Gallery of American Orchestrions and Coin Pianos

Coinola Style X Orchestrion. Introduced in 1914, it became the best-selling orchestrion made by the Operators Piano Company over a period of about 15 years. The X plays style “O” rolls, which have a large 78-note playing range on the piano and a solo device that turns the highest 24 piano playing notes off when the xylophone plays. Rolls were made by Operators and Clark, providing a wide variety of music played by some of the finest roll arrangers of the era. We restored this one 1993.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Cremona Style F Coin Piano, Marquette Piano Company’s first coin piano with pipes, made in 1912. The case design is similar to the shorter Cremona Style A-Art, but with taller sides and front to make room for the pipes and five art glass panels. It was the immediate predecessor of the more familiar Style G, which replaced it after about a year. (Place de la Musique Collection.)	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Cremona Style J Orchestrion, restored in 1987. The largest orchestrion in the Cremona line, this is an early example with Deagan Una-Fon bells instead of the more common xylophone, along with the usual pipes and drums. The early style “Byzantine” case has carved falcons perched on the columns, and gryphons guarding the keyboard.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Nelson-Wiggen Style 6 Orchestrion, serial number 108,850, made in 1926. This orchestrion was displayed for many years at Horn’s Cars of Yesterday and later Bellm’s Cars of Yesterday in Sarasota, Florida. We restored it for the Yaffe Collection in 2004.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Peerless Arcadian Orchestrion, very early style made in 1913 and restored in 2008. This is the oldest Arcadian orchestrion known to exist, made in St. Johnsville NY with an Engelhardt piano, 32 violin pipes, bass drum, tympani, cymbal, snare drum, two castanets, and triangle. It was originally used in Aguilar, Colorado, a state that had very strong distributors for Peerless and Wurlitzer circa 1905 through 1915, and Mills into the 1920s.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Peerless Arcadian Orchestrion in conventional early style case, made circa 1913-1914. This project was a cooperative effort by several shops: we refinished the case, restored the piano, and replicated missing parts of the player mechanism; George Carlson fabricated new parts for the spoolbox to replace the cracked pot metal parts; Dana Johnson supplied raw castings; C&G Machine in Colorado Springs machined them; and Jerry Biasella completed the original Peerless stack, drum mechanisms, and other parts.

Peerless Arcadian Orchestrion, late style, made circa 1916 and restored in 1993. More ornate than an early Arcadian, it was introduced in 1915 after Engelhardt acquired the Seybold piano factory in Elgin, Illinois, and just before Seybold’s bankruptcy. Only three are known. This example is the only orchestrion in the Place de la Musique Collection acquired from the family of its first owner, who originally used it in a tavern in Palos Hills, Illinois.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Seeburg Style G Orchestrion #18,624, made in 1913. The Seeburg G is known as America’s favorite orchestrion, containing piano, mandolin attachment, two ranks of pipes, bass & snare drums, cymbal, and triangle with automatic expression in a relatively compact case for a tall orchestrion. Style “G” rolls were made by several companies, offering a great variety of music. Many recuts are available, making it possible for an owner to have a fine library of music from the ‘teens through the roaring 20s and into the 1930s, with a few rolls of modern music also manufactured from time to time. We restored this example for the Harris Collection in 1998.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Seeburg Style H Orchestrion. Advertised as “The Masked Marvel,” the Seeburg H was the largest and most ornate keyboard-style American orchestrion. This example was made in 1922 and fully restored in 2009 for the Duckworth Collection. We’ve tuned, serviced, and repaired or restored over 100 Seeburg instruments since 1964, including 14 Style H, 22 Style G, and 5 Style J orchestrions.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Seeburg Style H Orchestrion, restored in 1977 for Gordon Lipe of Teton Village, Wyoming. It was later owned by Steve Gronowski, Jasper Sanfilippo, and is now in the Matt Jaro Collection. After Matt acquired the H, he said this: “I bought this Seeburg Style H orchestrion several years ago. It was restored in 1977 by Reblitz Restorations. It was moved 1,000 miles to my house. The piano is still stable and all the functions work flawlessly. Any restoration will last six months, but 32 years under conditions of varying humidity shows exceptional craftsmanship.” Matt Jaro, Maryland.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Seeburg Style J Orchestrion #8,846, made in 1914. With 20 art glass panels and a case veneered in Circassian walnut, it is one of the most beautiful orchestrions ever made in America. Only seven are known to exist. This example was displayed for many years at the Bale of Hay Saloon in Virginia City, Montana, and later in the Nevada City Music Hall in neighboring Nevada City, where we tuned and serviced it during the 1970s. We then completely restored it for the Yaffe Collection in 2003.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Seeburg Style J Orchestrion #11,129, originally sold in Salt Lake City circa 1916 and installed in a brothel in Buffalo, Wyoming in 1919. It was found there, still playing weakly, in 1979 by the owners of the Tarado Museum in eastern Colorado. Acquired by the Place de la Musique Collection in Illinois in 1984; we restored it in 1987.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Wurlitzer Style BX Orchestrion #16,901, one of eleven of this case style made in 1913. Wurlitzer’s distributor in Trinidad, Colorado originally sold it to a tavern there in 1913. Two years later, a bomb was thrown through the window, killing the owner. His wife and son closed the tavern and left the BX sitting unused in the same spot for nearly 60 years until antique store owner Jim Swickard purchased it in 1973. We repaired the pneumatic parts at that time, after which it was sold to a second owner who used it commercially in the San Francisco area. It was acquired by the Place de la Musique Collection in 1988, and we completed the restoration in 1989.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Wurlitzer Style CX Orchestrion #35,949, made circa 1918 and restored for a private collector in 2010. It was previously in the collection of George Murphy. Of the several cabinet styles used for the CX, this was designated “Case design No. 9” by Wurlitzer.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Wurlitzer Concert PianOrchestra, made by Phillips for Wurlitzer circa 1911-1912. Standing 11’3” high, 7’4” wide, and 4’5” deep, it is one of the largest extant orchestrions. It plays Philipps P.C. or Wurlitzer Concert PianOrchestra rolls on the piano, 314 pipes (including four ranks of bass pipes), xylophone, orchestra bells, drums and traps. It was originally sold in Los Angeles, acquired by A.C. Raney in the early 1940s, sold to Walt Disney for use in Disneyland, Anaheim in 1953, moved to Walt Disney World, Orlando circa 1972-73, and finally to a private collection in 1997. We finished a thorough restoration in 2005. A detailed history of this orchestrion may be found here in the Wurlitzer/Philipps Orchestrion history pages.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

American Orchestions and Coin Pianos