local business credit reports, a TRW of
their day. They were all from & about
London businesses & craftsmen, who
owed how much, when & to whom.
Murtogh, Jan Jaap & ourselves
looked at Murtogh’s mirror and sure
enough, there were distinct demarcation
lines of paper edges, wearing at
the mirrors rear silvered side. After
a brief discussion, we went ahead
& removed the mirror & discovered
exactly the same London debtors
journals used as packing on this
box. I seem to recall they were dated
between 1882-84, but can’t be certain.
Murtogh saved these brittle papers in
a drawer at the house, but upon his
passing they were sadly all tossed
out by contractors clearing “old stuff”
deemed unimportant.”
We have recently learned that the
papers actually still exist and have
been examined and preserved in
England with Murtogh Guinness’s
permission and will be returned to the
Morris Museum in due course.
Thanks to the long playing time of
about 6 minutes, the Plérodienique
music boxes were suitable for playing
longer pieces of music, especially
overtures, complex pieces that could
be arranged artfully. It is not surprising
that the William Tell Overture is part
of the repertoire in almost every copy.
Unfortunately for us, we have not yet
been able to make an inventory of all
the music pieces of all 18 examples.
This research is not always easy, but
thanks to colleagues, the various
museums and the internet, one can
get a lot of information within a short
time. It would be nice if readers of this
article would provide me with even
more information. By the way, there
must be two more examples. One with
a fixed cylinder, which was offered in
an auction as lot number 162.
As stated in the catalog it plays an
overture (probably Der Freischütz)
and Tales from the Vienna Woods.
According to a contemporary witness,
more than 30 years ago the movement
was separated from the case, installed
in a crystal case and sold to the Middle
East. The other specimen, the Horie
Orgel Museum Plérodienique in Chippendale
Barley twist style with seven
large cylinders (53.5 centimeters by
6.5 centimeters), was offered for sale
in 1996. Please do not hesitate to point
out any errors in my research or to
share your findings with me.
Outlook
Unfortunately, due to their complexity
and the length of the music pieces,
these music boxes are rather less
suitable for a museum tour and are
thus usually relegated to inactivity
in a quiet corner, in contrast to the
specimens in private collections.
However, the Museum of Music
Automatons in Seewen is planning
a special exhibition, “Jeu continu…
Swiss Music Boxes in a Class of their
Own” from Oct. 1, 2021 to Apr. 24,
2022, with masterpieces from its own
collections and those of other collections
in Switzerland and abroad. I am
convinced that music box lovers will
be delighted.
References
Special thanks go to the following persons
and institutions who helped with information
and thus made this article possible:
Alison Biden, Dave and Carol Beck, Raphael
Lüthi (Museum für Musikautomaten in
Seewen), Jere Ryder (Morris Museum, New
Jersey), Marieke Lefeber (Museum Speelklok,
Utrecht), Norm Dolder, Dwight Porter, Bob
Yates, Johan Goyvaerts, Michel Bourgoz, Denis
Margot, Reto Breitenmoser, Laurence Fisher,
Jean-Marc Lebout, Ralph J. Schultz, Lawrence
Crawford, Mark Yaffe, Marty Persky, Paul
Bellamy, Kyle B. Irwin (Nethercutt Collection),
David Worrall, Hana Matsuura, Bonhams NY,
Taizou Murakami, Joji Funakijo, Sachiko
Kawano, Mechanical Music, MBSGB, SFMM,
“The Musical Box” by Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume,
“Origin and Development of the Music Box” by
L.G. Jaccard 1938, “Musical Boxes, A History
and an Appreciation” by John E.T. Clark,
published in 1948, “The Curious History of
Music Boxes” by Roy Mosoriak, published in
1943, E. Paillard & Cie, S.A. “Une Entreprise
Vaudoise,” by Laurent Tissot, published in
1987.
34 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
Listing of the Plérodienique music boxes known to us
(and their repertoire, as far as known):
1. Bayernhof Plérodienique No. 21296 (Bayernhof-Museum, Pittsburgh, PA)
A large music box with three existing cylinders 53.5 pieces each and the third cylinder plays two pieces with
centimeters by 6.5 centimeters. Two cylinders play three a total playing time of 6.5 minutes per cylinder.
Of course, this music box also has an eventful history
in the U.S., which can be traced back to Lloyd Kelly
(founding member and first vice president of MBSI and
also former owner of the brand “Regina Music Box”).
In 1948 Kelly sold the movement and cylinders to a
collector in Kentucky who later resold it to the American
restorer and collector couple Carol and Dave Beck. The
Becks completely overhauled the movement and passed
it on to Norman Dolder and Bill Griffin in Florida. These
two commissioned Dwight Porter, of Porter Music Box
Co., to make a new case for the previously loose musical
movement, modeled on the box in the CIMA in Ste-Croix.
The completed music box was finally sold this year to the
Bayernhof Museum in Pittsburgh, PA (former residence
of Charlie Brown). Unfortunately for us researchers, we
do not know the music repertoire yet.
2. Beck Plérodienique No. 198829 (8833) (Private collection)
An elegant piece of
medium size inlaid
mahogany case on
table. There are eight
cylinders measuring
42 centimeters by 5.5
centimeters, which
play a total of 13
pieces. An original
melody card with the
inscription “Nouveau
Système — Ouvertures
Completes” by
P.V.F. is preserved. A
nickel-plated plate
next to the playing plate shows the following engraving:
Paillard Vaucher & Co. / Manufacturers, / Ste. Croix / & /
London. / P.V.F.
The table with curved black legs has two drawers, each
with space for four cylinders. The music box was bought
by Clarence Fabel (founding member and first treasurer
of MBSI) in 1948 in an antique store in the Georgetown
neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was later repaired
by him. After Clarence passed away, his wife, Marguerite,
sold it to Carol and Dave Beck in 1993. The repairs they
made to this machine were to clean the mechanism
(except for all the cylinders), replace one tooth and
damper the combs. They also built a safety check which
is an exact replica of the ones on Paillard music boxes.
Cyl. Program
1 Les Diamants De La Couronne, Ouverture, Auber
2 Semiramis, Ouverture, Rossini
3 Fra Diavolo, Ouverture, Auber
4 Le Barbier de Seville, Ouverture, Rossini
5 Invitation à la Valse, Weber
6 Freischütz, Ouverture, Weber& Geschichten aus dem
Wienerwald, Valse, Strauss
7 Norma, Casta Diva, Bellini & Il Travatore, Miserere,
Verdi & Pardon de Ploermel, Ombre Legere, Meyerbeer
8 Les Noces d’Olivette, Valse, Audran & Les Contes
d’Hoffmann, Barcarolle, Offenbach & Orphée aux
Enfers, Galop, Offenbach
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 35
3. Both Plérodienique No. 11025 (private collection)
Display piece in English
oak case, on carved chest of
drawers with pediment. Ten
cylinders of 42 centimeters
length and 5.5 centimeters
diameter, a total of 16 pieces
of music. No tune card available,
but the repertoire is
widely known and includes
Chopin and Liszt. The
music box was owned by
the unknown first owner in
England until the 1920s and
was sold to a Dyke family
at that time. Since 1974 the machine was no longer
playable. In Spring 2020, Belgian dealer Johan Goyvaerts
acquired the rare object. He made the musical work
playable again by a first restoration measure. By lucky
coincidence, we, Jacqueline and Peter Both, were able to
secure the rare piece for our collection. Michel Bourgoz
carried out further restoration work last summer, so that
the music box now plays perfectly again. Exceptional is
the Longue-Marche drive with four coupled spring housings.
Although made by Paillard, a plaque by J. Manger /
Geneva London decorates the inside of the lid.
Cyl. No. Program
1 11257 Les Diamants de la Couronne, Ouverture,
Auber
2 11258 Wilhelm Tell, Ouverture, Rossini
3 11259 Fra Diavolo, Ouverture, Auber
4 11260 Semiramis, Ouverture, Rossini
5 11261 Grand Valse Brillante, Chopin & Mazurka No.
5 Chopin
6 11262 La Radieuse, Valse Op. 72, Gottschalk & ???
unknown
7 11263 Rigoletto, Bella Figlia dell’Verdi & ???
unknown
8 11264 Olivette, Valse, Audran & Les Contes
d’Hoffmann, Barcarolle, Offenbach & Athalia
March, Mendelssohn
9 11265 Leonore, Ouverture No. 3, Beethoven
10 11266 Ungarische Rhapsodie No. 2, Schiller Marsch,
Meyerbeer & Liszt
4. Musée des Arts et Sciences (MAS) de Ste-Croix Plérodienique No. 104914 (exhibited at the Musée
CIMA, Ste Croix)
Imposing, curved music box table in Louis XV style.
Two existing cylinders 53.5 centimeters by 6.5 centimeters.
