Mechanical Music Registry Project

The Wurlitzer Band Organ Ledgers

The Wurlitzer Band Organ Ledgers Database Project

The Wurlitzer Disposition of Instruments Manufactured Ledgers

There are two primary types of Wurlitzer Disposition of Instruments Manufactured ledgers, as follows:

1. The primary and extensive set of ledger books collectively pertaining to everything but band organs, which includes regular house pianos (of many styles), expression, and reproducing pianos (Art Apollo, Apollo Art Echo, and Recordo), and coin operated pianos and orchestrions (portions of which are available elsewhere in this Registry section).
2. A pair of relatively small ledger books especially for band organs, one for newly manufactured band organs and the other for repaired, rebuilt, and/or remodeled band organs.

Complimenting the two Band Organ Disposition of Instruments Manufactured ledgers are two other important sets of books, one by de Kleist, and the other maintained by Wurlitzer factory personnel:

• The de Kleist Journals are the accounting journals for the de Kleist Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company, the January, 1903, reorganization successor to de Kleist's former North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory.
• The so-called Wurlitzer Factory Shipping Dock Ledgers consist of three separate ledger books maintained by someone in the Wurlitzer factory, possibly at or near the shipping dock. These ledgers were periodically checked and signed off by "WHW," the initials of Walter H. Wendell, Vice-President and General Manager of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company, North Tonawanda, N.Y.

This Registry page is devoted entirely to the various Wurlitzer band organ ledgers and certain other references related to them. The primary body of Wurlitzer ledger material relating to coin operated pianos and orchestrions is dealt with elsewhere in this Registry section. But before going further it is definitely worth mentioning several people who deserve acknowledgment for the very survival of the band organ information.

Richard J. Howe, a long time Texas based collector, acquired copies of the Wurlitzer Band Organ Disposition of Instruments Manufactured and Instruments Repaired ledgers while assembling a major collection of mechanical musical instrument literature. He eventually donated part of his collection to the University of Maryland library, and the rest to the Shrine to Music at the University of South Dakota, now known as the National Music Museum.

Art Breitenbach, an Ohio based band organ enthusiast, became a key ingredient in making the band organ ledgers accessible in 2007. He was busy looking for a something like a Wurlitzer Style 146-A band organ that he could purchase, but before handing over the money he wanted some way to authenticate the instrument. Realizing that the original Wurlitzer records might do this, he set about finding them. After a period of no success, someone suggested that he contact the University of Maryland. Upon doing so he was directed to a contact person for the Howe Collection of Musical Instrument Literature in the Special Collections in Performing Arts at the University of Maryland’s Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. A small donation was mailed on October 24, 2007, and several days later, on October 31, 2007, copies of the Wurlitzer band organ ledgers were delivered to his doorstep. Happily, Mr. Breitenbach shared the copies with some band organ friends, who made them widely available in PDF format.

David Reidy, an avid collector from California, acquired the original Wurlitzer Factory Shipping Dock Ledgers several years ago. The three timeworn ledger books had passed through the hands of Ralph Tussing, a former Wurlitzer employee who continued to repair band organs for decades after Wurlitzer discontinued the business, and then through the ownership of several mechanical music collectors. Thanks to David Reidy's willingness to allow us to research these historic ledgers, we have been able to add many details to the information found in the band organ disposition ledgers, improving the accuracy of both our research and the band organ reports in this registry.

Q. David Bowers, a collector since the early 1960s, as well as an avid student of mechanical music history, in early 2009 decided to collaborate with Art Reblitz on a new book project (The Reblitz-Bowers Guide to Coin-Operated American Pianos and Orchestrions). Research for the new book led Dave Bowers to contact his friends in the Archives Department at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, for the purpose of gaining access to original Wurlitzer records, which had been donated many years earlier by the Wurlitzer Company. Of importance to the subject of band organs, Mr. Bowers was able to copy the de Kleist Journals, consisting of two books, Nos. 3 and 4, covering the year 1903 up through early 1907. These journal books document the initial 1906 band organ sales to Wurlitzer, clearly revealing the band organ's timid beginning, but one that eventually culminated with Wurlitzer being the dominant player in the band organ field here in the U.S.

