Original Catalogue Specifications:
- Philipps serial or work Nr. 9916 affixed to chassis.
- Revolver Mechanism (roll changer) Nr. ???.
- Date or date code cast into piano harp: ??????.
- Integral case and chassis format.
- 5 station upright revolver mechanisms.
- Round belt with countershaft pulley reduction for feeder (pump) crankshaft.
- Late style integrated register and trapwork chest.
- Uses Philipps Pianella P.E. music rolls.
- Tracker Scale: Pianella (P.E.)
Musical Scales:
Piano: The piano consists of 14 bichord (two strings of the same pitch) bass notes and 15 trichord (three strings of the same pitch) mid-range notes; 29 piano notes in all. The piano has its own independent 29-note compass on the tracker bar/music roll.
Mandolin Apparatus: Separate Mandolin apparatus with 17 single string musical notes, with a register controlled dampening mechanism that affects each mandolin string, with dampening normally in the default “soft” setting. The mandolin’s rotating ratchet shaft is powered by a small round leather belt, and the independent mandolin mechanism occupies its own special place to the right of the piano action, both of which make use of a special piano plate and soundboard that is musically divided into two separate sections, one for the 29-note piano, the other for the 17-note mandolin mechanism. The mandolin effect has its own independent 17-note compass on the tracker bar/music roll.
Pipework: One rank of 25 wooden violin pipes that have their own independent 25-note compass on the tracker bar/music roll, consequently the pipework has no need for an on-off register control.
Trapwork: The simple trapwork consists of the following:
- Snare drum (reiterating action)
- Bass drum.
- Crash cymbal
Notes:
- There is some uncertainty as to whether the Philipps Pianella Modell P.E. Violinen Orchester ought to be listed alongside Philipps Pianella Orchestrions or with Philipps Pianella Paganini Violin Pianos and Orchestrions. This is because the Model P.E. has mechanical characteristics suggestive of both the Pianella Orchestrions and the more expressive Pianella Paganini instruments. Adding to the confusion, the Philipps music roll labels for the Model P.E. have a “Philipps Pianella-Orchestrion” logo at label top. Nonetheless, the Modell P.E. Violinen Orchester is being associated with the Pianella Paganini type instruments simply because it is basically a much less sophisticated violin orchestra.
- The modell number for this Philipps Pianella Violinen Orchester might have originally been known as “Modell P.E. 9,” although as of this writing the "9" or some other number designation cannot be confirmed. But it is known that a later version known as the “Modell P.F. 10 Violinen Orchester” was noted in the March 1, 1929, issue of Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau on page 502. Originally Philipps music roll designations corresponded to the type of instrument, i.e., Pianella Mandolinen (P.M. music rolls), Pianella Cäecilia (P.C. music rolls), Pianella Paganini (P.P music rolls), and so on. But for the later P.E. and P.F. designated machines, and perhaps for other later machines not mentioned here, the music roll designation seems to have also been the modell number, i.e., Pianella Modell P.E. Violinen Orchester.
- The small center tapestry on the upper front of the Philipps Pianella Modell P.E. Violinen Orchester shows a happy musician playing a Mandolin while entertaining other jovial merrymakers.
- The technology in the Pianella Modell P.E. Violinen Orchester seems to be a combination of the later Philipps Pianella Mandolinen (P.M.) chests and trapwork coupled with an early keyboard style upright Paganini era roll changer and pumps using rollers running on eccentrics instead of the older and more traditional crankshaft with connector sticks.
- There are no known catalogue descriptions or articles in Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau that might help to shed much light on this rare and elusive little Philipps Pianella Modell P.E. Violinen Orchester. And, because it was introduced after imports were cut off, circa 1914, because of World War I, there is no Wurlitzer equivalent for this type of unusual mechanical music machine.
- Only two Philipps Pianella Model P.E. Violinen Orchesters are known to exist, the specimen described herein, the other in the collection of the late Siegfried Wendel, Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet, Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany.
Chronological History:
Estimated Circa 1916
Manufactured by J.D. Philipps & Son, Bockenheim, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany.
The Sales Agent plaque above the music roll access door reads: “A. Emch, Montreux.” (Montreux is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps.)
The original location for the Philipps Pianella Modell P.E. Violinen Orchester is reportedly a “community hall” in the small village of Giornico Ticino, located in the southern part of Switzerland.
Circa 1979
Walter Dahler, Bözberg, Switzerland.
Walter Dahler bought the Philipps Pianella Modell P.E. Violinen Orchester because of a small advertisement in a Zurich newspaper: “Large barrel organ with various instruments for sale.” The “large barrel organ” turned out to be the Philipps Pianella Model P.E., which was located in the small village of Giornico Ticino in the southern part of Switzerland. It stood in what was described as an “old gym,” in non-playing condition. Only a few P.E. music rolls came with it. Later on, Walter asked Maarten Van der Fluigt in Holland to arrange some new tunes.
Walter spent time researching the Modell P.E. but could never find any information about it. For a long time, he thought it might be a one-off instrument, until one day when Sigfried Wendel came to visit Walter and saw his Modell P.E., Sigfried then remarked: “I have one as well and thought that I was the only one who owned such an instrument.” This author has likewise spent considerable time searching for information in the trade journal Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau, using various key words but never found anything specifically relating to the Philipps Pianella Modell P.E.
Circa 2009, Walter Dahler sold the little Pianella Modell P.E., because he moved into a new home and the ceiling was too low to accommodate it.
Circa 2009
Fredy Künzle / Tim Trager, Illinois, U.S.A.
The Philipps Pianella Modell P.E. Violinen Orchester was brokered through Fredy Künzle and sold to Tim Trager, a dealer in mechanical music items in the United States, who then sold the instrument to Julie Johnson, West Chicago, Illinois.
Circa 2009
Julie Ann Johnson Collection, West Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
The late Julie Johnson bought the Philipps Pianella Modell P.E. Violinen Orchester from Tim Trager in early 2009.
In May of 2009, Art Reblitz took numerous photographs of the Philipps Pianella Modell P.E. during a service call for Julie's Hupfeld Pan Orchestrion newly built by Siegfried Wendel's Mechanical Music Cabinet, Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany.
Julie Ann Johnson died in March of 2011, and how and exactly when her estate sold off the automatic musical instrument collection is unknown. However, photographs of the Philipps Pianella Modell P.E., created circa January, 22, 2012, were sent to prospective buyers, one of them being Mark Yaffe. Thus, by the beginning of 2012 the estate of Julie Ann Johnson, probably working in conjunction with Tim Trager acting as a broker middleman, was actively seeking buyers for the automatic musical instrument collection.
Circa 2012
Mark Yaffe Collection, Florida, U.S.A.
During 2012, Mark Yaffe purchased the Philipps Pianella Modell P.E. Violinen Orchester from the Julie Ann Johnson estate, a sale once again facilitated by Tim Trager. The Pianella Modell P.E. was put in storage for some three years once in the possession of Mr. Yaffe, and is currently scheduled for a full restoration, which as of early 2024 has yet to occur due to a backlog of restoration work.