According to tradition it is the last Plérodienique
ever made by Paillard. The technical design with a
centrifugal governor for speed regulation suggests that
this movement was only made around 1900, which is
considerably later than the other known Plérodieniques.
Until 1960, this music box was part of the company’s own
product collection. After that, the music box went to the
local museum of Sainte-Croix (MAS). Two tune cards
with the music program of the corresponding cylinders
are available.
Cylinder 1 # 18540: Freyschutz, Ouverture, von Weber
& Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald, Valse, Strauss
Cylinder 2 # 13204 Rhaposdie Hongroise, Liszt & Hochzeitsmarsch,
Mendelssohn
36 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
5. Crawford Plérodienique No. 6999 (private collection)
Francis and Esther Crawford,
founding members of MBSI in
1949 and parents of the current
owner Lawrence, purchased this
exceptional piece in the 1940s
from Lloyd Kelly of Hannover, MA.
It has four cylinders of 42 centimeters
length and 5.5 centimeters
in diameter. This is the only Plérodienique
with a reference to an
English patent Sublime Harmonie
1874, a rather early Plérodienique
with interchangeable cylinders.
The Crawfords are collectors of
the first order who kept Jaccard’s
articles and collected many
exceptional music boxes.
6. Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Genève Plérodienique No. 18761
Music box in a very simple design, it was part of the
estate of Etienne Blyelle. Originally without a table; it
comes with five cylinders of 53.5 centimeters length and
6.5 centimeters diameter and zither.
The tune cards assign the music box the number
12230. The number 18761, on the other hand, is stamped
into a holder of the mechanism. The musical repertoire
is also nothing unusual. Something special, however, are
the recordings of Etienne. In 1994, he described how
he played two of his cylinders on the Seewen box and
vice versa to check whether the cylinders were indeed
“interchangeable”.
The five cylinders play the following 10 pieces
Cyl. No. Program
1 13202 Le Pardon de Ploermel, Ombre légère, Meyerbeer
& Il Trovatore, Choeur des forgerons,
Verdi & Il Trovatore, Stride la vampa, Verdi &
La Norma, Casta Diva, Bellini
2 16790 Les Diamants de la Couronne, Ouverture,
Auber
3 18537 Le Barbier de Seville, Ouverture, Rossini
4 18541 Valse Brillante, No. 1 Op 18, Chopin & Johns
Mazurka No. 5, Chopin
5 18763 Rigoletto, Quatuor, Verdi & Ernani, Septuor,
Verdi
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 37
7. Guinness Plérodienique No. 10277 The Murtogh D. Guinness collection of mechanical musical instruments
and automatons, Morris Museum, Morristown, NJ
Extraordinary music box table, made around 1885, in
the style of Napoleon III, with inlays in chased brass,
mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell (boulle technique) and
gilded applications. In my opinion, together with the twin
from Utrecht, the most beautiful case of a Plérodienique.
The preserved tune card from P.V.F. also points out the
constructive peculiarities of the musical work:
“Le seul Système permettant de jouer des Ouvertures
entières sans interruption” and “Nouveau Système
perfectionné. Jouant des Ouvertures completes.”
There are six cylinders of 42 centimeters length and
5.5 centimeters diameter with nine different melodies:
Cyl. Program
1 Freyschütz, Ouverture, Weber & Geschichten aus dem
Wiener Wald, Waltz, Strauss
2 Le Barbier de Seville, Ouverture, Rossini
3 Sémiramis, Ouverture, Rossini
4 Guillaume Tell, Ouverture, Rossini
5 La Norma, Cavatine, Bellini & Il Trovatore, Miserere, Verdi &
Pardon de Ploermel, Ombre légère, Meyerbeer
6 Invitation à la Valse, rondo-valse, Weber
8. Kiyosato Moeginomura Plérodienique (Kiyosato Moeginomura Museum) No. 18762
Unfortunately for me, I only know this music box from
an article that appeared in Mechanical Music in 1995,
in which the author Coulson Conn praised the Plérodienique
by Joji Funaki and Jun Natori for a cylinder with
the music of Gilbert & Sullivan. The music pieces were:
• March of the Peers from “Iolanthe”
• If You Go In trio from “Iolanthe”
• Tit Willow from “Mikado”
• I Have a Song To Sing, Oh! from “Yeomen of the
Guard
I hope to learn more soon. It must be a later copy,
since Yeomen of the Guard was not composed until 1888.
38 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
9. Nagamori Rechange Plérodienique (Nagamori Culture Foundation Collection)
This example comes on a desk / ladies’ secretary Louis
XV. It once belonged to Dr. Byron Merrick (founding
member and first president of MBSI).
Byron’s collection was sold in 1986 at Wolf’s Gallery
in Cleveland, OH. This piece was purchased by Graham
Webb for Mr. Namura in Japan. After the closure of
the Orugoru no Chiisana Hakubutsukan Museum, the
collection was sold to Shigenobu Nagamori, founder and
chairman of Nidec-Sankyo, which manufactures music
boxes, among other things. A new museum for music
boxes is planned in Kyoto and should be ready and
house the collection in 2021, which is unfortunately not
accessible at the moment.
There are six cylinders of 42 centimeters length and
5.5 centimeters diameter with nine different melodies:
Cyl. Program
1 Les Diamants de la Couronne, Overture, Auber
2 Guillaume Tell, Overture, Rossini
3 La Norma, Bellini & Il Trovatore, Miserere, Verdi & Sémiramis,
Rossini
4 Rhapsodie hongroise, Liszt & Schiller Marche, Meyerbeer
5 Les Huguenots, Bénédiction, Meyerbeer & Bahn frei, Polka,
Strauss & La Fiammina Mazurka & Petersburg Champagne
Galop
6 Olivette Valse, Audran & Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Barcarolle,
Offenbach & Athalia Marche, Mendelssohn
10. Nagamori Plérodienique with fixed cylinder (Nagamori Culture Foundation Collection)
This music box probably corresponds in type and
execution to that of Seewen: the tune card of the Pail-
lard company mentions, in addition to the designation
“Sublime Harmonie Piccolo / Système Plérodienique
jouant sans Interruption en 6 Tours,” the only piece
played by this music box is “Les Diamants de la
Couronne,” an overture by D.F.E. Auber, composed in
1841. The cylinder is not interchangeable in this work.
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 39
11. Nethercutt Plérodienique (The Nethercutt Collection, Sylmar, CA)
A beautiful specimen, the case was probably
completely rebuilt because the box was damaged in an
earthquake. We know very few details as the museum is
not very willing to give information. The restorer, David
Wells, said the complete mechanism is nickel plated.
12. Pitt Rivers Plérodienique No. 24190 (Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford)
This Plérodienique is unfortunately not accessible to
the public. The Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford, England,
is part of Oxford University and has housed its anthropological
and archaeological collection since 1884. No
wonder that mechanical music does not enjoy top priority.
The music boxes are stored in a depot and will be
moved further in the course of the reorganization of the
museum. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to have a look at
some details of this box.
According to museum staff, there are two versions of
the museum catalog that are not 100 percent consistent.
The box was acquired in 1943 (i.e. during the Second
World War) from the estate of an A.J.A. Symons; at
that time two different catalogs were kept in case one
of them was destroyed by enemy action. A separate
museum piece consists of a chest of drawers (not
matching the actual music box), which contains further
Plérodienique cylinders. It is assumed that they belong to
this mechanism. Since they are inaccessible, neither the
melodies nor the exact number are known. The number
on the ends of the cylinders that were visible seem to
correspond to the number on the end of the cylinder in Mozart, Wenzel Mueller. Indeed, when Mozart’s works
situ in the box. According to the catalogs, there could be were first catalogued by Ludwig von Koechel in the early
three or six additional cylinders to those listed on the 1860s, he was unsure of the authenticity and assigned it
tune card attached to the inside of the lid. Chilcott and to an annex in his catalogue published at the time.
Co. in Bristol, England, were the sales agents. Before
A.J.A. Symons, the music box belonged to a Colonel
Cyl. Program
H. Biden, who ordered it in Bristol and whose heirs
1 Kyrie (6 turns)
subsequently sold it to A.J.A. Symons. The case is simple
and not dissimilar to that of the Plérodienique in Geneva 2 Gloria (4 turns) & Qui Tollis (2 turns)
and Seewen. It comes with six cylinders measuring 53
3 Quoniam (4¼ turns) & Cum sancto spiritu (1¾ turns)
centimeters long and 6.5 centimeters diameter.
4 Credo (1¼ turns) & Et incarnatus est (2 turns) & Et
The tune plaque for this Plérodienique declares the
resurrexit (2¾ turns)
music on its six cylinders are arrangements of Mozart’s
12th Mass. Today, however, following detailed study and 5 Sanctus (1 turn) & Benedictus (5 turns)
research, this Mass is now considered by the musical
6 Agnus Dei (2¼ turns) & Dona nobis (3 ¾ turns)
authorities as being the work of a contemporary of
40 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
13. Rosenberg Plérodienique No. 15229 (private collection)
An exceptional piece in a carved case of solid mahogany
wood, with matching table. Cases of this kind are
automatically associated with the late Idéal Interchangeable
Music Boxes by Mermod Frères, which were very
often sold in similar cases in America. Here too, Mermod
is mentioned as the manufacturer, but this seems highly
doubtful. It is also stated that the music box was sold
around 1894 by Samuel Troll (Geneva).
