OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION Title: Wurlitzer Company Records

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Title: Wurlitzer Company Records

Collection Date(s): 1856-1986 (bulk 1906-19??) undated

Extent and Forms of Material: [This needs revision] 56 cubic feet, including photographs, film and sound recordings (196 boxes, 25 oversize folders, 2 film reels, 2 audiodisc, 1 videocassette tapes)

Creator: Wurlitzer Company

Abstract: The collection documents the history and development of the Wurlitzer Company and consists of company publications, business records, employee files, manufacturing records, sales and marketing records, product information, publicity, advertising, photographs, audiovisual materials, and organ installation drawings.

Repository: Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. archivescenter@si.edu 202-633-3270 americanhistory.si.edu/archives

Collection Number: AC0469

Processing Note: Processed by Craig Orr, (1994?), Helen Aitken (volunteer), 2008, Sarah Allan (volunteer), 2008, Anne Jones (volunteer), 2008-2010; supervised by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist.

INFORMATION FOR USERS OF THE COLLECTION

Conditions Governing Access: The collection is open for research use.

Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.

Technical Access: Viewing film portion of collection requires special appointment, please inquire. Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use: Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use. All duplication requests must be reviewed and approved by Archives Center staff.

Preferred Citation: Title and date of item, Wurlitzer Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, box number X, folder number XX, digital file number XXXXXXXX

For more information contact the Archives Center at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270

IN-DEPTH INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Administrative History: The Wurlitzer Company began in 1856 when Rudolph Wurlitzer, a Cincinnati bank clerk, sold seven hundred dollars worth of musical instruments he had bought from family and friends in Germany. The business was incorporated in Ohio in 1890 under the name the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company." For the first fifty years, Wurlitzer was primarily a retail instrument business operating out of its Cincinnati Store headquarters. Although fire destroyed the company's headquarters in 1904, a new building was completed in time to celebrate Wurlitzer's fiftieth anniversary in 1906.

In 1908, the Wurlitzer Company bought the DeKleist Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company in North Tonawanda, New York. The Rudolph Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company continued production of automatic musical instruments including player pianos, military bands and pianorchestras. In 1910, the Wurlitzer Company bought the Hope-Jones Organ Company and began to manufacture unit-orchestra pipe organs at their North Tonawanda plant. These were pipe organs equipped with bells, gongs, horns and sirens. They became known as Mighty Wurlitzers and provided the musical background in silent movie houses all over the world and were also built for churches and private homes. In 1919, Wurlitzer bought the Melville-Clark Piano Company of DeKalb, Illinois. Wurlitzer pianos were then manufactured at the DeKalb facilities under a variety of names: the Apollo Piano Company, the DeKalb Piano Company and the Wurlitzer Grand Piano Company. Each name designated a different quality, price range and style.

With the decline of sales during the 1920s and 1930s, production of automatic musical instruments ceased until the manufacture of the first jukebox in 1934. In 1930, the Julius Bauer Piano Company was purchased and continued to build pianos in that name until shortly before World War II. For a brief time, radios and refrigerators were made by the Wurlitzer controlled Air-American Mohawk Corporation. It was not a successful venture and ended in the mid-1930s. Many of the Wurlitzer retail stores were, at that time, in bad locations and needed repairs. The solutions to these problems came about with a reorganization of the company in 1935. With the reorganization, many retail stores were sold, piano manufacturing was consolidated in DeKalb and many subsidiaries were dissolved or absorbed completely into the Wurlitzer Company.

During World War II, Wurlitzer halted production of musical instruments. The company's defense production efforts were recognized in 1943 and 1944 when it is North Tonawanda and DeKalb plants received the Army-Navy "E" Award. In 1946, peacetime production resumed and the Wurlitzer Company introduced two new instruments: the electric organ in 1947 and the electric piano in 1954. In 1956, the Wurlitzer Company celebrated its centennial. That same year a new plant at Corinth, Mississippi, was completed. Later, plants were opened in Holly Springs, Mississippi (1961), Logan, Utah (1970) and Hullhorst, West Germany, (1960). The new facilities replaced those at North Tonawanda and DeKalb. The North Tonawanda plant ceased production of jukeboxes in 1974, becoming the company's engineering and research center. In 1973, the DeKalb plant ended production of pianos maintaining only marketing and administrative offices. In 1977, the Wurlitzer Company's corporate headquarters moved to DeKalb, including the engineering and research center from North Tonawanda.

