![]() ![]() ![]() Figure 57 shows the instrument without its case. With the construction of his 1849 orchestrion, Michael Welte was soon to become the leader in orchestrion building. In 1857 he completed a large instrument for Grand Duke Friedrich von Baden. The history of the House of Welte has been well documented by others. The Dawn of the Pinned-Cylinder Orchestrions Welte & Söhne. These instruments with their ornate cases and their brass and tin pipework visible behind glass stood out among all the rest. While it was years before I actually saw and heard a Welte, these instruments and their music became an important influence in my life.ĭuring the past 43 years, I have had the privilege of being entrusted to restore 16 orchestrions by Welte for various collectors and museums. This has given me a unique insight into the mechanisms and design aspects of these instruments. The following information has been compiled and extrapolated from work on these instruments as well as research and examination of many others. No two instruments are exactly the same. Each instrument yields new information, so the following should not be taken as absolute, but rather a guide to the general design of Welte pneumatic orchestrions. New information is always welcomed. Welte and the Age of OpulenceĪs a youth, your author first became aware of mechanical music machines in the 1960's when they were being promoted by the firm of Hathaway & Bowers, Inc., a company responsible for the revival of interest in automatic musical instruments in the U.S. Their catalogs were filled with wonderful machines, including an occasional orchestrion by the firm of M. To remain consistent with the format of the earlier printed versions, the text flow and its relationship to numbered figures continues to follow the same layout progression and numbering conventions as set forth by the originating printed material. It will also be published in an upcoming book on Zaharako’s Confectionery in Columbus, Indiana, by Tony Moravek. 5, for September/October in the year of 2006. ![]() It was subsequently updated when the nucleus of the article was used in the Journal of the Musical Box Society International, Volume 52, No. Center, appeared in the Augustiner Museum (Freiburg) catalog for their 2004 exhibit on Welte, for which it was translated into German for that publication. Editor's Note: The original forerunner of this article, authored by Durward R. ![]()
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