There are four cylinders with a length of 53.5 centimeters
for the music box. I do not know the pieces. The
music box is owned by S. Rosenberg and once belonged
to Mark Yaffe and before him to Marty Roenigk, who
acquired it from a household liquidation.
14. Seewen Interchangeable Plérodienique 16783 (Museum für Musikautomaten, Seewen)
The museum founder and collector Heinrich
Weiss-Stauffacher acquired his large Plérodienique via
H.P. Kyburz from the English collector Jack Donovan,
ca. 1978–1980. Originally, this music box was probably
accompanied by a table with a drawer for the exchangeable
cylinders. There are two cylinders 53.6 centimeters
by 6.7 centimeters. Cylinder two contains tunes from the
opera “Dorothy by Cellier” but the music on the other
cylinders is not yet identified. The music box is listed
in the inventory of the Museum of Music Automatons
under the number MMA 71697.
15. Seewen Plérodienique fixed Cylinder 12257 (Museum für Musikautomaten, Seewen)
The Museum of Music Automatons in Seewen also
owns a beautiful simple Plérodienique with a fixed
cylinder and at the same time the only known music
box whose tune sheet states, “G. Mermod & Bornand,
Successeurs d’Albert Jeanrenaud.” The carefully
hand-labeled sheet does not give any information about
the music played. The cylinder of this music box has
the dimensions 42.1 centimeters by 6.2 centimeters and
plays two pieces at the usual six revolutions. The first
one is not yet determined, the second is the “Olivette –
Valse” from the opera “Les Noces d’Olivette von Edmond
Audran,” composed in 1879, which can be heard on
numerous Plérodieniques. It also features an artistically
chiseled Zither. The music box is listed as MMA 71696 in
the inventory of the Museum of Music Automatons.
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 41
16. Utrecht Interchangeable Plérodienique 9735 (Museum Speelklok, Utrecht)
The exterior of the case in Napoleon III style is inlaid
with boulle inlays, a technique named after André
Charles Boulle who introduced it in the first half of the
17th century. Here this technique was used on ebonized
ground by inlaying engraved brass, ivory and mother-of-
pearl. This extremely luxurious music box has a large
musical repertoire due to the many additional cylinders
that are safely stored in its drawers. There are three
versions of the tune card.
This Plérodienique was the star of the Sotheby’s
Belgravia auction on Jun. 9, 1977, and fetched a record
price of approximately 60,000 Swiss Francs (or $64,943
U.S. dollars).
At Museum Speelklok there are nine cylinders of 42
centimeters length and 5.5 centimeters diameter with 14
different pieces of music.
Cyl. Program
1 Les Diamants de la Couronne, Overture
2 Le Barbier de Séville Overture
3 Sémiramis Overture
4 Fra Diavolo Overture
5 Invitation à la Valse
6 Guillaume Tell Overture
7 1. La Norma Casta Diva; 2. Il Trovatore Miserere; 3.
Dinorah, Ombre Légère
Cyl. Program
8 1. Les Noces d’Olivette Waltz; 2. Contes d’Hoffmann
Barcarole; 3. Orphée aux Enfers Galop
9 1. Valse Brillante, Chopin 2. Mazurka, Chopin
17. Virginia Plérodienique (Virginia Musical Museum, Williamsburg, VA)
The Museum purchased the music box from an
industrialist, the founder of the first Smithfield Ham Co.,
who bought it from the fourth-generation nephew of
President James Madison. The case is very similar to the
Nagamori box. Although there is only one cylinder left,
the still existing original piece list allows us to present
all the titles.
Cyl. Program
1 Maritana, 3 Stücke, Wallace
2 Il Trovatore, 4 Stücke, Verdi
3 Erminie, 3 Stücke, Jakobowski
4 Dorothy, 3 Stücke, Cellier
5 Ungarische Rhapsodie, Liszt & Schiller, Marsch,
Meyerbeer
6 Le Barbier de Seville, Ouverture, Rossini
42 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
Museum of Music Automatons to host
Plérodienique special exhibition
Manufacturers along the Swiss
Jura arc once produced large and
exceptional music boxes, either for
exhibitions or on order. Technical
innovations made it possible to
play long pieces of music without
interruption – a novelty in those
days. The “Plérodienique” category
of music boxes, together with music
boxes featuring “hélicoïdal” and
“semi-hélicoïdal” tracking, are true
masterpieces of Swiss manufacture
that quicken the pulse of collectors
and enthusiasts around the globe. The
elegant musical furniture of the Belle
Époque offered a blend of precision
mechanics and particularly impressive
musical performance encased in
a dignified exterior.
The Museum of Music Automatons
in Seewen near Basel, Switzerland,
is the first in the world to showcase
the diversity of these rare exhibits
in a remarkable special exhibition
beginning Oct. 1, 2021 and extending
through Apr. 24, 2022.
Outstanding items from the museum’s
collection will be supplemented
by loans from private collectors and
museums in Europe. The exhibition
marks the first time some of the items
will be on public display.
An international collectors’ meeting
will be held at the Museum of Music
Automatons on Oct. 2, 2021, in partnership
with the Swiss Friends of
Mechanical Music SFMM.
The international collectors’
meeting will provide an opportunity
for visiting – and experiencing in the
presence of recognized experts – the
Museum of Music Automatons and,
in particular, the special exhibition
titled, “Jeu continu…” Rounding out
the event will be brief presentations,
talks and a glimpse of the museum’s
extensive collection.
A program, information and registration
for the collectors’ meeting
in Seewen can be found at www.
musikautomaten.ch or request
information by email from musikautomaten@
bak.admin.ch
Detail of a large « Plérodienique » musical box, C. Paillard & Cie., Sainte-Croix c.
1890MMA-71697 (© Seewen Museum of Music Automatons)
Large musical box on matching table with interchangeable
cylinders for continuous playing
(semi-hélicoïdal system). François Conchon,
Geneva c. 1894MMA-97706 (© Seewen Museum of
Music Automatons).
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 43
Organilleros
The Organ Grinders of Mexico
By Dr. Robert Penna, Ph.D
magine you are on vacation and decide to travel
outside the United States. As you wander the
streets in this foreign land, you note how different
things are from your hometown. Few signs are
written in English and passersby are speaking in
a language you recognize but cannot understand.
As you follow the map graciously provided by
your hotel clerk, you walk the labyrinth streets
to each historic location in the old town when
suddenly you hear the high-pitched sounds of an
out-of-tune street organ. More interested in seeing
and hearing this instrument, you delay your visit
to yet another cathedral and follow the sounds.
An organillero plays for passing crowds at a tourist
attraction in Mexico City. Photo by Marco Antonio
Gómez/Flickr
Organilleros ply their trade on the
streets of Mexico City. Above,
Photo by Israel Gonzalez/Flickr. Right,
Photo by Organilleros de Mexico/
Facebook.
There in the plaza directly across
from a venerable old church stands
a uniformed man patiently grinding
away at a barrel organ. Certainly, this
must be Europe, the birthplace of
player street organs and pianos, but
no, this is Mexico City.
Wearing an official cap and dressed
in a beige uniform with a Mexican flag
emblazoned on his chest and a red
silhouette of a bullfighter on his back,
the organillero patiently turns a crank
as the crowds walk around him. Few
seem to stop and even fewer toss him
a coin or two for his efforts. Once quite
popular, Mexico City’s organ grinders
are no longer in vogue and almost
certainly only tolerated by the public.
At the end of the 19th century, most
barrel organs in Mexico were imported
from Germany and were an instant hit
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 45
An organillera walks home, instrument slung across her back after a days work.
Photo by Organilleros de Mexico/Facebook
with the wealthy. Often used for entertainment
at private parties, they were
looked upon as the height of fashion.
As time progressed, the barrel organ
music became prized by the general
public as well. Organ grinders made
their way through the streets and were
welcomed by all.1
Many believe that the first barrel
organs arrived when European
circuses came to entertain in Mexico.2
Others believe the first organs were
a gift from the German government
to Mexican president Porfirio Diaz
who held office from 1876–1911.
Later, many instruments were made
in Central and South America.3 At
first, these organs were handed out as
bonuses to reward political favorites
and, perhaps later, to veterans who
had suffered the loss of a limb.
One of the earliest examples of
veterans gaining barrel organs is noted
by Alexander Buchner. He explained
that often barrel organs were given to
amputee veterans so they could earn a
living. This practice appeared as early
as the Seven Years War (1756–1763)
and was especially encouraged in the
German-speaking regions of Europe.
