That at least some remnant of Wurlitzer's once complete assemblage of
factory Disposition of Instruments Manufactured Ledgers survived intact has
been known for a long time, but only a few fragments of this once important
accounting information have ever made it into public view. One example of
this is the Disposition of Instruments Manufactured pages specific
to Wurlitzer band organs, a copy of which was part of the Dick Howe
collection of paper ephemera pertaining to automatic musical instruments.
This general lack of information availability may be at least partially due
to there having been no pressing reason or motive warranting anyone to go to
the trouble and monetary expense of locating and then accurately capturing
the surviving Wurlitzer ledger information in a way that made widespread
public consumption feasible. This Registry page partially rectifies this
former dearth of availability, but it came about in an unexpected albeit
fortuitous way.
In early 2009 Art Reblitz and David Bowers, both longtime friends, and
both mechanical music collectors, enthusiasts, and students of mechanical
music history, decided to collaborate on a new book project (The
Reblitz-Bowers Guide to Coin-Operated American Pianos and Orchestrions).
Research for the new volume 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 any surviving original Wurlitzer factory
records, which had been donated many years earlier by the Wurlitzer Company.
Dave discovered a treasure trove of information, some new and some old,
amongst which were several Wurlitzer ledgers amounting to disjointed
sections of what could be described as an overall Disposition of Instruments Manufactured. At the time this ledger
information was uncovered no one here at the Mechanical Music Press had any
thought or intention of compiling the data as part of a new Mechanical Music
Registry; initially it was primarily intended to augment Mr. Bowers' already
extensive knowledge of mechanical music history.
Upon Dave's and Art's request, Terry Hathaway became involved in proofing
and offering technical comments for some of the book's text as it was being
composed, text that greatly expanded upon any previous books and historical
accountings. During this process Dave mentioned that he had access to some
early Wurlitzer ledger information. About the same time Art Reblitz sent
Dave Bowers and Terry Hathaway a copy of the Coinola, Cremona, Nelson-Wiggen
and Seeburg lists that he had been compiling over many years, thinking that
this information might assist Dave in better understanding the ebb and flow
of instrument production. Dave replied suggesting that some kind of Registry
be created to make all of the "new" production information available to
mechanical music enthusiasts. Terry Hathaway took up an immediate interest
and the new Mechanical Music Press' Registry section was then in the process
of being created, with the idea that it would soon to ready for launch. In
the meantime Dave Bowers and Art Reblitz could devote their time to
finishing up the new book, while Terry Hathaway set about creating a new
Registry web section and began the laborious process of keying in any and
all pertinent handwritten Wurlitzer ledger information--a long and tedious
job at best.
With both the new book and Registry projects in mind it was decided to
encode the large number of ledger pages into a new electronic database
format, so that the material could not only be made public but also be
indexed, collated, compared, manipulated, and studied in ways not easily
possible by looking at the handwritten ledger pages alone. Thus, the
material in database form enhances the historical detail and scope of the
new book, while additionally making is possible to share the ledger details
publically in an easy to enjoy and comprehend format.
The Wurlitzer Ledger Page Sets
The so-called Wurlitzer Disposition of Instruments Manufactured ledgers are just that, a collection of several sets of ledger pages that
generally conform to a certain layout standard, and which sequentially list
instruments manufactured by serial number. Each entry consists of a single
line containing terse but essential handwritten information. Later sets of
ledger pages actually have the preprinted heading, "Disposition of
Instruments Manufactured," while the earlier 10,000 series (1905-1911) page
set does not. Additionally, notations are plentiful in the 10,000 series
pages, such as noting repairs to an instrument, in contrast to the later
ledger sets, which are nearly devoid of any special notations.
The Wurlitzer 10,000 Series Ledger Pages (1905~1911)
The
entries in this ledger page set range from serial number 10,001 (November,
1905), the first item on page #7, to number 16,470 (in the transition period
between 1911 and 1912), which is the last and final item on page 300. All
items in this ledger, with the possible exception of the relatively small
quantity of "house pianos," were instruments manufactured by the De Kleist
Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company, and then by the Wurlitzer company
after it took over the de Kleist factory in 1909. Each and every serial
numbered line item shown in the ledger has been included in the database
project, even if blank, including the small number of non-automatic "house
pianos."
