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O/T Violano Virtuoso

Joe Michaels

Diamond
Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Location
Shandaken, NY, USA
A bit O/T: When I was a kid, we were in an amusement arcade and they had a mechanical music device there which really impressed me. It was a piece of machinery which mechanically played a piano and violin to produce the music. The workings of the device were in a glass front cabinet, and I fed quite a bit of pocket change into that machine to see the workings in action. The piano was played by solenoids, and the violin was played by small wheels which were mounted on shafts with universal joints. When a string needed to be 'bowed', these small rotating wheels were pressed down on that string. It was quite a piece of engineering and machine work and something I never forgot.

Recently, by way of the internet, I found that the device I had seen was known as the "Violano Virtuoso" and was made by the Mills Novelty Company of Chicago. Mills produced a number of these Violano Virtuoso machines, some of which had two violins playing "first and second chair" along with the piano. In 1935, Mills produced a motion picture of a tour through their factory (Mills Latest Factory Tour, 1935). Some scenes were shot in their toolroom. Hendey tie-bar head lathes and Hendey shapers as well as a planer are seen working, with the toolmakers wearing neckties under their white aprons. Other scenes were shot out in the various production areas. These include the use of a double spindle profiler as well as production drilling, a Bardons & Oliver turret lathe, and an automatic screw machine. All the machine tools are quite clean, making me wonder if they were cleaned up for the filming.

Mills had an engineer who conceived of the idea of the "Violano Virtuoso" machines. In the design, Mills designed a piano harp with the strings laid out to facilitate the electro-mechanical automation. They also copied the design of a Stradivarius violin and made their own violins from spruce. Strings were kept tensioned by adjustable weights so the violins stayed in tune longer. The violins were 'bowed' by small celluloid wheels, and a small tray of rosin was in place which automatically applied the rosin to the celluloid wheels before each 'performance'. All the machined parts were polished and many were plated. The "Violano Virtuoso" machines were said to be the first time electromechanical automation was used to produce music. The 'input' to the Violano Virtuoso was a perforated paper roll like those used on player pianos. However, instead of using vacuum to "read" the notes on the paper roll, the Violano Virtuoso used brushes and electricity. When a perforation passed under the brushes, a circuit was completed which triggered either solenoids to work the piano hammers, or the celluloid wheels to 'bow' the violin, along with cams to work steel 'fingers', to press down on the strings on the neck of the violin.

Another branch of the Mills Novelty Company made ice cream freezers. Movie footage shows that division machining refrigeration compressor blocks as well as crankshafts.

Once juke boxes, playing records, were perfected, I think the "Violano Virtuoso" machines were considered obsolete. Mills did attempt some juke box design and production. However, the style of their juke boxes (at least in the 1935 film) did not remotely have the 'pizazz' of Wurlitzers. I suspect Mills Novelty Company was vastly overshadowed by Wurlitzer and is long gone. Incidentally, Wurlitzer also produce a film of a tour through their Tonawanda, NY plant. This film is also worth watching. Once logic circuitry came on the scene, it was probably the kiss of death for electromechanical devices like the old juke boxes. Now, people often find whatever music they want to hear via their phones or similar devices. It's quite an evolution in reproducing music, from the days of paper rolls and machines like the Violano Virtuoso or player pianos to the classic juke boxes with their electromechanical selector mechanisms, and now to the point where a person can pull up any type of music they want to hear in a device they can hold in their hand. I've always been fascinated by mechanical devices which produced music. As a kid being placed upon a carousel by my parents, I would be craning my neck to catch a glimpse of the 'band organ' and mechanisms that worked the carousel rather than enjoying the ride. Having suffered through as few years of piano lessons as a kid, I developed quite an appreciation for the machines which could flawlessly play complex pieces of music on a piano, organ, violin or other instruments. I also marvel at the people who designed those machines and the craftsmanship to build them. Somehow, a modern phone or similar device, however many features it may have, just does not compare to something like a "Violano Virtuoso" or a Wurlitzer band organ producing music.
 
The Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ houses the Murtogh Guiness collection of automata. Worth a stop if you're in the area. I don't remember if they have a Violino Virtuoso, but wouldn't be surprised... it's an extensive collection.

Andy

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Dad has a mills novelty slot machine.Calle the Black cherry I think or something cherry. Runs on quarters, every holiday/family get together it ate a TON of coins to the point it would usually jam up completely full of coins before the nights end.

Dad kept the quarters with the stipulation whoever got a win or hit jackpot would keep what they won. He would however supply a fair amount of coins for fun and any of the little kids would play free.
 
The Merle Norman museum also has a collection of musical apparatus that is quite interesting: Music Room I wish I knew about the Morris museum when I lived back in Lake Hopatcong... Jim
 
The Sanfilipo collection is on my list of places to visit! The phrase "No expense spared" comes to mind.

The Worlds's Greatest Collector - Part one HUGE Musical Instruments - YouTube

The Worlds's Greatest Collector - Part Two Steam Engines - YouTube

I have been visiting the Henry Ford museum and Greenfield Village regularly since around 1954. For many years, I said that, if I could own anything in the world, it would be the Henry Ford. But then I started visiting Jasper Sanfilippo's home around 1990 after joining MBSI and AMICA. During that time, he was enlarging his home and outbuildings to house his ever-growing collection and each visit was a source of amazement. He had hundreds of music machines, but he also had steam engines and lathes and a fantastic workshop. I realized that Henry Ford had an amazing collection, but Jasper's place was actually a home where he lived and entertained his friends. Much of his entertaining was focused on raising money for charities. He was a very smart and generous man, a mechanical engineer, and will be missed.

Jasper Sanfilippo - Wikipedia

MBSI and AMICA are the two major music box/automatic music machines collector organizations in the USA. They have annual and regional meetings and some members open their homes to other members. Jasper had a unique home, but there are many others with very nice collections. I saw a lot of the Mills machines in those homes.

Larry

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