Empress Maria Theresa of Austria
was the first to authorize permits to
crank a Leierkasten (barrel organ) in
public. In 1810, Prussia copied Austria
and issued permits as well.4 American
Union veterans of the Civil War who
had suffered the loss of limbs sometimes
received barrel organs from
church and civic groups to help them
support themselves.5
In the United States, the practice
of organ grinders disappeared almost
entirely as politicians helped pass laws
outlawing their use. The most famous
of these bans was passed by New York
City Mayor Fiorello Henry LaGuardia
who dismissed them as public
nuisances.6 One of his reasons for
the ban was that the playing of these
instruments endangered children by
placing them close to automobile traffic.
He also argued that organ grinders
encouraged begging, and, as the vast
majority of the organ grinders in
New York were Italian, they were the
pawns of Mafia gangsters who rented
them their instruments and locations.7
In Mexico, the practice of organ
grinders had been held in esteem until
fairly recent days. Many of the younger
people fail to see the heritage of and
craft in the organ grinder’s work.
Money formerly given them is now
provided to street acts such as mimes,
musicians, superhero costumed characters
and street acrobats. Not so long
ago, however, the organ grinders of
Mexico were a respected part of the
culture actually receiving government
health and housing benefits.8 Unfortunately
for their ilk, this was one of
the first perks taken from them. Yet,
Above: An organillero is ignored by
most of the crowd around him. Photo by
Eduardo Meza Soto/Flickr
even today, they remain licensed and
unionized.
The decline in donations and
government support has had a negative
impact on the organilleros. In the
past, grinding was a respected occupation,
one that would be a lifelong
vocation and would see instruments
and even locations handed down
through a family. Organilleros often
worked in pairs; while one played a
46 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
Right: An organillero seeks tips from
passersby on the street. Photo by
Eduardo Meza Soto/Flickr
barrel organ, the other would solicit
donations or tend to a merrily dressed
monkey. Nowadays, the organilleros
struggle to make a living. The cost of
repair of the instruments has become
high and many cannot afford the basic
maintenance. This is why the organ
sounds one hears on the streets are
often much out of tune and also a
reason why so many instruments are
no longer owned outright but merely
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 47
rented.
At first the barrel organs played
European music, mostly waltzes
and operatic overtures, but over the
years, Mexican tunes became the
norm. Songs such as “Cielito Lindo”
and “Volver, Volver” were demanded
by the public. And, of course, the
organilleros complied. One waltz
which is a perennial favorite and will
be instantly recognized by most with
different titles is “Sobre las Olas,”
written in 1888 by Juventino Rosas. It
can be heard played on a poorly tuned
barrel organ at https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=mAry89RLvVA and on a
restored German organ at https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=9R9I_Oop9Ds.
Many do not realize the pride in
their work felt by these grinders.
They work in hot weather carrying a
heavy instrument and constantly turn
the lever in rhythm appropriate to the
song. No matter how tired or heated
they get, the grinding must remain
consistent.
One local critic of the organilleros
complained that the songs are
endlessly repeated, out of tune, and
dated. He expressed the opinion
that the noises they make should be
banned by the government. Yet many,
especially older citizens, love the
nostalgic atmosphere they create and
praise the grinders’ hard work.9
Reports indicate that there are
fake organ grinders sneaking into the
profession. These are frowned upon
by the professionals. These imposters
carry empty organ cases with a CD
A uniformed organillero plays with his hat out for tips in Mexico City. Photo by
Angélica Portales/Flickr. Facing page, Photo by Alfredo Peñaloza/Flickr
Footnotes:
1 Cocking, Lauren. “Meet Mexico
City’s Street Organ Grinders,” Culture
Trip, June 7, 2017. https://theculturetrip.
com/north-america/mexico/articles/
meet-mexico-citys-street-organ-grinders/
2 “Mexico City’s Organ Grinders Defying
the Changing Times, Keep on Playing”, EFE
News, April 1, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=vsJRz-HuPpo
3 Cocking, Lauren. “Meet Mexico
City’s Street Organ Grinders,” Culture
Trip, June 7, 2017. https://theculturetrip.
com/north-america/mexico/articles/
meet-mexico-citys-street-organ-grinders/
player inside. They merely mimic the
actions of the true organilleros.
Fortunately for these true grinders,
during the late 1990s and the early
2000s, the Mexico City Government
launched a project to restore the
4 Buchner, Alexander 1959. Mechanical
Musical Instruments, translated by Iris
Urwin. London: Batchworth.
5 Penna, Robert “The Barrel Organ and the
Disabled Civil War Veteran,” MBSI Journal,
Musical Box Society International Journal,
May/June 2018
6 Penna, Robert “Organ Grinders, the Mayor
and Cartoons of the 1930’s,” MBSI Journal,
Musical Box Society International, January/
February 2018
7 Yavner, Louise “Why La Guardia Put an
End to Organ Grinding,” letter to the editor
of The New York Times, January 5, 1982. Ms.
historic city center. The plan also
called for preserving the organ grinders
as an institution. Perhaps there
is hope that this fascinating piece of
culture will continue to endure for
both locals and foreign visitors.
Yavner was the president of the La Guardia
Centennial and his former Commissioner of
Investigation.
8 Markowitz, Martin “Mexico’s Organ
Grinders dwindle in Popularity,” CCTV-America
report, https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=YZlykOmm8ag
9 Ahmed, Azam, “Mexico City’s Organ
Grinders Once Beloved, Feel Shunned,” New
York Times, September 12, 2016. https://
www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/world/
americas/mexico-city-organ-grinders.
html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR3kGaH4CBmmw_
OyBbuj6LpmAlbtXOhXcNeTKJXvllnY0MbuDFPoUcHXCkQ
48 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 49
In Memoriam In Memoriam
Don Lundry – 1936-2021
By Paul Senger
I am sad to announce the passing
of National Capital Chapter member
Donald “Don” W. Lundry of Locust
Grove, VA, at home, at the age of 84 on
Sunday Feb. 14. Don loved activities
with MBSI and Automatic Musical
Instrument Collectors’ Association and
was an avid collector of music boxes
and player pianos. Don and Peggy
“Peg” Lundry were regular attendees
at chapter events, annual meetings,
and were major contributors to the
2011 MBSI Annual Meeting including
serving as a tour bus captains. Don
was always cheerful with wonderful
stories, jokes and mischiefs.
Don had been dealing with multiple
illnesses, privately at home for about a
year, with the help of doctors, in-home
health aides, hospice, and his loving
wife of 12 years, Peg.
Don’s many interests included
reading, bridge, music, and travel.
Don’s love of books and reading,
particularly science fiction, led him
to join the New York Science Fiction
Society in the early 1970s. He chaired
multiple science fiction conventions
around the world. Most recently, Don
joined the county library board as
their Member-at-Large. As a bridge
player he reached LifeTime Bridge
Master status. His travels included
a European honeymoon on a Vespa
motorbike and multiple cruises.
Over the years he worked for IBM,
General Electric, and other firms as a
software engineer and manager. Don
served his country as a U.S. Army
Reservist in the Signal Corps for
approximately 30 years achieving the
rank of colonel. He was particularly
proud of his graduation from the U.S.
Army War College.
Previously, Don was married to
Grace Campbell Lundry for 40 years
before her passing in 2003. Don is
survived by his wife Peg and his three
children, 10 grandchildren and three
sisters.
Don will return to Illinois, to his
birthplace for a private burial.
Our condolences go out to Peg and
the family.
Bus Captains Don and Peg at the 2011
Annual Meeting.
Peg and Don at the 2014 MBSI Annual
Meeting.
Andy Ware – 1943-2021
It is with great sadness that we friends.
report the death of long-time Sunbelt After owning and operating a phar-
Chapter member Andy Ware. macy in California and a wholesale
Andy and Frances made the long greenhouse in Florida, Andy and Fran-
trek from Boerne, FL, to almost every ces retired to Boerne, where Andy had
Sunbelt meeting. He will certainly be space and time to pursue his hobbies
missed. of mechanical musical instruments,
Our thoughts and prayers are with plants, antique clocks and Model T
Frances and the rest of his family and Fords.
Frances and Andy Ware at a 2020
Sunbelt Chapter meeting.
MBSI has also learned that Henry Childs has passed away. Our most sincere condolences are extended to his family.
50 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
Golden Gate Chapter
Chair: Jonathan Hoyt
Reporters: Chuck and Peggy Shoppe
Photographers: Marc Kaufman, Chuck
and Peggy Shoppe, Bob and Judy
Caletti, Alan and Mary Erb
Mar. 21, 2021 – Zoom
A small, but mighty, group of Golden
Gate Chapter members had a Zoom
chapter meeting on Sunday, Mar. 21.
We began with a discussion of the
joint Musical Box Society International/
Automatic Musical Instrument
Collectors’ Association convention set
for 2022, followed by a brief business
meeting led by Jonathan Hoyt, and
then the real fun started.
