Unique Experiences

Item Description

What a cool donation to our online auction!  This rare 1908 Nickelodeon Piano has been reconditioned, tuned and plays beautifully.  This Full Size Upright Nickelodeon Piano has a regular piano mode and a player piano mode.  

The Piano comes with the instruction manual.  It also comes with eight (8) "O" music rolls, including a very popular Christmas roll. Each music roll has 10 to 15 songs.  In addition to Christmas favorites, the music rolls are Ragtime & Dixie, Big Band, Broadway, Elvis Presley, and more (see the attached photos).  The player piano mode is activated by dropping a quarter into the slot or flipping a switch.  

SOMEONE'S GOING TO LOVE THIS ITEM!  The piano is in excellent condition and has a gorgeous tone.  As you can see from the photos its cabinet style has beautiful stained glass.  The wood is medium brown satin oak.  It has been in the donor's family for at least 31 years.

Note: The day before this auction started, November 4th, the donors noticed a problem.  It looks like the piano clutch needs replacement, according to their conversation with a professional player piano technician.  The piano itself plays with no issue.  Sounds like it may be an easy repair.  Stayed tuned (forgive the pun!) about this or call BGHP to ask.

Per an informal appraisal report from Concert Pitch appraisal services, they provided the following information:  The 1908 Nickelodeon Piano was made by the S. W. Miller Company established in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1896.  S.W. Miller built high quality pianos and organs, and although the firm's advertising presented itself in a grandiose fashion, they actually built instruments in fairly modest numbers compared to their contemporary manufacturers.  The S.W. Miller Company was housed in a "state of the art" factory which was located at 15th and Bluff Streets in Sheboygan.  In addition to instruments sold under the S.W. Miller brand name, the firm also built a line of reproducing player pianos under the name of Electora.  Instruments by S.W. Miller were known to be of very good quality and craftsmanship.  The company was out of the business before the Great Depression of the late 1920s. 

In the late 1800s, pneumatically controlled player pianos were enhanced to contain many other instruments, which were automatically played to simulate a complete band.  While officially called an orchestrion, this instrument is widely known as a "Nickelodeon".  Some were coin operated, others not.  Orchestrions faded into oblivion in the early 1900s due to the phonograph and radio.  A coin operationed Orchestrion was built in the 1970s by the Nickelodeon Piano Company of Huntsville, Alabama.  [It has been confirmed that this piano uses "O" style paper roll spool frame.] The Ragtime Automated Music Co. (aka Ragtime West), established in 1971 in Modesto, California started making pneumatic orchestrions, and by the 1990s, they developed MIDI (Musical Instrumental Digital Interface) enabled acoustic orchestrions using pneumatic valve operation.

The informal estimate of the fair market value (FMV) of this Nickelodeon Piano from Concert Pitch Piano Services in Canada appraised the FMV to be at least $6,000-$7,000, without being able to see it or hear it.  It was cleaned in 2003.  In February 2022 the local piano technician wrote up a report including an observation that it had been reconditioned within the past 31 years with new hammers, new damper felts, new keytops and new (modern) rubber-fiber dual casters. It also confirms that the internal instruments all work which includes drums, xylophone, and cymbals and that the case has been refinished.

The donor reports that although the piano currently plays loudly, the volume can be adjusted, and it does have the switch to do it.  It is recommended prior to making any adjustments to this piano, a player piano technician be consulted.

The donor has a oak piano stool which was gifted to them, but was not repaired properly so it rocks a little.  This stool is part of this piano package.

This item is at the donor's Eureka home, and appointments can be made to see/hear it.  Please contact our auction administrator at rosegz@hcbhp.org or call (707) 825-8345 x-110 if you are interested in scheduling.

Item Special Note

This item will not be shipped and highest bidder must arrange transportation.