There is some uncertainty as to whether this set of ledger pages are
complete, since the first page is No. 7, with instrument listings beginning
near the end of 1905. Yet, beginning a numbering system at 100, 1,000, or,
in this case, 10,001, makes good sense. So, then, the numbering system seems
to begin at a logical place, but the page numbering and starting dates do
not seem so logical. These apparent inconsistencies make for the vexing
question: What came before this ledger? Certainly Wurlitzer was keeping
track of instruments sold prior to the end of 1905. Is this ledger a
continuation of the previous ledger's numbering system, or is it a new
system? Where is this earlier ledger?
Nevertheless, whether, or not, this ledger page set is perfectly complete
does not detract from the valuable information it provides about the
relative production for early de Kleist made coin-pianos, such as the 44 Note
Pianino, 88 Note Player Piano, Mandolin Quartette, Mandolin Sextette, and
the progressive development of the soon to be popular 65 Note Automatic
Piano. In later years the 65 Note Automatic Piano, including more elaborate
models with pipes, entirely swept aside its older brethren, the 88-Note
player, and then gradually evolved into the immensely popular Wurlitzer
Style BX, CX, DX, EX, and LX orchestrions. The beginning steps of this
remarkable evolutionary trail are faithfully recorded in the extant ledger
pages.
PLEASE NOTE: Although these ledger pages
are noted as covering the years from 1905 to 1911 this is based upon the
average sell/shipping date, which is independent of the actual manufacturing
date, albeit the two dates in the majority of instances are probably within
a month or so of each other. However, in a few instances, for an instrument
that sat unsold for a long time, the sell/ship date can be far forward of
the manufacturing date by as much as several years, producing what might at
first glance be mistakenly assumed to be some sort of dating error. For
instance, there are numerous sell/ship dates in 1912, with one date as far
forward as 1916. Such "apparent discrepancies" result from an instrument
sitting around unsold for one or more years, perhaps it being a
demonstration piece in a Wurlitzer showroom, although the instrument was
sequentially manufactured within the average time frame covered by the
ledger pages.
One curiosity that remains an enigma is raised by this cryptic notation:
"Numbers marked with small red cross do not apply on order of 500." Each
ledger page has hand-lined columns, with a separate column for each style of
instrument, i.e., Pianino, 88 player, Mandolin Quartette, etc. A vertical
hash mark in the appropriate column indicates the instrument style for each
line item. For some reason only Mandolin Quartettes within a certain serial
number range are excluded from the "order of 500," with the normal column
mark ("|+") accompanied by a small red cross. The first exclusionary
instance is for #10210, dated 2/24/1906, with the last being #11487, dated
6/13/1907. A Mandolin Quartette dated June 15, 1907, was not excluded, nor
were any Mandolin Quartettes thereafter listed, and so it seems that a
simplified cutoff date for the "order of 500" was probably June 14, 1907.
But what the so-called "order of 500" was all about remains a mystery.
Clearly, some manufacturing output was included, while at least Mandolin
Quartettes were not.
The style of an item is normally determined by a vertical (or nearly
vertical) line or mark ("|"), which is placed in the appropriately headed
style column. The center portion of each page is devoted to a set of
columns, which vary slightly in order and titling over the pages, but that
represents the current coin piano models being manufactured by de Kleist, and
then taken over by Wurlitzer in 1909. Throughout the ledger there are
sometimes special modifiers applied to the vertical mark, or, in a some
instances, especially for house pianos, the vertical mark is replaced by the
letter designator for a particular style, i.e., "B," C" or "D." Some of the
mark variations include "|+", "|/", "|^", "|F", "|V", "|X", "|FX". "|VX" and
"|T". A few mark combinations are not clearly understood, such as "|/" and
"|^" and so were never used so as to influence the database model
descriptions in any way, other than to retain the actual mark designation
for future historical study. Other marks are easily understood, such as
"|+", "|F", "|V", "|X", "|FX" and "|VX", because they are more or less
defined at some point within the ledger itself. Generally speaking, "|V"
represents an instrument with violin pipes, "|F" an instrument with flute
pipes, "|X" an instrument fitted with an automatic roll changer, and so on.
There is one notable exception ("|T") for which the "T" modifier is at this
point logically presumed to suggest that the instrument was fitted with both
flute and violin pipes. One interesting anomaly is the use of the modifier
"F" (representing flute pipes), which is often written as a backwards facing
"F," and often interspersed with nearby entries written with a forward
facing "F," depending upon which employee made the ledger entry.