There was plenty of socializing as
we gathered together for the first time
in more than a year. The music started
with a virtual trip to Minnesota and the
viewing of a video documentary from
the Kiven Lukes collection. He shared
many pristinely-restored instruments
including a Steinway grand reproducing
piano, a Seeburg cabinet piano,
a 27-inch Regina changer, a cylinder
music box, a roller organ, and other
musical instruments in his collection.
When his collection outgrew his
house, he built a very large hall/music
room where friends could gather to
share the enthusiasm and music.
Our chapter members shared their
treasures too. Marc Kaufman played
his rare Sirion 19-inch disc shifting
upright music box. Gordon Ulrickson
played a lovely early key-wind cylinder
box. Chuck and Peggy Shoppe played
a Decap self-playing accordion and a
newly acquired 18½-inch Mira console
grand music box. We were also joined
by Alan and Mary Erb! It was the first
time many of us had seen Alan and
Mary since they moved to Nevada.
They played a large upright Regina
27-inch disc box and a small barrel
organ. Bob and Judy Caletti played a
Boogie Woogie song on their Seeburg
H with a recently added MIDI system.
All in all, it was a great meeting!
Above: Chuck and Peggy Shoppe’s
Decap accordion, alongside a Kalliope
musical box.
Left: Alan Erb plays a small barrel organ
from his collection.
(More photos on Page 52)
Closed and open views of Chuck and Peggy Shoppe’s newly-acquired 18½-inch Mira console disc box.
Marc Kaufman’s rare 19-inch Sirion
upright disc-shifting music box.
Bob Caletti with his Seeburg H, playing a Boogie Woogie tune.
52 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
Photography tips
When taking photos at your chapter meeting or other
MBSI gathering, remember these simple tips to get great
images for the rest of the membership to enjoy.
1. If someone is looking at a musical instrument, ask them
to turn and look at you while you take the picture. It’s
always better to see someone’s face rather than the
back of their head.
2. When taking a picture of a person and a musical instrument,
ask the person to step slightly to the side of the
instrument so that you can capture their face and the
instrument at the same time. It’s great to see people
enjoying wonderful instruments, but it’s even better
when the beauty of the instrument isn’t blocked by
bodies.
3. Try to get people “in action” while they are enjoying the
music. Some of the most natural smiles and enjoyable
photos happen when people aren’t aware they are being
photographed.
4. Don’t be afraid to snap a shot with your cell phone
camera. This is a great way to capture a spontaneous
photo and most cell phone cameras take photos that are
large enough to reproduce in the magazine.
Advertise in The Mart
Have some spare parts or extra rolls taking up the space
where you should be installing your next acquisition?
Ready to trade up, but need to sell one of your current
pieces first? Get the word out to other collectors by
advertising in The Mart, an effective advertising tool at an
inexpensive price.
Go online to place your advertisement at www.mbsi.org,
fill out the form below, or contact Russell Kasselman at
(253) 228-1634 to get started. You may also email advertisements
to editor@mbsi.org
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 53
* Wurlitzer Style 153 Duplex
Military Band Organ
* Cremona K * Wurlitzer Style C Decap Dance Organ
* Nicole Frères Overture Music Box
* Hupfeld Universal * Mills Violano Virtuoso
Grand Deluxe
Biedermeier Style 34 Ruth & Söhne
Fairground Organ
* Bontems Bird Cage
Automatons Weber Unika
www.dutchauctioncompany.com www.swissauctioncompany.com * Instruments marked with (*) are from the
mail: retonio@dreamfactory.ch Retonio: +41 79 5301111 Jerry Doring Collections. Located in LA.
Swiss
Music Box
with 24
Cylinders
“Trois-Corps” Bureau
with 10 cylinders
* 80-key Baby Taj Mahal
RINGBAAN NOORD 5 • TILBURG • THE NETHERLANDSSATURDAY • 19 JUNE • 2021
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• AUCTION FOR MECHANICAL MUSIC INSTRUMENTS AND AMAZING COLLECTIBLES
• FLOOR AND INTERNET BIDDING WITH LIVESTREAM
• CONSOLIDATED SHIPPING TO THE US & ASIA
• VISIT WWW.DUTCHAUCTIONCOMPANY.COM FOR MORE INFO & CATALOG ORDER
www.dutchauctioncompany.com
The Organette Book
ISBN 978-0-9557869-5-2
colour throughout;Additional Illustrations of Models; Additions to Lists of The Organette Book
ISBN 978-0-9557869-5-2
colour throughout;Additional Illustrations of Models; Additions to Lists of
The Musical Box Society of Great Britain announces the publication of two new books
Published in September 2018
100pp Hard Back ISO A4 format [8.27” × 11.70”; Profusely illustrated in
Supplement to
colour throughout with Additional Illustrations of Models, 89 Additional Lid
The Disc Musical Box Pictures Additions to Lists of Models, Patents, Tune Lists & Serial Numbers;
Combined Index of Images in the original book and its Supplement.
Compiled and Edited by
Kevin McElhone
Originally published in 2012 and still available The Disc Musical Box
ISBN 978-0-9557869-6-9
is a compendium of information about Disc Musical Boxes, their Makers and
their Music; profusely illustrated in colour throughout with Illustrations of
each Disk Musical Box Model, and with Catalogue Scans, Lists of Models,
Patents & Tune Lists.
Supplement to
Compiled and Edited by
Kevin McElhone
100pp Hard Back ISO A4 format [8.27” × 11.70”; Profusely illustrated in
Patents, Tune Lists & Tuning Scales; A New Section on Trade Cards;
Combined Index of Images in the original book and its Supplement.
The Organette Book is a compendium of information about Organettes,
their Makers and their Music. Originally published in 2000 but now out of
print although second-hand copies are occasionally available in online
auctions.
************************************************************************************************************************
For all MBSGB Publications, please refer to the Musical Box Society of Great Britain website for further details including latest
availability, discounted prices and information on how to order. -www.mbsgb.org.uk
56 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
(802) 728-9694 (802) 728-9694
Music Box Company, Inc.
We restore Swiss cylinder and disc music boxes.
• Cylinders are repinned if necessary and all worn
parts are rebuilt to original specifications or better.
• Combs are repaired and tuned. Nickel plated parts
are replated as needed.
Trust your prized music box to the finest quality
restoration available. We have been accused of over
restoring! Better over than under I say!
We will pick up your music box anywhere east of the
Mississippi River, and transport it to our shop in
Randolph, Vermont, where it will be stored in a
climate-controlled area until it’s finished and returned.
We have a complete machine shop where we build Porter
Music Boxes, more than 3,000 so far. We are unique in
the industry in that we are capable of manufacturing any
part needed to restore any music box.
See our website, www.PorterMusicBox.com, to read
letters of recommendation and browse a selection of the
finest disc boxes currently being manufactured anywhere
in the world. We have twin disc models, single disc
models with 121/4” or15 1/ “ discs, and table models with
beautiful cabinets created for us in Italy. Also we can
occasions.
P.O Box 424
Randolph, VT 05060
support.
Call (802) 728-9694 or
email maryP@portermusicbox.com
We’re getting our vaccine shots.
We’ve made our plans.
It’s time to make yours!
Fantastic
Collection
Tours
Don’t miss an opportunity to see the Southeast’s premier
collections of mechanical music. This is a once-in-a-lifetime
chance to see and hear these marvelous instruments, live and
in person. These are each “must see” collections.
Amazing instruments! Workshops! The Mart!
Entertainment! Ice Cream Social!
International experts! Local “open houses”
This is going to be a
GREAT convention!
Aug. 30 Sept.
4, 2021
pianos ever made), and the 1876 Dufner Barrel orchestrion with
nine barrels that is one of only three known Dufner instruments.
Also see and hear his replica Seeburg KT Special nickelodeon,
one of about 60 he manufactured in the 1980s! Tour his work-
shop and a display of mechanical music, automata and opera
Registration forms for this meeting will be
in the May/June issue of Mechanical Music.
Fort Myers, Florida
We’re getting our vaccine shots.
We’ve made our plans.
It’s time to make yours!
Fantastic
Collection
Tours
Don’t miss an opportunity to see the Southeast’s premier
collections of mechanical music. This is a once-in-a-lifetime
chance to see and hear these marvelous instruments, live and
in person. These are each “must see” collections.
Amazing instruments! Workshops! The Mart!
Entertainment! Ice Cream Social!
International experts! Local “open houses”
This is going to be a
GREAT convention!
Aug. 30 Sept.
4, 2021
pianos ever made), and the 1876 Dufner Barrel orchestrion with
nine barrels that is one of only three known Dufner instruments.
Also see and hear his replica Seeburg KT Special nickelodeon,
one of about 60 he manufactured in the 1980s! Tour his work-
shop and a display of mechanical music, automata and opera
Registration forms for this meeting will be
in the May/June issue of Mechanical Music.