For more information contact the Archives Center at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270

Wurlitzer's three sons had assumed leadership of the company after his death in 1914. Each son acted as president then, chair of the board, successively. The company hired R.C. Rolfing in 1934 as vicepresident and general manager. His reorganization helped the company through the Depression years. Rolfing succeeded the last of the founder's sons in 1941 as president of the company and in 1966 as chair of the board. Farny Wurlitzer, Rudolph's youngest son, died in 1972. A.D. Arsem succeeded Rolfing in 1974 as chair of the board. George B. Howell succeeded W. N. Herleman as president of the company.

System of Arrangement: The collection is arranged into fourteen series.

Series 1, Wurlitzer Company Histories, Company Events, and General Business Materials, circa 1880-1987; undated

Subseries 1, Company and Family Histories, 1939-1897; undated Subseries 2, 1956 Centennial Celebrations and Other Events, 1947-1980 Subseries 3, Correspondence and Other Communications, 1913-1970s Subseries 4, Contracts and Legal Documents, 1918-1987 Subseries 5, Publicity and Press Clippings, 1905-1971 Subseries 6, Marketing Studies and Surveys, 1934-1952 Subseries 7, Medals and Awards, 1880-1944 Subseries 8, Seal Embossers and Visitor Registers, 1916-1938 Series 2, Publications, 1910-1989; undated Subseries 1, Wurlitzer Publications, 1913-1978 Subseries 2, General Publications and articles relating to Wurlitzer, 1910-1989; undated Series 3, Advertising and Promotional Materials, 1911-1978 Subseries 1, Print Advertising and Promotion, 1911-1978 Subseries 2, Audio Recordings and Moving Images, 1939-1978 Series 4, Product Information, 1880-1984; undated Subseries 1, Catalogues and Price Lists, 1880-1984; undated Subseries 2, Instructional and Service Manuals, 1920s-1950s; undated Subseries 3, Product Specifications and Customer Testimonials, 1913-1970; undated Series 5, Photographs of Wurlitzer Manufacturing Plants, Employees, Stores, and Dealerships, 1869-1970; undated Subseries 1, Manufacturing Plants and Employees, 1917-1970; undated Subseries 2, Wurlitzer Retail Stores, 1869-1961; undated Subseries 3, Wurlitzer Dealerships, United States, circa 1930s-1940s; undated Subseries 4, Photographs of Foreign Dealerships, 1930s-1970s; undated Series 6, Photographs of Wurlitzer Products and Product Sales Promotions, 1900-1978; undated Subseries 1, Automatic Instruments and Player Pianos, 1900-1925; undated Subseries 2, Manual Pianos, circa 1920s-1970s Subseries 3, Organs, Accordions and Jukeboxes, 1920s-1978 Subseries 4, Radios and Refrigerators, 1930s Subseries 5, World War II Defense Products, 1943-1944 Series 7, Photographs Used in Wurlitzer Advertising and Public Relations, 1904-1970; undated Subseries 1, Promotional and Advertising Photographs, 1904-1970; undated

For more information contact the Archives Center at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270

Subseries 2, Miscellaneous Photographs, 1940s, 1970; undated Series 8, Wurlitzer Employee Records and Related Materials, 1909-1961; undated