Throughout the ledger pages there are frequently inserted repair
notations, which were added sometimes many years after the instrument
originally shipped. To make these notations easier to read commas have from
time to time been added to separate discrete elements that in the original
text tended to run together. These terse but informative little notes
provide a sense of how quickly and often various music machines were fixed,
and by inference traded in and moved about to new locations, very often to a
distant city, and without the relatively easy transportation network that we
enjoy and take for granted today. Unfortunately a few of the repair notes
mention a specific style, such as "Repaired Style I," but the notation is
placed on a line item with a category mark indicating a very different
style, such as a Pianino or an 88 Note Player Piano. This kind of apparent
error invariably raises doubt as to the accuracy of all other notations. In
addition, there are also instances where discrepancies in the case finish
occur, the notation mentioning one case finish, while the ledger entry
indicates something entirely different. Since the data on hand is limited to
what is written in the ledger pages there is no current way of reconciling
any such conflicts. The methodology used to deal with this is to accurately
record any added notations, but never use the contents of a notation to
influence or adjust any item attributes set forth in the main body of the
ledger page.
Interpreting the ledger was generally very straightforward, although
there were occasionally moments when the intended year to be associated with
a certain month/day entry was questioned. Does this indicated month fall in
the previous, current, or next year? This kind of puzzlement occurred
because the year in never included with the date notation (which is in the
general form of "mmm dd")--except in extremely rare instances when a date
entry falls ahead into a succeeding year and is also marked accordingly
(i.e., mmm dd 'yy). Unfortunately this helpful convention of adding a year
to forward dated entries is used inconsistently, and often totally ignored
for similar examples situated nearby on the same page, such as when a
similar date obviously falls in the next year category. There are common two
situation that can occur. An example of the first case would be a page
filled mostly with March-April-May, 1907, dates, whereby a later year
designation, such as '08, might be appended (above or along the inner column
margin) for one of the date entries. Clearly, in this particular instance,
this means that the month is associated with the year 1908, rather than
1907, as would be the logical conclusion for all other non-appended
month/day entries. But what if, for instance, a January date occurs in and
around a bunch of July to September dates? Being that there is an
inconsistency in the use of forward dating notations, where does the January
entry fall in this instance, 1907 or 1908? What if there are two January
entries on the same page and one is clearly forward dated and the other is
not? What is the logical solution to this apparent dilemma? Examining a
single page with forward dated items can be inclusive, but by widening the
scope of inspection to the entire ledger it becomes clear that when more
than one forward dated items exist on a page it is fairly common for only
one or two entries on that page to show any kind of forward dating
annotation.
Another situation that can cause consternation occurs following the
transition from one year to the next, because there comes a point in the
progression of months whereby it can be perplexing as to whether the month
November or December, for instance, might be a fallback to the previous year
or if it belongs in the current new year, especially when it is quite common
for the range of months on a single page to span six or more months, and
there are instances where an appended year moves a month forward as much as
two years, more than might be logically deduced or judged likely. Thus,
there are occasional instances when the preponderance of widely scattered
months on a page result in a grey area, where logic and analysis of past
patterns cannot bring forth absolute certainty about what year a particular
month ought to be reasonably assigned. In such cases, if there is no
suggestion of any forward dating activity on the page, the month is presumed
to fall within the current year.
Style Notes:
The existing 1905-1911 ledger information begins on page 7, with the
first item dated November 16, 1905.
An asterisk (*) after a serial number flags the item as being a
first instance or occurrence within the ledger/database.
Column "M" shows the Style Category Markings placed in the
appropriate ledger column. Normally it is a simple, nearly vertical line
("|"), but these marks sometimes vary to indicate special attributes for
an entry, such as "|+," "|v" or "|xv."
The state designation for destination cities is often omitted in the
ledger, especially after page 100. However, whenever the missing state
designation for a city is obvious, and/or if it has been defined
elsewhere in the ledger, the most likely state designation, if any, is
automatically appended within enclosing [brackets].
There are several date formats used throughout the ledger pages.
Most are consistent with today's standards, but others are non-standard,
such as "6/12-'14." For ease of use all non-standard formats have been
converted to the form "mm/dd/yy," or occasionally left as "mm-dd-yy" if
so originally stated with separating dashes.
The original ledger material has been slightly edited and obvious
spelling and location errors corrected, but in all instances the
original intent has been preserved. Otherwise the reader would be
confronted with an endless number or annoying (sic) notations.