The Band Organ Ledgers

(Photograph from the Golden Age of Automatic Musical Instruments by Arthur A. Reblitz; Copyright © 2001; Used with permission, all rights reserved.) Wurlitzer Style 165 Military Band Organ. This organ was shipped in June of 1921 to Nunley's carousel, Baldwin, Long Island, New York, where it remained for 60 years.

The Wurlitzer Disposition of Instruments Manufactured ledger for new band organs shows serial numbers ranging from #2847 (#17 band organ, dated 3/7/1914) to #4338 (#165 band organ, dated 6/14,1939), then with blank entries up to #4375 (#180 band organ, dated 8/14/1935), which is also the last organ to be listed in the document. In contrast, the band organ ledgers do not perfectly coincide with the so-called Wurlitzer Shipping Dock Ledgers, which consist of three separate ledger books. Curiously, in ledger book #1, an earlier band organ tally was written in (inserted with no logical reason discernible for its odd placement) right smack in the middle of the 1914 ledger pages, for which the earliest serial number is 2141 (#150 band organ, dated 1908), while the last serial number in this inserted material is 2672 (style not specified, dated December 27, 1911). The normal registry entries begin in ledger book #1 with #2673 (#125 band organ, dated January 11, 1912), and ledger book #3 ends with #4341 (#103 band organ, dated August 17, 1943).

Judging from the above it is easy to conclude that the last band organ shipped from Wurlitzer might have been in August of 1943, but determining the date of the first Wurlitzer band organ to be shipped is, to date, quite another matter. This is because early Wurlitzer generated band organ documents are either incomplete or they are missing altogether. However, some of these limitations can be overcome by referring to the de Kleist Journals. Wurlitzer was de Kleist's exclusive outlet for its line of coin operated pianos, but Wurlitzer was initially not much interested in the band organ market and appears to have made its first band organ purchase from de Kleist on September 16, 1903, followed by a second purchase on October 31, 1903. Judging from the frequency of Wurlitzer's band organ purchases it was not until 1906 that Wurlitzer began to fully engage the band organ market, and the more familiar Wurlitzer style numbers begin to emerge, supplanting the older de Kleist model terminology.

Certain differences between the different Wurlitzer band organ accountings can perhaps be partially explained in that the Disposition of Instruments Manufactured documents were "front office" productions written by non-technical people, while the so-called Wurlitzer Shipping Dock Ledgers were held and filled-in by someone more or less in the back or shipping area of the factory and who might have been more technically familiar with the organs. Dates tend to differ between the two ledger systems by a factor of two or three days, sometime more, which makes sense if you consider that shipping would occur only after the front office released an instrument for shipment, and then sent a confirming notice down to the packing and shipping area. Did release notices go to the shipping department immediately, or were they allowed to accumulate until the end of the day, or the next day? And once the packing room/shipping dock got a release did the shop ledger wait until somebody got around to dealing with it, and/or ship the organ?

So, then, what is the absolute earliest Wurlitzer band organ serial number? Who knows? Looking over the "repaired" band organ data tends to confuse this questions, because there are some numbers as low as 11 in the repair documentation. Some of these low numbers seem to clearly represent organs of another manufacture that were converted to a Wurlitzer music roll system, while others yet were likely De Kleist built organs, in turn sold by Wurlitzer. However, another layer of confusion about the numbering system arises because Wurlitzer seems to have sometimes renumbered some organs when they were repaired. But whatever the case, there is circumstantial evidence suggesting that the de Kleist band organ numbering system could have begun with a very low number, perhaps even #1, although this is only speculation at this time.

Because no known Wurlitzer ledger covers any band organ activity prior to 1908, the only recourse to understanding the earlier years, to this date, is to fall back on what has recently been learned from studying the de Kleist Journals (available elsewhere in this Registry section). Because of this absence of early Wurlitzer literature, a special database report on de Kleist band organs sold to Wurlitzer from 1903 up through 1906 has been added to supplement the regular Wurlitzer band organ reports offered below. While this does not strictly represent band organs from Wurlitzer's point of view, seeing them from the de Kleist perspective is better than no perspective at all.