Subseries 1, Employee Expense Reports, and Salary Records, North Tonawanda Division, 1925-1942; undated Subseries 2, Payroll Books, Salary Schedules, Salary Adjustment Applications, and Related materials, 1909-1945 Subseries 3, General Employee Information, 1934-1961; undated Series 9, Production and Shipping Records, 1905-1987 Subseries 1, Disposition of Instruments Shipped by Serial Number, 1905-1911, 1925-1938 Subseries 2, Production Control Piano Serial Numbers, 1971-1981 Subseries 3, Piano Serial Number Printouts, DeKalb Division, 1966-1987 Subseries 4, Piano Serial Number Printouts, Holly Springs Division, 1979-1989 Subseries 5, Warranty Registration Printouts, 1977-1980 Subseries 6, Serial Number Registers 1971-1981 Subseries 7, Shipping Lists and Related Materials for Non-Defense Products, 1911-1956 Subseries 8, Inspection Materials and Product Specifications, 1943-1980, 1980, 1987 Series 10, Shipping and Sales Records for Wurlitzer Dealerships, Wurlitzer Retail Stores, and Rembert Wurlitzer, Incorporated, 1917-1952 Subseries 1, Records of Pianos and other Instruments Shipped to Wurlitzer Stores and Other Retail Records, 1925-1933 Subseries 2, Records of Instruments Shipped to Dealers,1930 Subseries 3, Records of Pianos and other Instruments Shipped to Wurlitzer Stores and other Retail Records, 1925, 1930 Subseries 4, Subseries 4, Sales Reports and Data, Audits, and Inventories for Wurlitzer Retail Stores, 1917-1951 Subseries 5, Rembert Wurlitzer Incorporated, New York, 1949-1952 Series 11, Records of Stock Certificates, Meeting Minutes, and Related Financial and Legal Documents, 1907-1972 Subseries 1, Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, Wurlitzer Subsidiaries, and Other Related Companies, 1907-1972 Subseries 2, Records of Stock Holdings by Members of the Wurlitzer Family, 1920s-1930s Series 12, Rudolph Wurlitzer Company Financial Records, 1893-1986 Subseries 1, Audit Reports, Financial Statements, Tax Records and Related Materials, 1899-1950 Subseries 2, President's Reports to Board of Directors and Annual Reports, 1936-1986 Subseries 3, Journals, Ledgers, and Cash Books, 1893-1938 Series 13, Maps and Charts, 1931-1976 Series 14, Organ Installation Drawings, 1920-1931; undated

Scope and Content: The collection documents the history and the development of the Wurlitzer Company. Materials include company publications, business records, employee files, manufacturing records, sales and marketing records, product information, publicity, advertising, photographs, audiovisual materials, and organ installation drawings. The material in the collection spans from 1856-1986, although information prior to1899 is sparse.

For more information contact the Archives Center at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270

Series 1, Wurlitzer Company Histories, Company Events, and General Business Materials, circa 1890-1987; undated, consists of materials created and used at the corporate business offices of the Wurlitzer Company. It includes diverse types of materials but the quantities of each type are small. The materials are arranged in chronological order within each subseries. This series is divided into eight subseries:

Subseries 1, Family and Company Histories, 1939-1897; undated, include Wurlitzer family genealogy, histories of the company and informational pamphlets distributed by the Wurlitzer Company.

Subseries 2, 1956 Centennial Celebrations and Other Events, 1947-1980, contains material created for the celebration of the Wurlitzer Company's centennial and include more information about the history of the company.

Subseries 3, Correspondence and Other Communications, 1913-1970s, consist primarily of correspondence, announcements, memos, and press releases. Also included is a lengthy correspondence regarding the sale of the organ at the New York Paramount Theater.

Subseries 4, Contracts and Legal Documents, 1918-1987, include World War I government contracts, general contracts, and taxation and legal documents.

Subseries 5, Publicity and Press Clippings, 1905-1971, include newspaper clippings and scrapbooks, news reprints, and original copies of newspapers featuring news about the company.

Subseries 6, Marketing Studies, 1934-1952, are materials relating to beverage dispensers, surveys of music schools, juke box operators, and organ dealers.

Subseries 7, Medals and Awards, 1880-1944, include materials from the 19th century industrial expositions and Army-Navy "E" awards earned during World War II.

Subseries 8, Seal Embossers and Visitor Registers, 1916-1938 include corporate seals for the Wurlitzer Company and for the state of Georgia. There are also visitor registers for the Chicago office.

Series 2, Publications, 1910-1989; undated, consists of copies of publications created by the Wurlitzer Company documenting its history and activities. The materials are arranged in chronological order. This series is divided into two subseries:

Subseries 1, Wurlitzer Publications, 1913-1978, contains in-house publications about the company's activities and includes The Wurlitzer Booster, Wurlitzer Lyre, Wurlitzer World, Wurlitzer Bulletin, Wurlitzer Piano Field and Factory, Wurlitzer Keynote, Keyboard Notes, and Noteworthy

Subseries 2, General Publications and articles relating to Wurlitzer, 1910-1989; undated, include trade magazines, general interest magazines, booklets and articles.

For more information contact the Archives Center at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270

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