Fort Myers, Florida
The JANCKO Collections
Joel and Pam Jancko’s “Backyard Museum” features a group
of buildings each with a magical display of Americana from
the Civil War through WWI. The Barn is where you will see
and hear a wide variety of automatic musical instruments,
including an Imhof & Mukle, Seeburg H, Wurlitzer CX, Double
Mills Violano, Cremona K, Weber Unica, Encore Banjo, Model
B Harp, Bruder band organ, Limonaire band organ, Bruder
monkey organ, American Photo Player and classic Mortier, as
well as a variety of cylinder and disc music boxes, organettes
and phonographs. Also walk through a service station, fire
station, bicycle shop, and cinema. In the Annex you will see
rare military artifacts (including a working Gatling gun) and
an authentic log cabin, general store, 1910 soda fountain,
game room and saloon. Outside, explore the fort. Listen to a
performance on the crown jewel of the collection – the OPUS
1616, a 3/23 Wurlitzer Theater Organ, installed in the newly
constructed dance hall.
The EDGERTON Collection
Bill Edgerton’s collection has it all -big and small. It includes
four fairground organs (Gavioli, Bruder, Limonaire and
Gasparini), a large Decap, an Ampico A piano with some
unusual music choices, several special cylinder and disc
boxes, barrel pianos and barrel organs, an Orpheus disc-playing
piano, a Piano Melodico (one of the most ornate 65-note
posters. You must see his framed artwork that smiles at you….
then it doesn’t!
The YAFFE Collection
Find a comfortable couch and enjoy Mark and Christel Ya§e’s
beautifully-appointed venue while listening to their large and
varied group of instruments, including the earliest known
Francois Nicole overture music box plus Falcone, Reymond
Nicole, F Nicole and Nicole grand format overture boxes.
Single overture boxes by Ducommon Girod, Mertert, and
Nicole and a Captains table interchangeable overture cylinder
box with 12 cylinders are on the menu. See rare and unique
automata – a drunk on the bench, a Cambodian dancer (one of
two known), a life size flute player, a Japanese mask seller and
an acrobat. Don’t forget the organs, an 84-key Mortier cafe,
112-key Mortier dance organ, 121-key DeCap dance organ plus
European orchestrions (Marenghi orchestrion, Welte style 3 in
custom case, Weber Otero, Weber violano, Weber Unika,
Popper Roland, Hupfeld universe with moving scene, Hupfeld
Helios 1/31, Phillips Paganini 3 Orchestrion), custom art case
pianos (Kanabe, Mason Hamlin and Chickering); the latest
known Hupfeld Phonolizt Violina; American nickelodeons
(Mills double violano in custom Gothic case, Encore original
(not repo) banjo, Wurlitzer, Violano, Seeburg J with bird pipes,
Nelson Wiggins 6x and 8x, Cremona J and G, Link with endless
roll). And much more!
WWW.REEDERPIANOS.COM • 517-886-9447
Specializing in the Restora on and Retail of Fine Pianos
Available Reproducing Pianos:
Chickering •Marshall & Wendall •George Steck
Mason & Hamlin •Knabe •Aeolian
»QRS & AMPICO MUSIC ROLLS«
“Where Fine Pianos
Are Reborn”
WWW.REEDERPIANOS.COM • 517-886-9447
Specializing in the Restora on and Retail of Fine Pianos
Available Reproducing Pianos:
Chickering •Marshall & Wendall •George Steck
Mason & Hamlin •Knabe •Aeolian
»QRS & AMPICO MUSIC ROLLS«
“Where Fine Pianos
Are Reborn”
4-4time.com
“I am still
delighted with
the machines
I bought from
you. Your prices
Purchasing single pieces or entire collections.
were fair, everything
was just as you
described it.”
– Joe… Baraboo, WI, April 2020
Browse our selection of music boxes,
music box disc, phonographs, cylinder
records and more on: 4-4time.com
Call / Text: 256-702-7453
Email: four.four_time@yahoo.com
Ben’s Player Piano Service
Repair and restoration of air powered mechanical music
devices of all description.
Player pianos
Reproduing pianos
Dance organs
Fairground organs
Nickelodeon pianos
Original historically
Correct techniques
And materials used
Throughout in the
Rebuilding process.
Benjamin R Gottfried
464 Dugan Road, Richfield Springs NY 13439
Bensplayerservice.com 315-858-2164
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 59
A FANTASTIC AUCTION
Antique Music Boxes, Phonographs & Related ItemsAndrew & Harriet Ellis Collection
A FANTASTIC AUCTION
Antique Music Boxes, Phonographs & Related ItemsAndrew & Harriet Ellis Collection
To be held in the Barry Expo Center, on the Barry County Fairgrounds at 1350 N. M-37 Highway,
Hastings, Michigan – 4-1/2 miles northwest of Hastings on M-37 or approx. 20 miles southeast of
Grand Rapids on Beltline/M-37 to the auction location on:
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, September 2, 3 & 4, 2021Thursday starts at 1:00 P.M. following the luncheonFriday and Saturday begin at 9:00 A.M. each dayThis collection is phenomenal and the content is
staggering. Hundreds of machines, rarity afterrarity, and multiples of desirable and sought after
examples about. As found examples acquired and
accumulated by Mr. and Mrs. Ellis over the course
of five decades, makes this an offering that any
collector, museum and investor will not want to
miss.
Regretfully, Mr. Ellis passed away on February 27at the age of 87. This collection is a tribute to his
efforts to acquire and accumulate wonderful and
desirable machines in this field, along with his wife
Harriet during their 68 year marriage.
Plan on attending this terrific event. Call for your
copy of a complete catalog with over 1,000 pictures.
Rare Edison
Class M with
5” mandrel
Rare Multiphone Banjo Model
coin operated 24 cylinder
phonograph
Symphonion Eroica triple disc music
box in the Haydn Model, an extremely
hard to find example.
Steven E. Stanton
144 South Main St., P.O. Box 146 • Vermontville, MI 49096
(517) 331-8150
Phone 517-726-0181 • Fax 517-726-0060
e-mail: stantonsauctions@sbcglobal.net Michael C. Bleisch
website: www.stantons-auctions.com (517) 231-0868
Stanton’s Auctioneers & Realtors conducting auctions throughout Michigan and across the United States since 1954.
Over 7500 sales conducted and 4,000 parcels of real estate sold at auction. Call us to discuss your sale with a firm has the
experience to properly handle the job right for you. Steven E. Stanton, (517) 331-8150, Email – stevenEstanton@gmail.com
FOR SALE
CIRCA 1990s Reuge musical movements
THE MART
never used, in original packaging, pristine
RESTORED MUSICAL BOXES Offering a condition: two 4/50 (45008 & 45079); one
variety of antique musical boxes, discs, 3/72 (37213); and one 3/144 (314403)..
orphan cylinders, reproducing piano rolls & Contact DAVID CROTHERS, at dwcboxes@
out of print books about mechanical music. me.com or 267-280-2376
BILL WINEBURGH 973-927-0484 Web:
Display Advertising Dimensions and Costs
Dimensions 1 issue 3 issues* 6 issues*
Back Cover 8.75” x 11.25” $600 $540 $510
Inside Covers 8.75” x 11.25” $450 $405 $383
Full Page 7.25” x 9.75” $290 $261 $246
Half Page 7.25” x 4.5” $160 $144 $136
Quarter Page 3.5” x 4.5” $90 $81 $77
Eighth Page 3.5” x 2.125” $50 $45 $43
Add a 10% surcharge to the prices shown above if you are not a member of MBSI.
*Display Discounts shown above are calculated as follows:
3 consecutive ads 10% Discount
6 consecutive ads 15% Discount
ALL ADS MUST BE PREPAID
We accept VISA/MC and Paypal.
ADVERTISING DEADLINES:
The 1st day of each even month: Feb., Apr., Jun, Aug., Oct. and Dec.
Display ads may be submitted camera-ready, as PDF files, or with text and
instructions. File submission guidelines available on request.
Errors attributable to Mechanical Music, and of a significant nature, will be
corrected in the following issue without charge, upon notification.
CLASSIFIED ADS
• 47¢ per word
• ALL CAPS, italicized and bold
words: 60¢ each.
• Minimum Charge: $11 per ad.
• Limit: One ad in each category
• Format: See ads for style
• Restrictions: Ads are strictly
limited to mechanical musical
instruments and related items and
services
• MBSI member’s name must
appear in ad
• Non-members may advertise at the
rates listed plus a 10% surcharge
PLEASE NOTE:
The first two words (or more
at your choice) and the member’s
name will be printed in all caps/bold
and charged at 60¢ per word.
Mechanical Music
Mechanical Music is mailed to all
members at the beginning of every
odd month — January, March, May,
July, September and November.