This special de Kleist band organ sales/shipping report is very revealing, because it shows the beginning and evolution of Wurlitzer's interest in marketing band organs--and later actually building its own band organs after taking over the de Kleist factory in January of 1909. According to Q. David Bowers: In 1897, Eugene de Kleist met with Howard Wurlitzer in Cincinnati, Ohio, whereupon Wurlitzer evinced no interest whatsoever in barrel organs, thinking that there was little market for them, but instead urged de Kleist to build a coin-operated piano, which Wurlitzer was certain would be a marketing success. The result was the Wurlitzer Tonophone, introduced in 1898. From the aforementioned special report, it appears that Wurlitzer bought its first two military band organs for retail sales in September and October of 1903. In 1904 the company bought 9 instruments, in 1905 it purchased 12 organs, and in 1906 Wurlitzer bought some 56 organs. It is also in 1906 that some of the familiar Wurlitzer style numbers begin to emerge, supplanting the older de Kleist model numbers. It was not long thereafter that Wurlitzer became the market leader in band organ sales here in the U.S.

Transcribing the Ledgers into a New Format

The initial impetus and then the dedicated effort in transcribing the two Wurlitzer Disposition of Instruments Manufactured ledgers relating to band organs was a team effort, the combined interest, dedication, and determination of Mike Schoeppner, Jack Conway, and Matthew Caulfield. There are two Wurlitzer ledgers that made up the project, arbitrarily and simply termed: (1) Band Organ Serial Ledger, and (2) Band Organ Repairs Ledger. It all started soon after Matthew Caulfield posted copies of the Wurlitzer band organ ledgers on the Mechanical Music Digest web site. Being an engineer, Mike Schoeppner wondered, "how can these be made more useful?" The idea to finally win approval required that the ledger information be keyed-in or transcribed into an Excel spreadsheet format. Excel was chosen because not only would the organ information be easier to read and study, but useful data sorts could be easily set up. For instance, a quick sort and subtotal of the serial numbers could provide the total number of each style listed. A sort of the repair file finds every time a given organ was in the Wurlitzer factory for repairs. Moreover, Microsoft Excel was commonly available to computer users and in widespread use. This suggested that Excel was a good medium to disseminate and share the band organ information with a broad audience, whereas it was thought that a database format would be more formidable and therefore might restrict potential distribution.

Realizing the scope of the undertaking, Mike Schoeppner advertised his need for help on the Mechanical Music Digest, whereupon Jack Conway responded immediately. After waiting a few weeks for additional offers of assistance, none came, and so it was up to Mike and Jack alone to bring the ledger transcription project to fulfillment. To get the project rolling, Mike Schoeppner prepared an Excel spreadsheet grid and then forwarded a copy to Jack Conway. Each man was assigned one-half of the ledger pages. Jack Conway finished transcribing his half first and so the remaining pages were then again divided equally. Once each half of the Excel spreadsheet was completed Mike combined the two parts into one unified Excel file. Next the completed file was sent to Matthew Caulfield for proof reading against the ledger photocopies, whereby Matthew could apply his extensive historical knowledge to interpret, decipher, and sort out the nearly illegible and/or incorrect entries.

So why, considering the above, was a database format chosen by the Mechanical Music Press instead of a spreadsheet format, to further disseminate the band organ information? There seemed to be several good reasons to do so, one of them being that the Mechanical Music Press already had an extensive library of transcribed data recorded into Microsoft Access database format, and this data could easily be combined and/or joined to and with other database tables to produce enhanced studies. Going from Excel to an Access database was easy because Excel files can easily be natively imported directly into Access tables. In fact, Excel spreadsheets and Access database tables are remarkable similar in appearance, although data manipulation techniques and processes are quite different.

A further incentive was continuity, because the previously existent database library was already being extensively used to analyze and study mechanical music information in conjunction with a book project being authored by Q. David Bowers and Art Reblitz. Moreover, the Reidy ledgers, i.e., the so-called Wurlitzer factory shipping dock ledgers, had already been incorporated into a database format, although unpublished, and that go hand-in-hand with the Band Organ Disposition of Instruments Manufactured ledger. True, Excel is very malleable when it comes to analyzing data, and may be easier for some people to use than a database, but easy to read database reports can be provided that mimic the same kind of useful sorts and display of information, so choosing the database for our own internal use did not compromise the agility with which data could be manipulated, sorted, and displayed.

