Popper Salon Orchestra No. 1
Popper Salon Orchestra No. 1.
This was one of the more popular Popper orchestrion styles. It includes piano, mandolin attachment, 39 violin and cello pipes, xylophone, orchestra bells, bass drum, tympani effect, cymbal with crash cymbal effect, snare drum and triangle.
Interior of the Popper Salon Orchestra No. 1.
The lower part of the case contains a large rotary pump, a later feature than the old style pump with exposed bellows in a butterfly configuration. The downward-striking xylophone is above the music roll mechanism. The drums are equipped with effective expression mechanisms.
Xylophone in the Popper Salon Orchestra No. 1.
Looking down on the xylophone, with the piano stack below. The blue-felted rail prevents the xylophone from playing until the music calls for a xylophone part. A pneumatic then rotates the rail down out of the way, allowing the spring-loaded pneumatics to strike the bars. This was thought to be easier than turning the vacuum on and off, as in most other orchestrions.
Swell shutter controls in the Popper Salon Orchestra No. 1.
Many Popper orchestrions have a unique balanced swell shutter mechanism that can open or close the shutters to any position. Two pneumatics pull on opposite ends of the leather belt, which goes around a large wooden pulley. Holes of various lengths in the music roll cause the large pneumatics to rotate the pulley back and forth to various positions. Each large pneumatic is pneumatically connected to the small pneumatic mounted under the opposite large one. When vacuum is connected to a large pneumatic, the small one admits air into the opposite one, allowing the shutter to open or close. In this orchestrion, the top shutter is one large balanced panel. The top and sides of the cabinet are double with insulation in the space between, providing softer than normal playing when the swell is closed.
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