Violano-Virtuoso - Clark's Trading Post - Lincoln, NH - Musical Instruments on Waymarking.com

In Lincoln, at Clark's Trading Post is this Violano-Virtuoso, a kind of 'player-violin.'

The instrument is contained within a wooden cabinet, located in a room within the eastern part of the gift shop on the right side as you enter the room.

The machine has two violins (modified). The machine is run pneumatically using a paper roll with holes in it. There is a good Wikipedia article on the instrument along with the company that made it, the Mills Novelty Company. The machine is coin operated - now a quarter is needed. The machine produced a reasonably melodic and in-tune song. The violin strings were played by rotating parts. The company stopped making the machines by 1930.

There is a metal sign in the instrument that states the following:

"Violano-Virtuoso
Designated by the U.S. Government as one of the eight greatest inventions of the decade
Mills Novelty Company, Chicago"

According to the web site, the predecessor to the instrument was patented in 1905 by Henry Sandell for a player violin. This development with the player violin and piano was made available by 1911. In 1909, the US. Trademark and Patent Office displayed several inventions at an exhibition in Seattle, Washington, which is the source of the statement on the plate.

You do not need to pay admission into Clark's Trading Post to see the instrument. The gift shop is open to both sides.

Source:

Wikipedia (Mills Novelty Company):
(visit link)

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/20/2019 BuckeyeFinnigan visited it