But there were other aspects of using a database format that were also very appealing:

• Multiple lookup tables (small, discrete, and specialized databases within the main overall database structure) can be combined and linked to the main database table so as to make data entry swift, consistent, and uniformly accurate.
• Lookup tables are in themselves a useful standalone database, and in the process of compiling numerous database categories we have developed comprehensive tables of, for instance, Wurlitzer customers, shipping destinations, instrument styles, motor statistics, and other attributes, which can be beneficially shared between various databases in a multiplicity of ways.
• Lookup tables enforce uniformity of content, making it easy for the eye to compare and follow a thread from one line item to the next.
• Intricate and easily updated database reports can be coded so that they can display a wide range of information in varied and highly informative ways, and that can also automatically adapt to more or less page data in a manner consistent with other, separate database reports.
• Reports in PDF format are easily generated and conveniently distributed, in part because of the ubiquitous and free Adobe Acrobat Reader application. This potentially puts the reports in the hands of people with very little computer experience or knowhow, or even with no appreciable computer skills at all.
• General conformity of appearance and location of pertinent information across many differing database reports.
• Printed reports can be saved, read, and shared with other people without any intervening modern technology.

The upshot of the above is this: With the permission and support of Mike Schoeppner, Jack Conway, and Matthew Caulfield their original work is being further perpetuated through importation into a database format capable of generating various downloadable reports in PDF format, which should be very suitable for widespread dissemination and study, although in a different format than originally envisioned. But there is more to this story: To further enhance the original intent, in addition to the originally compiled information, several new fields have been added to the main database table. These “extra” fields will enable viewers of this web site to submit current information regarding any particular organ that is still in existence. As such, if owners and/or collectors of band organs want to have their name recognized and/or share details of an organ’s current whereabouts, condition, and/or other pertinent details, this type of data can be combined with the original factory production information. Any such acceptable owner/collector updates will be presented along with and beneath the band organ’s fundamental ledger information.

Introducing the Transcription Team

Mike Schoeppner: Mike began his journey into mechanical music with a Stella music box in 1969, and continued with a Wurlitzer 146 Band Organ in 1982. As of 2011, a Van Steenput / Stelleman 59-key organ is under restoration in his garage. He has attended many organ rallies of the three main U.S. mechanical music groups, and Mike is currently the Treasurer of COAA. Mike does most of the mechanical restoration on his collection himself, but leaves the musical side (voicing & tuning) to someone specializing in these particular crafts.

Jack Conway: Jack’s interest began when he was just a kid, fascinated by his grandmother's Edison Diamond Disc phonograph, as well as his grandfather's Edison GEM phonograph. The GEM made Jack the star of show-and-tell in elementary school. His first automatic piano was purchased from the Hathaway & Bowers, Inc., parking lot player piano sale, with an advertisement that advised, "Bring your truck, bring your trailer." In the following years his collection grew and to this day he remains very active as a member of AMICA, MBSI, and COAA, and is a regular participant in as many band organ rallies as he can manage.

Matthew Caulfield: Many readers may already be very familiar with Matthew (formerly with the U.S. Library of Congress) through the excellent historical work he has generated in regards to Wurlitzer Band Organs, and notably his part in the Wurlitzer Band Organ Rollography, for which a link is provided in the navigation menu at left. Thus, he needs no introduction for many band organ enthusiasts. Nevertheless, his genuine ability to inspire, maintain focus and see his way through long and arduous projects, as evidenced by his outstanding work with the Band Organ Ledgers, deserves our honest admiration and sincere appreciation.

What is Included in the Database Reports

All database items are shown in the band organ reports. Band organs (or other instruments) with no serial number are shown at the bottom of the report section in which they occur.

What is Not Included

All blank ledger entries are omitted in complex grouped reports. These blank items are defined as any allotted serial numbered ledger line that is not used, i.e., empty. Thus, in the Serial Band Organ Ledger database reports wherever a consecutive serial number is missing it can be presumed to be either blank or not included within the ledgers. Although the blank lines do not show in some reports, the actual database includes spaces for these lines for possible future reference.

