Violano Virtuoso
date: label: date made
content: 1914
name: label: maker
content: Mills Novelty Co.
notes: label: Description
content: <p>This combination violin and piano player was made by Mills Novelty Company in Chicago, Illinois, in 1914. It is a Violano Virtuoso “Home Model,” serial #208, comprised of a violin and 44-note piano combination played electrically by a perforated paper roll. The instrument has a printed label with maker and patent information.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>The Violano Virtuoso is an electrically operated, self-playing combination violin-piano that was intended for use in American homes, educational settings, and public places such as restaurants, dance halls, hotel lobbies, resorts, and clubhouses. Invented by Henry K. Sandall, it was first exhibited in 1909 by the United States Patent Office at the Alaskan Yukon Pacific Exposition in Seattle, Washington. By 1912 the Violano was commercially available from the Mills Novelty Company, which had manufactured about 3000 of the instruments when production ceased around 1930. This instrument is a "Home Model," built for the Smithsonian Institution in 1914. </p>
label: Description
content: <p>The Violano Virtuoso was marketed as a mechanical violin player that was as good as, if not better than human violinists. The Mills Company employed classical violin makers to build custom violins in order to create the most convincing, realistic sound. Peter Christian Paulsen from Denmark was a violin maker at the Mills Novelty Co. from 1908 to 1919 and may be the maker of the violin used in this Violano Virtuoso.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>The celluloid bows above each string revolve and play any combination of one, two, three or all fours strings when activated. One set of electromagnets operate levers that press the bow onto a string from above while a second set engages the mechanical "fingers" from below to stop the strings at the appropriate pitch. These electromagnets are controlled by holes punched in the paper roll. As the holes roll over the sensor bar, an electrical circuit passes through, activating the hammers on the piano and the fingers and bows on the violin. In addition to controls for nuance of musical expression of piano and forte, and presto and adagio, a remarkable feature is the Violano's capability to perform on the violin with a vibrato effect.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>This instrument features the following patents:</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #488520 dated December 20, 1892, by Willard H. Gilman, for an electrically operated stringed musical instrument.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #505878 dated October 3, 1893, by Willard H. Gilman, assignor to William S. Reed, for a perforated music sheet.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #692248 dated February 4, 1902, by George Howlett Davis, assignor to The American Automusic Company, for a musical string instrument.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #796935 dated August 8, 1905, by Henry K. Sandell, for an electric current governor.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #807871 dated December 19, 1905, by Henry K. Sandell, assignor to Mills Novelty Company, for an electric self-playing violin.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #808311 dated December 26, 1905, by Henry K. Sandell, assignor to Mills Novelty Company, for a sheet perforating machine.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #848400 dated March 26, 1907, by Henry K. Sandell, assignor to Mills Novelty Company, for a sheet winder.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #852299 dated April 30, 1907, by Henry K. Sandell, assignor to Mills Novelty Company, for a perforated music sheet feed device.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #855021 dated May 28, 1907, by Henry K. Sabdell, assignor to Mills Novelty Company, for an electric self-playing violin.</p>
label: Description
content: </p>U. S. Patent #856604 dated June 11, 1907, by Henry K. Sandell, assignor to Mills Novelty Company, for an electric self-playing violin.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #859524 dated July 9, 1907, by Henry K. Sandell, assignor to Mills Novelty Company, for an electrical contact finger.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #859620 dated July 9, 1907, by Henry K. Sandell, assignor to Mills Novelty Company, for an electrical self-playing instrument.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #897021 dated August 25, 1908, by Henry K. Sandell, assignor to Mills Novelty company, for a perforated music sheet.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #907530 dated December 22, 1908, by Henry K. Sandell, assignor to Herbert S. Mills, for a sheet perforating machine.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #916789 dated March 30, 1909, by Henry K. Sandell, assignor to Mills Novelty Company, for an electrical contact brush.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>U. S. Patent #998264 dated July 18, 1911, by Henry K. Sandell, assignor to Mills Novelty Company, for an electric music sheet feeding device for self-playing instruments.</p>
label: Location
content: Currently not on view (door)
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Illinois, Chicago
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Music & Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
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content: Mechanical Musical Instruments
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Mills Novelty Company
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MI.283285
label: accession number
content: 56968
label: catalog number
content: 283285
label: serial number
content: 208
objectType: label: Object Name
content: violin and piano player
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: celluloid (bow wheels material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood, mahogany (case material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: steel (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: violin player: 64 1/2 in x 46 in x 32 in; 163.83 cm x 116.84 cm x 81.28 cm