Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company Case Styles
(in the approximate order of introduction)
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company advertising illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Dance-O-Grand: "The Queen of Small-Sized Coin-Operated Instruments." Introduced in 1922, it contained three sets of organ reeds (with pipe effect), snare drum, cymbal, triangle, and tambourine, but no piano. The percussion could be shut off to allow only the reeds to play. It was advertised as being compact and of a softer tone than most automatics, suitable for places where music is desired but that does not interrupt conversation. It used a style G music roll, which was arranged for an instrument with pipework. The case is 51" high, 38" wide, and 14" deep. Dance-O-Grand production was discontinued within a year. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company advertising illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Harp-O-Grand, "A Musical Delight and Money-Making Marvel." Introduced in 1922, it played a standard 65-note style A music roll, and featured a piano with a mandolin attachment. The case was of "two-tone" veneer (using two different colors or shades of stain—lighter and darker—for decorative effect) and had no glass, and was only 50" high, 35" wide, and 19" deep. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Pian-O-Grand, style No. 1. Introduced in 1922, this keyboard style piano was equipped with a mandolin attachment and played the standard style A music roll. The case makes artistic use of two different contrasting veneers in place of art glass. The roll mechanism was above the keyboard, and the vacuum pump below. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company advertising illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Banj-O-Grand. This little cabinet piano was introduced in 1923 and played standard style A music rolls. It featured a piano and the new, patented Nelson-Wiggen banjo attachment, instead of the commonly used mandolin attachment. The case with its "two-tone" veneer design was 4' 2" high, 2' 11" wide, and 1' 7" deep. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Pian-O-Grand, style No. 2. Introduced in 1923, in addition to the piano there was a mandolin attachment and a rank of either violin or flute pipes, and it played the standard style A music roll. The case was all wood, but three art glass panels decorated with imitation pipework were available at extra cost. The art glass was merely applied to the surface of each of the three upper inset wooden panels. The roll mechanism was above the keyboard, and the combination vacuum/pressure pump below. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Pian-O-Grand, style No. 3. Introduced in June, 1923, this attractive piano came with the banjo attachment, and either a xylophone or orchestra bells. It played the standard style A music roll. This piano was fitted with three art glass panels above the keyboard, with the center one having a lyre motif. The roll mechanism and xylophone was above the keyboard, and the vacuum pump below. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Style 4. Introduced in 1925, the Style 4 contained a piano, banjo attachment, and a single stroke xylophone, playing the standard style A music roll. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Style 5 Orchestra. Introduced in 1925, this was the most elaborate of the Nelson-Wiggen orchestrions. It contained a piano, banjo attachment, violin pipes, flute pipes, bass drum with tympani effect, snare drum, cymbal, and triangle. The Style 5 could be had with either a xylophone or orchestra bells in place of one rank of pipes. It played either 4X or G music rolls. The case was 5' 10" high, 3' 10" wide, and 2' 3" deep. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Style 5X Orchestra. Introduced in 1925, instrumentation consisted of piano, banjo attachment, a single-stroke marimba (or rarely a xylophone), snare drum, and triangle. It played the style 4X (or style G) music roll. Although this illustration shows art glass, most of the style 5X pianos were fitted with clear glass panels with pleated cloth curtains behind. The case was 5' 10" high, 3' 10" wide, and 2' 3" deep. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Casino. Introduced in 1926, this compact little cabinet piano appealed to those establishments wanting a small and unobtrusive A-roll piano. It contained a piano with a banjo attachment. At the top of the case was a rectangular clear glass pane with pleated curtains behind. The case was 4' 7" high, 3' 3-1/2" wide, and 1' 11-1/2" deep. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Interior view of a Nelson-Wiggen Casino-X. The xylophone is not visible, but is mounted flat between the top of the roll mechanism and the top lid of the case. Here the top lid is tilted open to increase the volume of the instrument. In this image there are a few barely visible rubber control tubes above the roll mechanism that go up to the xylophone, but apart from this easily overlooked clue this interior view might mistakenly be seen as either a Casino or Casino-X. To the right of the roll mechanism is the ratchet wheel type coin accumulator, with the coin receptacle box underneath. In the bottom of the case is the flat belt driven rotary type vacuum pump and the electric motor. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Style 6 Orchestra. Introduced in 1926, this popular model played the style 4X (or style G) music roll. The instrumentation consisted of a piano, banjo attachment, xylophone, bass drum, snare drum, tympani effect, tambourine (not mentioned in the catalogue description), cymbal, triangle, castanets, and Indian (wood) block. This illustration shows art glass installed, but it was also available with clear glass panels with pleated cloth curtains behind. The case was 5' 10" high, 3' 10" wide, and 2' 3" deep. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Interior view of the Nelson-Wiggen Style 6 Orchestra. The 28-note xylophone and percussive trapwork are all compactly arranged in the uppermost part of the cabinet, with the xylophone at front. Below the xylophone the piano action is partially visible, with the black colored piano stack underneath and above the 10-tune roll mechanism. The coin accumulator is to the right of the roll mechanism, with the coin receptacle box underneath the roll frame shelf. In the bottom area is the rotary style vacuum pump and electric motor. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Style 6T Orchestra. Introduced in 1928, this variation of the Style 6 Orchestra has an A.B.T. target skill game accessory mounted in what was otherwise the upper right side window. This type of added amusement or arcade device was an attempt to stimulate sales during the late 1920s. Musically this model variation is no different than the regular Style 6 Orchestra. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Style 7 Full Orchestra Keyboard Piano. Introduced in 1926, this extensively instrumented keyboard style piano included a full piano with banjo attachment, a folded xylophone mounted next to the roll frame, bass drum, snare drum, tympani effect, tambourine (not mentioned in the catalogue description), cymbal, triangle, castanets, and Indian (wood) block. It played style 4X (or style G) music rolls. Above the keyboard were three panels of art glass applied to recessed areas in the upper case front. The case was 4' 7" high, 5' 2-1/2" wide, and 2' 4-1/2" deep. This style was introduced late in a market that had come to favor the more compact cabinet style pianos and so relatively few were sold. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Interior view of a Nelson-Wiggen Style 7 Full Orchestra Keyboard Piano. Visible above the keyboard is the roll mechanism, and to its left is the windmotor drive. At right is a 28-note folded xylophone (14 notes on the front side and the other 14 notes on the backside). Below the keyboard and at left is the flat belt driven rotary style vacuum pump and electric motor. At center and near right is a tambourine mounted slightly above and in front of the snare drum. To the right is the bass drum with the two tympani effect beaters. In front of the bass drum and along its top side are the triangle and castanets, and at the bottom is the cymbal with the wood block in front of the cymbal. Although the tambourine is clearly shown in the catalogue illustration, its presence was not mentioned in the catalogue list of installed instrumentation. The ratchet wheel coin magazine and coin receptacle box are to the right of the bass drum. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company advertising illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Style 8. This jaunty little coin piano had a "two-tone" veneered case and was fitted with three colorful art glass panels. The Style 8 was one of Nelson-Wiggen's most popular models. It was introduced in 1927, and was offered in several formats. Most of them consisted of a piano, banjo attachment, and a 22-note set of orchestra bells and also a 22-note xylophone, which alternately took turn playing each time the roll called for the extra instrument. A few examples were made with only piano and banjo attachment, while some were made with xylophone but no bells. However, the majority were equipped with a folded reiterating xylophone mounted on one side of the roll mechanism, and a set of folded reiterating orchestra bells on the other, playing the style A music roll, with a relatively few having only a single-stroke xylophone and that played style 4X rolls. Although two slightly different case sizes have been observed, the Style 8 was commonly stated as being 4' 7" high, 3' 3-1/2" wide, and 2' deep. |
(Nelson-Wiggen Piano Company catalogue illustration.) Nelson-Wiggen Selector-Duplex Organ. Introduced in 1927, this piano/organ featured a keyboard piano with several ranks of pipes located below the piano keyboard and behind a set of swell shutters to control the pipework volume. Another 12 bass pipes were mounted on a chest situated behind the piano soundboard. This piano/organ utilized the very wide Selector-Duplex music roll, whereby the first five tunes played from the left side of the roll when it moved forward, and the last five tunes played from the right side when the roll moved slowly backward. Advertisements stated that it "plays a 10-tune roll and is so arranged that the left side of roll may contain Classic Music and the right side Jazz, and one can switch from Classic to Jazz instantaneously. Also, travel roll in either direction at high speed in order to select any piece on roll." The exact musical specifications for this instrument are unknown. The case was described as being 4' 8" high, 5' 3" wide, and 2' 6" deep. |
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