The Wurlitzer 80,000 Series Ledger Pages (1925)
The
entries in this ledger section range from #80,000 (middle of 1925) to
#82,474 (end of 1925). The database contains nothing but extracted
commercial automatic musical instruments items. Because this Registry is
dedicated to automatic musical instruments, and coin-ops in particular, the
only data extracted pertains to such things as Pianinos, 65-Note Pianos and
Orchestrions, Organettes, and the like. Most of the ledger pages are
literally jammed with non-descript studio pianos and home players of various
kinds. Amongst these are names such as Farny pianos and Strad Players, along
with a smattering of Kingston players and Melville Clark and/or Apollo
expression and reproducing pianos.
PLEASE NOTE: Although these ledger pages
are noted as being in the year 1925 this is based upon the average
sell/shipping date, which is independent of the actual manufacturing date,
albeit the two dates in the majority of instances are probably within a
month or so of each other. However, in a few instances, for an instrument
that sat unsold for a long time, the sell/ship date can be far forward of
the manufacturing date by as much as several years, producing what might at
first glance be mistakenly assumed to be some sort of dating error. For
instance, there are numerous sell/ship dates in 1926 and 1927, with one date
as far forward as 1934. Such "apparent discrepancies" result from an
instrument sitting around unsold for one or more years, perhaps it being a
demonstration piece in a Wurlitzer showroom, although the instrument was
sequentially manufactured within the average time frame covered by the
ledger pages.
One thing this ledger points out vividly and quickly is that by 1925
Wurlitzer's main manufacturing activity was in various styles of house
pianos and players. Coin operated pianos had definitely been relegated to
nothing more than a minor activity, and it was a clear trend that in the
eyes of Wurlitzer the old "automatics" were quickly becoming a relic of the
past. Yet, not too far away in Chicago, the J. P. Seeburg Company was still
selling large numbers of models L, K/KT, KT Special and E.
Style Notes:
The state designation for destination cities are occasionally
omitted. However, missing state designations are usually obvious, and so
the state designation, if any, are automatically appended within
enclosing [brackets].
The original ledger material has been slightly edited and obvious
spelling and location errors corrected, but in all instances the
original intent has been preserved. Otherwise the reader would be
confronted with an endless number or annoying (sic) notations.
The Wurlitzer 105,000 Series Ledger Pages (1927~1936)
The
Wurlitzer 105,000 series of pages consist of a total of three discontinuous
but distinct groups of serial numbers, with each group separated here for
descriptive purposes. Beginning with serial number 105,000, the overall
series ends with serial number 141,013. Actually, in reality, the series
continues on, but since no automatic musical instruments were thought to
have been shipped during or beyond 1936 further pages were not copied.
The first group of numbers is the so-called 105,000 series of ledger
pages, which begin with #105,000, which is blank. Actual data entry
begins with #105,001 (Style 810 player, 11-26-27). The total span of
serial numbers for this group is #105,000 to #115,999 (61 Note Piano,
4-7-31). However, there is a break (or jump) in the numbers occurring on
one page, suddenly going from #110,000 to #111,000, with an entry for
#110,000 but with an arrow for that entry pointing down to #111,000.
Thus it appears as though the serial numbers jump from #109,999 to
#111,000 in the middle of 1929.
Also of significance in this first group are two major spans of unused
(or blank) serial numbers, in all there being 36 pages with nothing but
unused serial numbers. The first span of these unused numbers goes from
#113,557 to #114,506, whereupon there is a single data entry for
#114,507, a Style 826 Piano. Continuing from this number is the next
span of blank numbers going from #114,508 to #114,485. Throughout the
rest of the ledger there is the usual, infrequent blank serial number,
but no more long blocks of unused numbers.
The second distinct group begins with 117,000 (Art 8 Piano, 4-7-31)
and date-wise appears to continue on from the previous group without
interruption, other then there being a big jump in serial numbers from
115,999 to 117,000. The final number in this group is 121,999 (Style Art
8 Wurlitzer, 10-1-34). But, of course, as with the first group, there is
a hiccup in the flow of numbers. On one page data entry abruptly ends
with 118,999, and is immediately followed by the number 119,000, which
is blank. The numbering then continues on the next line with 120,000 and
thereafter continues on normally without fault. Then on the final page,
immediately after 121,999, there follows 122,000 to 122,003. These four
numbers complete the page but are all blank.
