(Catalogue image courtesy of Q. David Bowers.)

The cover for a circa 1920s era Operators Piano Company catalogue. The company started out repairing coin pianos for route operators, then, circa 1913, began building their own line of superb coin pianos, which quickly became the mainstay of the business. But by 1920 the coin piano trade was trending downward and toward small, compact cabinet pianos, while the Reproduco line was increasingly in demand by theater owners desiring to lure patrons into their silent motion picture houses, as well as by mortuaries who wanted to improve their services with the soothing and celestial beauty of the organ's ethereal tones.

(Operators Piano Company catalogue illustration.)

The Standard Reproduco Player Organ for theatre and mortuary use. Shown in a quarter sawn oak case, it has a full piano keyboard, with a 61-note organ keyboard above it. A 12-note pedalboard was offered as an option. Inside the bottom of the case is a rank of 37 Quintadena pipes (rarely metal violin pipes were installed instead of the Quintadena), and another rank with 37 open flute pipes and 12 lower stopped flute/diapason pipes. Mounted on the backside of the case is another chest that supports a 12-note rank of large stopped wooden diapason bass pipes, for a grand total of 98 pipes. Swell shutters below the keyboard provide expression to the enclosed pipework, and they are controlled by the special pedal set off to the right of the two piano pedals.

(Operators Piano Company catalogue illustration.)

Internal view of a Standard Reproduco Player Pipe Organ. Above the organ keyboard and at left is the vacuum pump. To the right side is the roll frame (virtually identical to those used in Coinola coin pianos), which plays a multi-tune music roll. Below the piano keyboard, the front rank pictured is a rare rank of metal violin pipes, although the Quintadena (a capped metal flute pipe) is found in most instruments. Behind it is the flute rank, with 12 stopped wooden flutes starting at the left (or bass) end, followed by 37 open wood flutes toward the treble end. The Standard Reproduco has a total of 98 pipes.

Note: The tracker bar in the 10-tune roll frames used for Coinola pianos and the Reproduco piano organs are identical except for one thing: On the Coinola tracker bar there is an “S” engraved above the shutoff hole #18, whereas for the Reproduco piano organs it is above hole #88, the shutoff position for an “OS” or "NOS" roll.

(Operators Piano Company catalogue illustration.)

Rear view of the Standard Reproduco Player Pipe Organ with blower unit attached. Here the 12 large stopped wood diapason pipes attached to the backside of the piano can be seen. The blower, housed in a soundproof cabinet and shown at the far right, supplies wind-pressure to sound the pipework.

(Photograph courtesy of the Stevens Mortuary, Altoona, Pennsylvania.)

Standard Reproduco Player Pipe Organ #282965, and its attention getting gallery of display pipes. This is a pristine example of a Standard Reproduco Mortuary Organ, in a walnut veneered case, with a decorative top gallery of beautiful show pipes, and that is still in its original location—The Stevens Mortuary, 1421 8th Avenue, Altoona, Pennsylvania. The current director (as of February, 2011), Joe Stevens III, is a fifth generation funeral director and it was his great-grandfather who purchased the above pictured Reproduco player organ for the Stevens Mortuary.

(Catalogue image courtesy of John Kadlec.)

New Style Reproduco Mortuary Organ (Organ Only). The catalogue states: "Gothic Design particularly suitable to and in keeping with usual fitments of Funeral Home or Chapel." This Reproduco model has the same 98-pipe configuration as do the regular piano-based Standard Reproduco Mortuary Organs, and plays the small "OS" (sometimes called "M" rolls for mortuary use) and "NOS" music rolls wound on player-piano type flanged spools.

(Catalogue image courtesy of Art Reblitz.)