MBSI Advertising Statement
It is to be hereby understood
that the placing of advertisements
by members of the Society in this
publication does not constitute nor
shall be deemed to constitute any
endorsement or approval of the business
practices of advertisers. The
Musical Box Society International
accepts no liability in connection
with any business dealings between
members and such advertisers.
It is to be further understood that
members are to rely on their own
investigation and opinion regarding
the reputation and integrity of
advertisers in conducting such business
dealings with said advertisers.
antiquemusicbox.us
THE GOLDEN AGE of AUTOMATIC MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS By ART REBLITZ.
Award-winning classic that brings historical,
musical, and technical information to life
with hundreds of large, vivid color photos.
We guarantee you’ll find it to be one of the
most interesting, inspiring, informative books
you have in your library–or your money back.
Everyone has been delighted, and some
readers have ordered several copies. Get
your copy today for $99 plus S/H. MECHANICAL
MUSIC PRESS-M, 70 Wild Ammonoosuc
Rd., Woodsville, NH 03785. (603) 747-2636.
http://www.mechanicalmusicpress.com
Each One
Reach One
New Member
REGINA 151/2 MUSIC BOX. Mechanism was
professionally restored. Bought new combs
from Porter and they have been tuned and
installed. Plays as it should. New top reproduced.
Have receipts for work and parts.
$2,100.00. Call JON GULBRANDSON, at
(763) 923 5748
SYMPHONION TWIN DISCS 19 sets of 11
7/8” discs for Symphonion table model twin
disc machine. $600.00. Regina 20 3/4” discs
in good to fair condition. Lot of 12 discs,
$300.00. Contact ART MUELLER, at amuellerjr@
verizon.net or (410) 564-8987.
MILLS VIOLANO – Seriously consider this
SUBMIT ADS TO:
MBSI Ads
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
(253) 228-1634
Email: editor@mbsi.org
62 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
one! Choice playing condition, sounds great,
holds tune well, looks great, roll library.
Price reduced to sell, $18,950: CARL FREI
CONCERT FAIR ORGAN, plays Gavioli G4
scale arrangements by Carl Frei, Prinsen, Van
Boxtel, Gustav Bruder. 1600 meters of books
alone valued at $30M+ including overtures,
musicals, popular, waltzes, marches. Nine
carved figures. Has been indoors for past
40 years. Big organ sound. Need to move,
so must sell. Price reduced to $99,500. Call
for more details. HERB BRABANDT (502)
425-4263, johebra3@twc.com
SEEBURG GREYHOUND Dog Race nickelodeon.
Completely restored. Excellent
condition. https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=YscJpQHTzJI Contact BILL
KAVOURAS, at deekav@aol.com or call
352-527-9390
MARVELS OF MECHANICAL MUSIC – MBSI
Video. Fascinating and beautifully-made
film which explains the origins of automatic
musical instruments, how they are collected
and preserved today, and their historic
importance, MBSI members and collections
are featured. $20 USD. Free shipping in the
continental U.S. Additional postage charges
apply for other locations. Purchase now at
www.mbsi.org
Add a photo to your ad!
You know the old saying, “A photo
is worth 1,000 words!” For $30 you
can add a photo to your ad in the
Mart.
A photo makes your ad stand out
on the page and quickly draws a
reader’s interest in the item.
Email your advertisement with
photo to editor@mbsi.org or call
(253) 228-1634 for more details.
WANTED
LOWREY OR HAMMOND ORGAN that plays
piano rolls or the player part, working or not.
These were made in the early 1980s. Contact
LES BEEBE, at (609) 654-2789.
COINOLA “X” or C-2. Also Regina 216 music
box with bells. Contact DON KROENLEIN, at
fbac@one-eleven.net or (217) 620-8650
SEEKING PLANS or measurement for a
Polyphon lower cabinet for 19.5 size disc.
Contact ROD MOORE, rodcrna4u@gmail.
com or (336) 337-1165 North Carolina
SERVICES
REPRODUCTION POLYPHON discs; Catalogs
available for 19 5/8”, 22 1/8”, and 24
1/2”. DAVID CORKRUM 5826 Roberts Ave,
Oakland, CA 94605-1156, 510-569-3110,
www.polyphonmusic.com
SAVE $’s on REUGE & THORENS MUSIC
BOX REPAIR & RESTORATION – MBSI
MEMBERS RECEIVE WHOLESALE PRICING.
40 + Years experience servicing all makes
& models of cylinder and disc music boxes,
bird boxes, bird cages, musical watches, Anri
musical figurines, et al. All work guaranteed.
We’re the only REUGE FACTORY AUTHORIZED
Parts & Repair Service Center for all of North
America. Contact: DON CAINE -The Music
Box Repair Center Unlimited, 24703 Pennsylvania
Ave., Lomita, CA 90717-1516. Phone:
(310) 534-1557 Email: MBRCU@AOL.COM.
On the Web: www.musicboxrepaircenter.com
Advertise in The Mart
Have some spare parts or extra rolls
taking up the space where you should be
installing your next acquisition?
Get the word out to other collectors by
advertising in The Mart, an effective
advertising tool at an inexpensive price.
Email your ad to editor@mbsi.org or call
(253) 228-1634 to place your ad for the
July/August 2019 issue.
Add a photo to your ad!
Photos are only $30 extra per issue.
Email editor@mbsi.org or
call (253) 228-1634 for more details.
Display Advertisers
3………. Renaissance Antiques
53…….. Music Box Restorations
53…….. Miller Organ Clock
54…….. Dreamfactory
55…….. Dreamfactory
56…….. MBSGB
56…….. American Treasure Tour
57…….. Porter Music Box Company
58…….. Southeast Chapter
59…….. Reeder Pianos
59…….. Cottone Auctions
59…….. Ben’s Player Piano Service
59…….. 4-4Time.com
60…….. Stanton Auctions
61…….. Nancy Fratti Music Boxes
67…….. Marty Persky Music Boxes
68…….. Morphy Auctions
Mechanical
Music
Directory
MeMbers,
MuseuMs,
& Dealers
2020 2021
ORDER EXTRA COPIES
The 2020-2021 Directory of Members,
Museums and Dealers is only $10 for
members. (International shipping is extra)
Call MBSI Administrator Jacque Beeman at
(417) 886-8839 or send a check to:
Musical Box Society International
P.O. Box 10196
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 63
OFFICERS, TRUSTEES & COMMITTEES of the
MUSICAL BOX SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL®
OFFICERS
President
Tom Kuehn
4 Williams Woods
Mahtomedi, MN 55115
kuehn001@umn.edu
Vice President
David Corkrum
5826 Roberts Avenue
Oakland, CA 94605
musikwerke@att.net
Recording Secretary
Linda Birkitt
PO Box 541
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693
scarletpimpernel28@yahoo.com
Treasurer
Edward Kozak
3615 North Campbell Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
kozak@seldenfox.com
TRUSTEES
Dave Calendine
Bob Caletti
Ed Cooley
Dave Corkrum
G.Wayne Finger
Matt Jaro
Tom Kuehn
Mary Ellen Myers
MBSI FUNDS
COMMITTEES
Audit
Edward Cooley, Chair, Trustee
Dave Calendine, Trustee
Matt Jaro, Trustee
Endowment Committee
Edward Kozak, Treasurer, Chair
Edward Cooley, Trustee
Dave Calendine, Trustee
B Bronson
Wayne Wolf
Executive Committee
Tom Kuehn, Chair, President
David Corkrum, Vice President
Clay Witt, Immediate Past Pres.
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee
Finance Committee
Edward Kozak, Chair, Treasurer
Wayne Wolf, Vice Chair
David Corkrum, Vice President
Edward Cooley, Trustee
Peter Both
Marketing Committee
Bob Smith, Chair
Dave Calendine, Trustee
G.Wayne Finger, Trustee
Judy Caletti
Meetings Committee
Matt Jaro, Chair, Trustee
Judy Caletti
Tom Chase
Cotton Morlock
Rich Poppe
Membership Committee
Chair, TBD
Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee,
Southeast
Linda Birkitt, Southern California
Gary Goldsmith, Snowbelt
Christine Hopwood, Golden Gate
Julie Morlock, Southeast
Rob Pollock, Mid-America
Dan Wilson, Piedmont
Gerald Yorioka, Northwest Int’l
TBD, East Coast
TBD, Great Lakes
TBD, National Capital
TBD, Sunbelt
Museum Committee
Sally Craig, Chair
Clay Witt, Immediate Past Pres.
Glenn Crater, National Capital
Ken Envall, Southern California
Julian Grace, Sunbelt
Matt Jaro, National Capital
Richard Simpson, East Coast
Museum Sub-Committees
Ohio Operations
Emery Prior
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES
Publications Back Issues:
Jacque Beeman
Regina Certificates:
B Bronson
MBSI Pins and Seals:
Jacque Beeman
Librarian:
Jerry Maler
Historian:
Bob Yates
Nominating Committee
Dan Wilson, Chair
Clay Witt, Immediate Past Pres.
