USA, North Tonawanda (NY)

1952

Rudolph Wurlitzer Company

Wood, metal, plastic, plexiglas; casting, presswork, manufacturing, electrical works

153 х 98 x 70 cm

On the lid: “SEE THE WURLIMAGIC BRAIN”, “Wurlitzer”, “PLAY”, “45 AND 78”, “RPM RECORDS ”, “INTERMIXED”, “104 SELECT...”, on the plate: “PRESS A LETTER AND A NUMBER”, inside the case: “51229”, “4968”

Jukebox is housed in wooden case, trimmed with plastic and chrome moldings, on four movable supports. The front panel bottom curved part is covered with textured metallic panel of silvery color. It is decorated with massive lattice with blue letter "W", with transparent plastic semi-columns, with orange and blue colors bedding ornated with the images of musical instruments. The translucent lighting is along the case sides. Mechanism with vibration damping floating suspension, loudspeaker with electromagnet and tube amplifier are mounted on the chassis inside the case. The inclined control panel is located above: plate with the inscription "SELECT", two sections of cards with "Popular and Current Hits" and "Wurlitzer Music" repertoire, a block of keys for selecting one of 104 tunes by an alphanumeric combination and a sign with detailed instructions in English, two sections of cards with "Polkas and Specialties" and "Wurlitzer Music" repertoire are on the left-hand side. The plate with the inscription "5 | 10 | 25 cents", coin selector slot and coin reject button are on the right-hand side.

Two piles of 26 gramophone records with the rotation speed of 78 or 45 rpm on special trays with blue and numbers are homed on the top panel with plexiglass lid. The labels and inscription "Wurlitzer" are on the lid. The tray drive mechanism with the selected record and records play counter assembly with the tunes’ numbers are between them. The bracket with the clamping carriage and two tonearms with Zenith Cobra piezoelectric heads for playing back the record’s top or bottom sides are on the top. The rod with flange is pulled from below, the record rests on it. Coin reject niche and coin selector are on the right side panel. Two square apertures, tightened with metal mesh, a cable outlet with bipolar plug, a fuse holder, voltage ON/OFF toggle switch and volume control lever are on the rear panel bottom part. The upper part of the rear side is closed by a removable panel with oval slots. To play back the record one has to turn on the juke-box, five fluorescent backlight bulbs will be activated simultaneously, drop 5, 10 or 25 cents, select a tune by pressing the alphabet key first, then the tune number and the key. The selection mechanism pushes record out of the stack, the rotating rod brings the selected record to the clamping carriage and tonearm, the needle descends onto the record and the melody sounds. Music media: gramophone record.