Catalogue illustration of a Reproduco Cabinet Style Player Organ. The photograph of this cabinet-style Operators instrument is from the “Coinola Portfolio” reprinted in the 1960s by The Vestal Press. The pipework is similar to that found in a Standard Reproduco Player (piano-based) Organ—minus the piano. In the bottom part of the organ there is a rank of 37 quintadena pipes and behind it a row of 49 wood pipes consisting of 17 stopped diapasons and to their right 32 open flute pipes (a slight difference from the usual 12 diapasons and 37 open flutes). On the back of the case is a rank of 12 large stopped wood diapason pipes. It plays regular OS and NOS rolls. The late Dave Junchen reportedly saw an example in the Haning & White Collection, circa 1966, and said it had pipes only, and played Unified Reproduco rolls. This suggests that other variations of the cabinet style Reproduco may exist. The casework bears some resemblance to that of the Coinola SO orchestrion, but is smaller. At the very top center of the case is a brass Reproduco nameplate, identical to and common on all other Reproduco player organs.

(Catalogue image courtesy of Richard Lokemoen.)

Late Reproduco Cabinet Style Player Organ #0527. The pipework is as described in the previous caption. The organ is equipped with a standard 10-tune roll mechanism that can play either OS or NOS rolls. The front middle recessed section of the case, with the attached decorative pipework, is an access door, that, when opened, reveals the vacuum pump and roll frame shelf in the upper part of the cabinet, and all but the largest pipework in the lower part. Swell shutters mounted on the backside of the front access door provides expression to the music. Installed between the pump and roll frame is an Operators tracker bar cleaning device (Patent filed December 3, 1925; granted February 12, 1929), suggesting the organ was built circa 1925 or later.

The organ is shown sitting in a small museum associated with the Carl Eliason & Co. Inc. Lumber and Hardware store in Sayner, Wisconsin. It was found north of Antigo, Wisconsin, by Jerry Noel in the late 1970s. The old man he bought it from mentioned that it was once used in a theater in Antigo. He had it in a corner of his woodworking shop just gathering dust for many, many years. He never heard it play. After Jerry Noel's passing in 1991, it was purchased by its current owner from his widow, Blanch Noel.

(Operators Piano Company catalogue illustration.)

Reproduco Super Junior Player Pipe Organ with side-cabinet. The Super Junior was intended for theatre use. It came with a 12-note pedalboard. The simple on or off swell pedal used with the Standard Reproduco has been replaced for this model with a pedal capable of half-open and full-open swell expression. Pipework consists of 37 Quintadena, 32 open flute, 49 Viola Diapason, and 41 stopped Diapason pipes.

(Operators Piano Company catalogue illustration.)

Reproduco Super Player Pipe Organ with side-cabinet. The Super Reproduco is a more elaborate version of its Junior brother. Equipped with a 12-note pedalboard, the simple on or off swell pedal used with the Standard Reproduco has been replaced with a pedal capable of half-open and full-open swell expression. The pipework complement is 37 Quintadena, 32 open flute, 49 Vox Humana (a reed pipe), 49 Viola Diapason, and 41 stopped Diapason pipes. In addition, there was a 30-note xylophone. The pipework on the front facade of the side-cabinet is ornamental and not functional.

(Catalogue image courtesy of Dana Johnson.)

The Coinola Pipe Organ Orchestrion—Style Y. This instrument is included here because it appears to be built around a Reproduco Player Pipe Organ piano. As of this writing no specimens are known to have survived.

The flyer text states: From the upper manual the organ is played with the use of five stops. The trap drums are operated by the use of pedals at piano base board, two octaves of Regulation Orchestra bells are played from the treble end of piano, also a Mandolin attachment is played throughout the treble end of the keyboard.

The instrumentation is: Piano—Mandolin, Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Cymbal, Indian Block, Triangle and Crash Cymbal. Swell pedal for Organ, consisting of one-hundred and fifty-nine pipes, including Vox Humana. Organ has shutter swell on top. This instrument can be played by roll if so desired, giving full orchestrion with the different attachments. The organ is for solo purposes and is played manually only.

(Catalogue image courtesy of John Kadlec.)

Reproduco Unified Manual Organ. This organ, with a horseshoe console and a 30-note pedalboard, is very similar to the Reproduco Unified Mortuary Organ described below, but does not have the automatic player mechanisms and roll frame. Instead it has an added 37-note rank of Vox Humana pipes, probably mounted directly behind the upper set of swell shutters hidden behind the top ornamental grillwork, and made possible by making use of the space liberated by eliminating the automatic roll player mechanisms, A second and lower set of swell shutters are visible below the keyboards.