An interesting aspect of this second group is that it contains a cluster
of some 27 combination piano & radio units, beginning with #117109 (61
note Piano & Radio Combination; Black & Gold; 4-27-31; Minneapolis,
Minn.) and ending with #117444 (61 note Piano & Radio Combination; Black
& Gold; 8-1-31; Louisville, Ky.) This small smattering of probably
experimental units in the middle months of 1931 must have been an
attempted bridge between the old automatic musical days and the modern,
by incorporating a radio into and with a piano.
The third and final group starts with 138,000 (Style Art 8 Wurlitzer
Piano, 10-1-34) and ends with 141, 013 (Style 836 Wurlitzer Piano,
1-10-36). This group appears to take off from the last serial number in
the second group, 121,999 (Style Art 8 Wurlitzer, 10-1-34), and continue
on uninterrupted with 138,000 (Style Art 8 Wurlitzer Piano, 10-1-34)
without fault.
The last automatic musical instrument mentioned in the serial number list
is #120,498 (Mortuary Organ, 5-18-33, Bozeman, Mont.). Although #108,116 (a
Style LX-B Orchestra Piano, 8-3-32) shows a shipping date well into 1932,
this instrument was given its serial number during what seems to be a 1928
manufacturing timeframe. Thus, it is probable that few, if any, automatic
musical instruments were manufactured by Wurlitzer after 1930, although the
company is known to have had a few pieces of remaining stock that were
eventually fully liquidated in the early 1960s.
Only data relating to automatic musical instruments was extracted from
the 105000 series ledger, and then included in the database project. The
"other" and major production by Wurlitzer centered around various home
pianos, mostly plain studio instruments, but with a smattering of art style
pianos, too. There are relatively few reproducing type pianos listed.
Style Notes:
The state designation for destination cities are occasionally
omitted. However, missing state designations are usually obvious, and so
the state designation, if any, are automatically appended within
enclosing [brackets].
The original ledger material has been slightly edited and obvious
spelling and location errors corrected, but in all instances the
original intent has been preserved. Otherwise the reader would be
confronted with an endless number or annoying (sic) notations.
Band Organs - Disposition of Instrument Manufactured
From surviving documentation it appears that de Kleist band organs, and
then in 1909, when Wurlitzer assumed ownership of the de Kleist factory, all
used the same 4 digit number system. This page, however, does not include
any data from the Wurlitzer band organ related Disposition of Instruments Manufactured pages, which in actuality
consists of two distinctly different lists; one for newly built instruments
and the other for "repaired" organs. Copies of these ledgers (in PDF format)
are available 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). These documents were once part of the large Richard J. (Dick)
Howe collection of literature relating to Automatic Musical Instruments.
The Wurlitzer Disposition of Instruments Manufactured 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 contrast, these lists do not perfectly coincide
with the so-called Wurlitzer Shipping Dock Ledgers (courtesy of
David Reidy), consisting 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 appears 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,
since early Wurlitzer generated band organ data is either incomplete or
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 supplant the older de Kleist model terminology.
Although this Registry page does not contain any Wurlitzer band organ
ledger information, a comprehensive band organ page is currently in
progress. Moreover, it is planned that this study will eventually include
extensive band organ repair and shipping information obtained from the
so-called "Wurlitzer Factory Shipping Dock Ledgers" (courtesy of
David Reidy), along with information from other sources, and so the scope of
this study will provide much more detailed and complete information than is
provided by the above referenced Disposition of Instruments Manufactured ledger page set alone.
Updating the Database and Reporting Errors
The database is designed to additionally accommodate current historical
comments and other pertinent information relative to a particular
instrument, which, if submitted, will be considered for inclusion within the
database. To report errors and/or to submit new and/or supplemental
information regarding the Wurlitzer Disposition of Instruments Manufactured ledgers please send
corrections and/or comments via e-mail to
Please be aware that the Mechanical Music Press and/or its authors
may, at their sole discretion, require some sort of verification as to
the authenticity and accuracy of any submitted information and/or
material.
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.
Distribution of Database Information Last Updated on June 16, 2014
The database PDF
report files require Adobe Acrobat Reader (or its equivalent) to view 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 10,000
Series Ledger Pages (1905~1911)
323 pages.
332 pages.
8 pages.
The Wurlitzer 80,000 Series Ledger Pages (1925)
7 pages.
9 pages.
The Wurlitzer 105,000 Series Ledger Pages (1927~1931)
Wurlitzer Disposition of Instruments Manufactured ledger data compiled and put into database format by Terry Hathaway, and
with appreciation to Q. David Bowers for making the information available as
part of a book project.
