"Polyvox" orchestrion
"Polyvox" orchestrion
Germany, Unterkirnach
The 1920s
Blessing
Wood, metal, mirror, glass; joinery, veneering, varnishing, wood carving, casting, mechanical work
246 x 168 x 83 cm, weight 450 kg
Inscriptions on the pediment: “POLYVOX ”. In the drive mechanism section: “AN”, “PLAY”, “LANGSAM – SCHNELL”, “AUS • RETOUR • SPIEL”, “STOP”, “DAUERBETRIEB RL./ KLAVIER”, “SCHLAGZEUB”, “MANDOLINE”, “XYLOPHON”, “GLOKEN SPIEL”, “TREMOLO”, “ZUM/ROLLENWECHSEL/ HERAUSZICHEN”. On the electric motor plate: “A.L.CLARET”, “312_314, rue Gabriel Per”, “COLOMBES (seine) FRANCE”, “TYPE RVV CFRC 299i”, “SPECIFons”, …“VOLTS 115 230”, “AMP 9 “, “50”, “T.M. 950”, “MARCHE CONT”, , “No 86553-2”, “TEMP 50 o/AMB N.A.P.”
The instrument is housed in wooden case finished with mahogany veneer and varnished. It consists of three sections, mounted on a base with rounded corners, and features a wavy pediment with a shaped golden overlay bearing the inscription “POLYVOX”. Housed inside are the musical instruments: a 51-note piano action, a mandolin effect, flute pipes, a 27-note xylophone, a bass drum with snares, a snare drum, orchestral bells, cymbals, a triangle, castanets, and a crash cymbal.
491.1-4/ММП