Gallery of European Orchestrions

Gavioli Piano Quartette, the only example known of this firm’s venture in building piano orchestrions for use in cafes and other indoor locations. Although it has the appearance and mechanical design of a band organ, it includes a piano with 90 flute, violin, and cello pipes and a small triangle. The piano is installed just behind the façade, with the organ pipes behind it. This orchestrion was once displayed in Mangels’ American Museum of Public Recreation, opened in Coney Island in 1927. From there it went to Horn’s Cars of Yesterday in Sarasota (later Bellm’s), Herb Brabandt, and to the Place de la Musique Collection in 1987. It is shown in Mangels’ Museum on p. 281 of The Golden Age of Automatic Musical Instruments.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Hupfeld Model I Pan Orchestra. Hupfeld Pan orchestrions, in five basic models, were musically the most sophisticated and mechanically the most complex all-pneumatic automatic instruments ever made. The Model I contains a reproducing piano, ranks of pipes and harmonium reeds in separate swell chambers for melody, countermelody, and bass/accompaniment divisions of the music; two variable-speed tremolo mechanisms; xylophone, orchestra bells, drums and traps. It plays a music roll with 124 holes, but pneumatic couplers and extensive multiplexing mechanisms enable musical effects that would otherwise take more than 180 holes. Numerous collectors have said the Hupfeld Pan is the most musical sounding orchestrion they have ever heard. Our two-year restoration was completed and the Pan was delivered to the Krughoff Collection in 1989.	CLICK HERE or above image for more... (Photograph from ""The Golden Age of Automatic Musical Instruments;" used with permission.)

Hupfeld Model III Pan Orchestra (or Super Pan), one of the world’s most complex and musical orchestrions. We restored it over a period of several years and delivered it to its home in a Midwestern collection in 1992. It stands 11’4” high and 12’ wide, and contains 312 pipes and 98 harmonium reeds in three expression chambers; reproducing piano, xylophone, bells, percussion, and two 10-roll automatic changers.	CLICK HERE or above image for more... (Photograph from ""The Golden Age of Automatic Musical Instruments;" used with permission.)

Hupfeld Model III Pan Orchestra (or Super Pan), containing the instrumentation of the Model I Pan plus additional ranks of pipes, in a larger cabinet. It is made of original parts from a Kino Pan, additional parts rescued from another Pan, and an original Hupfeld center art glass window, all obtained by Hathaway & Bowers from Europe in the early 1970s. The cabinet was meticulously replicated from the only complete Super Pan in existence being restored at the same time for the Q. David Bowers Collection, also shown in this gallery. The initial restoration was commissioned by Dr. George and Suzie Coade. It then went to the Wilkinson Collection, and then the Sanfilippo Collection in 1983. By this time it barely played, due to exposure to extreme dryness and humidity. We completed our restoration of the internal parts in 1985. The Milhous Brothers acquired it in 1999, and sold it at auction in 2012

Hupfeld Phonoliszt-Violina, Style B, with its curved doors in front of the violins. This is an early example with the pneumatic stack under the keyboard. Later examples of both Styles A and B are taller because the stack was installed above the keyboard, making room for a larger pump.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Lösche Flute, Violin and Clarinet Pianos. It is unusual that two nearly identical orchestrions, both relatively rare in the United States, are in the shop for restoration at the same time. In this instance, one of them had some missing parts that had to be copied from the other, so the timing was fortuitous. Each has piano, mandolin attachment, and three ranks of pipes (flute, violin, and clarinet), and the one on the left also has a xylophone. We completed the restorations in 2002 and 2003.

Lösche Jazzband Orchestrion. This late keyboard style Lösche Jazzband orchestrion is pneumatically quite complicated due to its ability to play both Lösche Jazzband music rolls or Empeco (piano only) expression music rolls, which are 11¼” wide with a hole spacing of 9 per inch, and a total of 98 holes. Instrumentation consists of an expression piano with a curtain type mandolin attachment, snare drum (reiterating), bass drum (4 beaters), cymbal (3 beaters), triangle (single stroke), and wood block (single stroke). When playing Lösche Jazzband music rolls the musical arrangements are reminiscent of a 1920s dance band..	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Lösche Style 1-K orchestrion with piano, mandolin attachment, ranks of flute, violin, gamba, cello, and clarinet pipes, xylophone, drums, and backlit animated painting. Restored in 2008 for the Yaffe Collection.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Philipps Keyboard Style 3 Paganini, containing piano, several ranks of violin pipes, and reed organ. This sophisticated instrument realistically imitates the playing of a violinist with piano and/or harmonium accompaniment via special Philipps Paganini music rolls. We completed its extensive restoration for the Place de la Musique Collection in 1995, bringing this fine instrument back as close to its factory new condition as possible.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

Popper Salon Orchestra No. 1, restored in 2006. Originally used in Belgium, it was one of three acquired by Hathaway & Bowers from Eugene DeRoy in the late 1960s. From H&B’s showroom, it went to Wally Yee in Hawaii, then Klaus Fischer in Germany, and then Gerhard Bartmann for his museum in Ladenburg, Germany. It was acquired from the Bartmann estate and moved to the Place de la Musique Collection in Chicago in 2000, making it one of the more well-traveled orchestrions. The back-lighted animated painting features a Roman Villa with flaming urns.	CLICK HERE or above image for more...

European Orchestrions and Violin Players