10.04.2020

Video tour centering around juke-boxes in the museum Collection exposition

The story about juke-boxes resembles a multi-layered American pie, and a historical foundation. It includes engineering idea, a business project and aesthetic experience. Served with original inventions and patents – the enumeration is made to feel what surge the word "juke-box" can start for the hearts of all American people.

Disk music boxes, which were created by the “Big Three” - Regina, Polyphon and Symponion manufacturers in the 19th century, were equipped with exchangeable media, were coin activated and provided a customer with a choice of several relevant compositions. In fact, they were musical automata; even visually, they have common features with juke-boxes, inheriting magnetic mechanisms for moving a musical media from large wooden cabinets.

However, the very definition of a juke-box was originally applied to coin-operated phonographs. They were mounted in the best locations, and formed a multi-million dollar business. The latest technologies, expanding the possibilities of electro mechanics, had a keen sense of the pulse of the national preferences in music as well. The charts of the America’s most popular songs were comprised taking into account the sales of notes, the tunes encoded on phonograph cylinders and compositions that were listened to by the puplic. Most storefronts, from bars to restaurants, possessed a coin-operated phonograph for visitors who wanted to dance. Moreover, the word “juke” was most often referred to a dance, since it was easier and faster to pronounce “juke-box” with mouthful. The number of manufactured machines - about 2 million items, can prove the fact that juke-boxes were in high demand. The companies that produced coin-operated phonographs - Wurlitzer, AMI, and Seeburg - launched advertising companies that convinced the public of getting an effortless legitimate and high-class pleasure thanks to juke-boxes.

By the way, it was the Wurlitzer company, whose beautiful posters were created by the artist Albert Dorne, that created the most recognizable Bubble Juke-box 1015. The preferences of the public changed as time passed, hence this model remained in demand. It turned out to be so successful that today the Wurlitzer 1015 is still produced, however, no longer with records, but with CD-ROMs or a slot for the player (Ipod).

Continuing the established tradition, we publish another video clip about the unique exhibits stored in the museum Collection. Today we show you juke-boxes.