Orchestrions.
 Popper "Luna" orchestrion |
Orchestrions may be
regarded as the German counterpart of Belgian dance-hall organs. They were used as a
replacement of small orchestras. Because they were mostly used in cafe's, restaurants,
hotel lobbys and passenger ships their utterly appearance was not too contrasting with the
furniture of the era in which they were built. The heart of nearly all orchestrions were
was an automatic piano. All kinds of instruments or their imitators were attached,
according to the price: violin- and clarinet pipes, flutes, xylophone, mandolin-effects,
and percussion. Some firms (Hupfeld in Germany and Mills Cy. in the USA) even built real
violins into the instruments! In later years sometimes accordions were added. Almost all orchestrions disappeared from the Netherlands between 1950 and 1970. Most of them were sold and became part of private collections, especially in the USA. The interest in the Netherlands for the preservation of orchestrions came rather late, unfortunately. Thus it could happen that the famous Hupfeld orchestrion from the restaurant "de Postzegel" in 's-Hertogenbosch (the most elaborate orchestrion ever built) was sold to a collector in the USA around 1970 without any protest from the Dutch organ enthusiasts.... |
page updated 14-12-2003