Bob Caletti, Golden Gate, Trustee
Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee,
Southeast
Jonathan Hoyt, Golden Gate
Robin Biggins, Southern California
Aaron Muller, Lake Michigan
Publications Committee
Bob Caletti, Chair, Trustee
Steve Boehck
Dave Corkrum, Vice President
Christian Eric
Kathleen Eric
Terry Smythe
Publications
Sub-Committee
Website Committee
Rick Swaney, Chair
B Bronson
Don Henry
Knowles Little, Web Secretary
Special Exhibits Committee
Chair Mary Ellen Myers, Trustee,
Southeast
David Corkrum, Vice President,
Golden Gate
Donald Caine, Southern California
Jack Hostetler, Southeast
Knowles Little, National Capital
Judy Miller, Piedmont
Aaron Muller, Lake Michigan
Wayne Myers, Southeast
Rick Swaney, Northwest Int’l
MBSI Editorial Office:
Iron Dog Media
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
editor@mbsi.org
Members can donate to these funds at any time.
Send donations to: General Fund (unrestricted)
MBSI Administrator, Endowment Fund (promotes the purposes of MBSI, restricted)
PO Box 10196, Ralph Heintz Publications Fund (special literary projects)
Springfield, MO 65808-0196. Museum Fund (supports museum operations)
All manuscripts will be subject to editorial review. Committee and the Editorial Staff. are considered to be the author’s personal opinion.
Articles submitted for publication may be edited The article will not be published with significant The author may be asked to substantiate his/her
or rejected at the discretion of the Publications changes without the author’s approval. All articles statements.
64 MECHANICAL MUSIC May/June 2021
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Date Event Location Sponsor
Aug. 30-Sept. 4, 2021 MBSI Annual Meeting Ft. Myers, FL Southeast Chapter
When will your chapter meet next? Holding a “virtual meeting?” Let us know!
Send in your information by Jun. 1, 2021, for the July/August issue.
Don’t hold your questions until the next chapter meeting. Ask them today on our FaceBook discussion group
-the Music Box Society Forum.
Please send dates for the Calendar of Events to Russell Kasselman (editor@mbsi.org)
CONTACTS
Administrator Jacque Beeman handles back issues (if available) $6;
damaged or issues not received, address changes, MBSI Directory
listing changes, credit card charge questions, book orders, status of your
membership, membership renewal, membership application, and MBSI
Membership Brochures.
P.O. Box 10196
Springfield, MO 65808-0196
Phone/Fax (417) 886-8839
jbeeman.mbsi@att.net
Traveling MBSI Display
Bill Endlein
21547 NW 154th Pl.
High Springs, FL 32643-4519
Phone (386) 454-8359
sembsi@yahoo.com
Regina Certificates: Cost $5.
B Bronson
Box 154
Dundee, MI 48131
Phone (734) 529-2087
art@d-pcomm.net
Advertising for Mechanical Music
Russell Kasselman
Iron Dog Media
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
Phone (253) 228-1634
editor@mbsi.org
CHAPTERS
Snowbelt
Chair: Tracy Tolzmann
(651) 674-5149
Dues $10 to Gary Goldsmith
17160 – 245th Avenue
Big Lake, MN 55309
Southeast
Chair: Jack Hostetler
(352) 633-1942
Dues $5 to Clay Witt
820 Del Rio Way Unit 203
Merritt Island, FL 32953
Museum Donations
Sally Craig,
2720 Old Orchard Road
Lancaster, PA 17601
Phone (717) 295-9188
rosebud441@juno.com
MBSI website
Rick Swaney,
4302 209th Avenue NE
Sammamish, WA 98074
Phone (425) 836-3586
r_swaney@msn.com
Web Secretary
Knowles Little
9109 Scott Dr.
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone (301) 762-6253
kglittle@verizon.net
CHAPTERS
East Coast
Chair: Elise Low
(203) 457-9888
Dues $5 to Roger Wiegand
281 Concord Road
Wayland, MA 01778
or pay via PayPal, send to
treasurereccmbsi@gmail.com
Golden Gate
Chair: Jonathan Hoyt
jenjenhoyt@yahoo.com
Dues $5 to Dave Corkrum
5826 Roberts Ave.
Oakland, CA 94605
Japan
Chair: Naoki Shibata
81-72986-1169
naotabibito396amb@salsa.ocn.ne.jp
Treasurer: Makiko Watanabe
makikomakiko62@yahoo.co.jp
Lake Michigan
Chair: Aaron Muller
(847) 962-2330
Dues $5 to James Huffer
7930 N. Kildare
Skokie, Illinois 60076
Mid-America
Chair: Rob Pollock
(937) 508-4984
Dues $10 to Harold Wade
4616 Boneta Road
Medina, OH 44256
National Capital
Chair: Matthew Jaro
(301) 482-2008
Dues $5 to Florie Hirsch
8917 Wooden Bridge Road
Potomac, MD 20854
Northwest International
Chair: Rick Swaney
(425) 836-3586
Dues $7.50/person to Kathy Baer
8210 Comox Road
Blaine, WA 98230
Piedmont
Temp Chair: Dan Wilson
(919) 740-6579
musicboxmac@mac.com
Dues $10 to Dan Wilson
4804 Latimer Road
Raleigh, NC. 276099
Southern California
Chair: Robin Biggins
(310) 377-1472
Dues $10 to Diane Lloyd
1201 Edgeview Drive
Cowan Hgts, CA 92705
Sunbelt
Chair: Ray Dickey
(713) 467-0349
Dues $10 to Diane Caudill
4585 Felder Road
Washington, TX 77880
Copyright 2021 the Musical Box Society International, all rights reserved. Permission to reproduce by any means, in whole or in part, must be obtained in writing
from the MBSI Executive Committee and the Editor. Mechanical Music is published in the even months. ISSN 1045-795X
May/June 2021 MECHANICAL MUSIC 65
HALF PAGE
HORIZONTAL
7.25” x 4.5”
QUARTER
PAGE
3.5” x 4.5”
EIGHTH
PAGE
3.5” x 2.125”
Mechanical Music
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 63, No. 3 May/June 2017
Mechanical Music
Journal of the Musical Box Society International
Devoted to All Automatic Musical Instruments
Volume 63, No. 1 January/February 2017
DISPLAY ADVERTISING DIMENSIONS & PER ISSUE COSTS
Dimensions 1 issue 2-3 issues 4-6 issues
Back Cover 8.75” x 11.25” $600 $540 $510
Inside Covers 8.75” x 11.25” $450 $405 $383
Full Page 7.25” x 9.75” $290 $261 $247
Half Page 7.25” x 4.5” $160 $144 $136
Quarter Page 3.5” x 4.5” $90 $81 $77
Eighth Page 3.5” x 2.125” $50 $45 $43
Non-members pay a 10% surcharge on the above rates
Display Discounts shown above are calculated as follows:
3 consecutive ads 10% Discount
6 consecutive ads 15% Discount
FULL PAGE
8.75” X 11.25”
(0.5” bleed)
7.25” x 9.75”
(live area)
PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
ISSUE NAME ADS DUE DELIVERED ON
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May/June April 1 May 1
July/August June 1 July 1
September/October August 1 September 1
November/December October 1 November 1
Mechanical Music is printed on 70 lb gloss
paper, with a 100 lb gloss cover, saddle-
stitched. Trim size is 8.25” x 10.75”.
Artwork is accepted in the following formats:
PDF, PSD, AI, EPS, TIF. All images
and colors should be CMYK or Grayscale
and all fonts should be embedded or
converted to outlines. Images should be a
minimum of 300 dpi resolution.
Email fi les to:
mbsi@irondogmedia.com
USPS or Fed Ex to:
Iron Dog Media, LLC
130 Coral Court
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
Mechanical Music is mailed to more
than 1,500 members of the Musical
Box Society International six (6) times
per year.
PRINTING & ARTWORK SPECIFICATIONS
CIRCULATION
ALL ADS MUST
BE PREPAID
The Musical Box Society International
accepts VISA, Mastercard and online
payments via PayPal.
Contact MBSI Publisher Russell Kasselman at (253) 228-1634 or editor@mbsi.org
CLASSIFIED ADS
• 47¢ per word
• ALL CAPS, italicized and
bold words: 60¢ each.
• Minimum Charge: $11.
• Limit: One ad in each
category
• Format: See ads for style
• Restrictions: Ads are strictly
limited to mechanical musical
instruments and related
items and services
7
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COIN-OCOP & MECHANICAL MUSICIN-OP & MECHANICAL MUSIC
MAY 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15, 2021
HISTORIC5DAYAUCTIONHISTORIC 5 DAY AUCTION
Featuring two 40-year collections
fresh to the market.
2000 N. READING ROAD | DENVER, PA 17517 | 877-968-8880 | INFO@MORPHYAUCTIONS.COM
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