Notations - Serial Band Organ Ledger

Throughout the Serial Band Organ Ledgers there are sporadic references (or notations) added to a particular listed instrument. These notations often begin with one of the four "Rs," "Repaired," "Rebuilt," "Remodeled," or "Reconditioned," or none of the aforementioned, with the notation being nothing more than a date followed by the city and/or state. To say that these notations are inconsistently used, sometimes perhaps appearing to be randomly applied, and/or cryptic, may be an understatement, but an accurate description nevertheless. Moreover, they are far from being a comprehensive listing of repairs, etc., which is plainly obvious when scanning the 700 plus entries in the Repairs Ledger. Adding to any confusion as to when and why notations might be used, or not, comparing repair/rebuilt/remodel notations in the Band Organ Serial Number Ledger to the Band Organ Repairs Ledger can be a hit or miss proposition. Oftentimes there is a perfect correlation between the two band organ ledgers, but there are also occurrences where there are differences, such as the city and state being different, or there being no corresponding entry in the Band Organ Repairs Ledger at all. Are some of these notations wrong? Probably, but which ones, and in which ledger? And what about missing entries, was this simply a matter of bookkeeping oversight and/or sloppiness, or was this the result of some deliberate procedural process at Wurlitzer?

So, for now, it remains a mystery as to why there are some repair/rebuilt/remodeled notations in the Serial Number ledger that do not appear in the Repairs Ledger. Perhaps some of these missing notations (mentioned only in the Serial Number Ledger) were authorized off-site repairs that did not go through normal channels, and accordingly did not make it into the Repairs Ledger. But how can such a notion be reconciled with other repair notations that do appear in both ledgers and that could also be interpreted as off-site repairs? At this point anything proposed as to why this or why that is mere speculation. More study is needed here to understand the logic, if there is any comprehensible logic, behind the infrequent and incomplete application of repair/rebuilt notations in the Serial Number Ledger. In the meantime, however, the various notations are faithfully recorded as is, for the reader, student, and historian to continue the study and perhaps eventually understand and make sense of the inconsistencies that currently befuddle.

Notations - Band Organ Repairs Ledger

In the Band Organ Repairs Ledger there are many items with notations that show the instrument as repaired, rebuilt, remodeled, or reconditioned, but not all repairs ledger entries have any such notations. About half are unmarked. So, then, does this mean the unmarked items were not repaired, rebuilt, remodeled, or reconditioned? Well, no, but why some items are clearly marked and others are not marked at all will probably forever remain a mystery. Maybe the person keeping the ledger had a busy day and kept handwriting to a minimum. Whatever might be the case, to short circuit any budding confusion here, please do keep in mind that in the Repairs Ledger and all items listed underwent some sort of handling and/or maintenance, whether specifically stated, or not, and this probably included some combination of repairing, rebuilding, remodeling, regulating, tuning, boxing, or whatever else Wurlitzer technicians attempted to do. This is the Repairs Ledger, after all, so please do not be concerned or confused as to why certain items may be noted this way or that. However, whatever the reason behind any labeling inconsistencies, any notations encountered within the repairs ledger have been faithfully recorded in the database for each and every item, and they all show in database reports.

Sorting through all of the repair oriented notations does tend to beget one simple question: What is the difference, if there is much, between repairing, rebuilding, reconditioning, and/or remodeling an organ? It is likely that the boundaries between any definitions will be diffuse, and any one job probably crossed into another category on a regular basis. Collectors and restorers through the years have debated the shades of meaning between these terms, never coming to complete agreement. That said, what follows is a speculative guesstimate as to how the different terms might be loosely defined:

• Repairing probably applies when an instrument remains basically intact as received, both mechanically and cosmetically. The casework may be given a quick polish, and/or its mechanisms may be adjusted, regulated, or undergo minor repairs that may or may not require a few replacement parts. Tuning may be included.
• Rebuilding, as the word implies, suggests an instrument that has been damaged or is basically worn out. It may require case reconstruction and refinishing and/or the replacement of major mechanical components, along with some relatively minor repairs, and complete regulation and tuning.
• Reconditioning may be synonymous with thoroughly cleaning, regulating, and tuning an instrument that was received in exceptionally good condition.
• Remodeling very likely refers to the process of converting an organ of another make so that it approximately equates musically and mechanically to a particular Wurlitzer band organ style. This may entail altering the case and decorative façade, replacing chests, bellows, roll mechanisms, the drive system, altering pipework, retubing the entire organ, and, of course, complete regulation of actions and tuning. Converting an old barrel or cardboard book keyframe type organ to play modern paper music rolls was common practice.