(Catalogue image courtesy of John Kadlec.)

Reproduco Unified Mortuary Organ. This organ features a horseshoe console, a 30-note pedalboard, and automatic player components and roll frame that plays the Unified Mortuary Organ roll wound on a player-piano flanged type spool. This console has an upper set of swell shutters for the Solo pipework mounted behind the roll mechanism, and a lower set of shutters (visible below the keyboards) for the Great Organ pipework housed in the lower part of the console, and that extends to the 12 largest stopped diapason pipes located on a separate windchest external to the console case.

(Photograph courtesy of Jim Quashnock.)

Reproduco Unified Mortuary Organ, #288711, with the console finished in white and gold. The appearance of this organ suggests theatre use, but the collection of music rolls that came with it were all Unified Mortuary Organ rolls, suggesting it was used in a mortuary. Whatever might be the case, it is thought to have originally been located in the San Diego, California, area. The 30-note pedalboard was disconnected and set aside when this picture was snapped, with only the connecting nipple stubs visible at the bottom of the console. At the right side of the console there is a wood disconnect with ten 5/32” brass nipples and one 3/8” line that would have been connected to ten chimes mounted in a very small cabinet, but the chimes cabinet is missing.

There are two swell shoes—one operates the top set of console swell shutters and the other operates the bottom shutters. The top shutters (operated by three pneumatics for soft, medium, and loud) only affect the metal Viola Diapason rank and a rank of open and stopped wood flutes situated in that upper section and behind the music roll mechanism. The bottom or lower section of the console houses all the coupling pneumatic chests, and it too has a separate set of swell shutters for pipework, also operated by three pneumatics as are the upper set of shutters. The 61 pipes in the lower section consists of 17 stopped wooden flute pipes (with largest four mitered), 32 open wood flute pipes, and a 12 metal flute pipe extension on a separate chest. The 12 large stopped (diapason) flute pipes on the chest external to the console play with this lower rank.

(Catalogue image courtesy of Jack Conway.)

Reproduco Unified Theatre Organ. The console has a set of swell shutters visible below the two keyboards, and behind it is a rank of 37 Quintadena pipes, 25 Tibia Clausa (large scale wooden stopped flute pipes), and 24 open wooden flute pipes. The side-cabinet contains two 73-note ranks, the front one being a metal Viola Diapason, and the rear rank being an open metal flute. This organ plays the Unified Reproduco Organ Music roll, wound on a 2-1/2" cardboard core for use with interchangeable metal flanged spools. Of the two swell shoes, one operates the swell shutters on the console, the other on the front (behind the decorative wooden grillwork) of the side-cabinet.

(Photograph courtesy of Jack Conway.)

Reproduco Unified Theatre Organ, #283561. The case for this organ is mahogany. The roll mechanism above the keyboards plays the Unified Reproduco Organ Music roll, wound on a 2-1/2" cardboard core for use with interchangeable metal flanged spools. Behind the swell shutters located below the keyboards are what appear to the eye to be three ranks of pipes. The front rank consists of 25 Tibia Clausa (large scale stopped wooden flute) pipes, and to their right are 24 open wooden flutes. The second or middle rank consists of 37 Quintadena pipes, and the third or rear rank is made up of 12 Tibia Clausa pipes of lower pitch than the Tibia Clausa in the front rank. These three ranks comprise all of the pipework within the confines of the console case. There are two 73-note ranks in the side-cabinet, and 12 large stopped diapason pipes oriented horizontally on the backside of the side-cabinet.

(Photograph courtesy of Jack Conway.)

Side Cabinet for the above pictured Reproduco Unified Theatre Organ. Inside are two 73-note ranks of pipes, each rank divided or staggered into two rows. The front rank is a metal Viola Diapason; the rear rank is an open metal flute. A large set of swell shutters sit behind and are integral with the decorative wooden grillwork facade. On the backside of the side-cabinet is a horizontally arranged set of 12 large stopped wood diapason pipes.