If you have additional catalog scans you would like to share, please contact us through the header on each page. Although Vincent Bach began mfg. Mouthpieces around 1918, the first references we’ve been able to locate appear in very early Wurlitzer and Carl Fisher catalogs from this era. Despite Franz Rudolph Wurlitzer’s death in 1914, the company carried on and survived the age of the gramophone by introducing the first automatic jukebox, the Wurlitzer Simplex. During the 1920’s Wurlitzer acquired the Melville Clark line of pianos and continued to manufacture the same name of instruments.
Bonus Reports - The Wurlitzer All Sources Combined Band Organ Reports This special report is an aggregate compilation of all known de Kleist and Wurlitzer band organ related ledger and/or journal information, and it brings together all of this accounting data and puts it in one convenient, easy to comprehend place. But this report is an end product, not a starting point, a hopefully useful compilation of four similar but distinctly different databases, each having a slightly different purpose and its own unique data requirements to accommodate its own unique source document. These four precursor databases alone are the result of almost two year's worth of careful effort, which required the meticulous transcription and conversion of sometimes difficult to decipher handwritten source data into an electronic format. The ultimate outcome of all of this dedicated work is this report, a sorted compilation of all pertinent band organ data records for de Kleist and/or Wurlitzer from the following four sources:. The de Kleist Journals,.
The Wurlitzer Serial Order Band Organ Ledger,. The Wurlitzer “Repairs” Band Organ ledger, and,. The Wurlitzer Factory Shipping Dock Ledgers.
What is Included in the Report? Included are all band organs from the aforementioned documents that conform to the following criteria:. A newly manufactured de Kleist or Wurlitzer made band organ,.
A newly manufactured Wurlitzer Caliola,. A repaired, rebuilt, reconditioned, remodeled, regulated, tuned, and/or otherwise manipulated de Kleist or Wurlitzer made band organ, or Wurlitzer Caliola. A band organ manufactured by someone other than de Kleist or Wurlitzer, but that was converted and/or remodeled to utilize a de Kleist/Wurlitzer music system and/or subsequently given a de Kleist/Wurlitzer style designation. What is Not Included in the Report?
Any and all band organs from the aforementioned documents that conform to the following criteria:. Any band organ manufactured by someone other than de Kleist or Wurlitzer and that was repaired and/or rebuilt, regulated, and/or tuned, but that was not modified to utilize a de Kleist/Wurlitzer music system. For instance, if a Gavioli or other book organ was repaired and/or rebuilt and it continued to use its original keyframe and book music configuration any such organ is not included in the report, i.e., it does not resemble any de Kleist/Wurlitzer organ, nor does it play de Kleist/Wurlitzer music. All non-band organ items are excluded from the report. This includes a few Tangley calliopes, coin operated pianos, photoplayers, mortuary organs, church organs, pipe organs, etc. What Parameters Determined the Report Format? The original idea was to bring all of the de Kleist/Wurlitzer band organ data together in order to provide a simple, easy to use one-stop resource.
While this idea was good sounding, the practicality of it was not. There are many band organ ledger entries that correspond perfectly with another but different ledger document, and that could have been merged flawlessly with nothing lost or confused. Unfortunately, however, finding the perfect fit was a relatively infrequent happenstance. The majority of entries do not coincide, some with dates differing by only a day or two, but others were widely different, some in many ways. This made merging differing items with the same serial number, so as to combine all entries for a particular organ into one neat record, next to impossible, or nearly so, and the mere effort of attempting this feat would likely introduce errors and unintended conclusions.
Moreover, with numerous entries having identical serial numbers, and with each data record having some confusing degree of differing criteria, how many individual organs might be represented? One, two, or more? Thus, it seemed that whatever might be done to hopefully merge many of the seemingly similar, but also divergent, items would be, in the majority of cases, nothing more than a dubious guess, which in and of itself could easily introduce an egregious error. How to deal with this confounding situation? After some discussion it was decided to not merge anything, but instead leave all of the entries intact as recorded and to group them together by serial number, indexed by date.
This would keep all of the band organ information intact without introducing any stupid errors through guesswork, as well as present it in its totality in a way that anyone could easily use to look up a particular serial number. This methodology did not introduce more errors, and it allowed each and every researcher to figure out for themselves what might be pertinent and/or worthy of merging. That is the tack we have taken. So the information is presented “as is,” without any attempt to merge, filter, or manipulate the data.
Publishing Limitations Sooner or later someone is bound to ask why the Wurlitzer Shipping Dock Ledger band organ information is only available in this one combined report, and not also available in a complete form and/or in the multiple formats such as with the de Kleist Journals and the Wurlitzer Serial Order and “Repairs” Band Organ Ledgers. The answer is simple: Our handshake agreement is that we will not publish a facsimile of the Wurlitzer Shipping Dock Ledger pages, nor anything that represents the content, form, or layout of the original pages. However, approval has been given to publish the Shipping Dock Ledger band organ information as part of an overall study, and in particular, this Wurlitzer All Sources Combined Band Organ Report. Happily, then, for all of you Wurlitzer band organ aficionados, this single report finally gives you all of the known original Wurlitzer band organ information—nestled together and in one convenient place. Availability of Reports After a lot of effort the Wurlitzer All Sources Combined Band Organ Reports are now finally ready for public release. Currently, two different reports are available:.
Wurlitzer All Sources Combined Band Organ Report: Serial Number Order - Further Indexed by Style and Date. Use this report to quickly find any listed band organ by serial number, with all of the identically numbered records within the aggregated band organ databases presented together, in one location, and in a logically ordered progression. The report is further indexed by style and date, because within any one serial number grouping it is sometimes the case that more than one style is present. The chosen method of indexing keeps different styles together and ordered by date from early to late. Thus, within any cluster of identical serial numbers it is easy to observe a particular style and any progression of repairs or other activity. Wurlitzer All Sources Combined Band Organ Report: Grouped by Style - Indexed by Serial Number and Date. This report is for the person who wants to compare band organs of the same style.
The records are grouped by style, i.e., one report section for each and every style contained within the aggregated databases. The report is further indexed by serial number and then by date, so that all items grouped within a certain style will align in a logical order by serial and be further ordered by date. The two reports can be downloaded by at the bottom of this page. 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 (Please enable Javascript to see the email address.) 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 July 19, 2017 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.
Special Band Organ Reports and Survey Reporting 120 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.