Database Conversion Issues

Mike Schoeppner and Jack Conway were meticulous in noting the wording and peculiarities of each entry, detailing the line by line wording variations present in the ledgers. This level of precision is commendable, and it is indeed both interesting and valuable to the patient student and historian. The material once imported into the database has been slightly edited for consistency and any obvious spelling errors corrected, but in all instances the original intent has been preserved. Moreover, as they say, one picture is worth a thousand words, and so for anyone who desires to see exactly how a particular ledger entry was formulated there are copies available (in PDF format) of the Band Organ Serial Ledger and the Band Organ Repairs Ledger on the Mechanical Music Digest web site. To access them go to the MMD Technical Library, and under the "Wurlitzer" heading click on Wurlitzer Band Organ Factory Ledger -- by Matthew Caulfield (080212 MMDigest). As explained above, these documents were once part of the large Richard J. (Dick) Howe collection of literature relating to Automatic Musical Instruments.

During the conversion process many instances of illegible text were corrected by referring to the so-called Wurlitzer Shipping Dock Ledgers (courtesy of David Reidy). While there are some striking differences between the two sets of ledger books, there is also a very useful correspondence that allowed this author to look up and resolve some obliterated or otherwise impossible to decipher handwriting.

In notations for repairs, rebuilds, remodels, reconditioning, and reshipping the placement order of words, dates, and destinations has been edited to improve consistency and clarity. No original ledger data has been omitted. In the case of illegible characters, for which no corrective reference source is known, any such illegible characters have been substituted using the tilde "~" character.

Once all Excel spreadsheet data was imported, reconfigured, and generally formatted within the new database structure all data was again thoroughly proofed (by Matthew Caulfield and/or Terry Hathaway), checking each record against the Wurlitzer Band Organ Ledgers, and/or the Wurlitzer Factory Shipping Dock Ledgers (courtesy of David Reidy), to insure the utmost accuracy. Still, there are certainly as of yet undiscovered errors introduced during the initial transcription into electronic format, as well as during the importation and reorganization of data into the database. As such, readers are encouraged to report typos, formatting problems, and/or informational errors whenever encountered.

Updating the Database and Reporting Errors

The database is designed to additionally accommodate newly reported historical information and/or comments, as well as other pertinent information relative to a particular instrument, which, if submitted, will be considered for inclusion within the database and its published reports—every little bit more information helps.

To REPORT ERRORS and/or SUBMIT NEW SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION regarding any mentioned Wurlitzer Band Organ please send an e-mail message to and include a clear and detailed explanation.

Thank you for any assistance you may provide. If we have any questions or need further information regarding your e-mail submittal someone will contact you.

Distribution of Database Information
Last Updated on May 4, 2019

The database PDF report files require Adobe Acrobat Reader (or its equivalent) to view, use, or print their contents. The free Acrobat Reader can be downloaded from Adobe by clicking on the icon at left.

Download the current database reports as a PDF by clicking on the buttons shown below.
The Wurlitzer Band Organ Ledger Pages
79 pages.
82 pages	103 pages
The Wurlitzer Band Organ Repairs Ledger Pages
50 pages.	72 pages.
Special Band Organ Reports and Survey Reporting
127 pages.	3 pages.
8 pages.
The Wurlitzer All Sources Combined Band Organ Reports
413 pages	423 pages

All database report information is offered "as is," without any guarantee or warranty whatsoever of any kind, neither stated, implied, nor inferred, as to the accuracy, correctness, exactness, suitability, or usefulness of any content.

Credits:

Wurlitzer Disposition of Instruments Manufactured ledger for band organs compiled and put into Microsoft Excel format by Mike Schoeppner, Jack Conway, and Matthew Caulfield.

Microsoft Excel conversion to database format by Terry Hathaway; additional proofing of database contents by Matthew Caulfield and Terry Hathaway.

Graphics:

Terry Hathaway.

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