DeBence Antique Music World facts for kids
DeBence Antique Music World is a special museum in Franklin, Pennsylvania. It's home to over 100 old mechanical musical instruments. Imagine music boxes, player pianos, and even huge band organs that play music all by themselves! The museum also has many other cool antiques.
Many of these musical machines are very rare. Some are among the last of their kind in the world. People have offered millions of dollars for this collection, but the owners wanted it to stay right where it is!
The Story Behind the Music
How the Collection Started
The amazing collection began with Jake and Elizabeth DeBence. They were dairy farmers who lived in Grove City, Pennsylvania. In the 1940s, they started going to auctions. They bought two beautiful Tiffany-style lamps for a great price. This made them excited about finding more treasures!
Their collection of musical machines and other antiques grew bigger and bigger. Even today, people still donate items to the museum.
Finding a Permanent Home
When Jake and Elizabeth retired in 1965, they moved to Franklin, Pennsylvania. They kept their growing collection in their barn. Soon, they opened it to the public as the DeBence Music Museum.
After Jake passed away in 1992, Elizabeth thought about selling the collection. A group from Japan offered her $13 million! But Elizabeth felt Jake would have wanted the collection to stay together and in their local area. So, she said no to the offer.
Saving the Music for Everyone
Elizabeth then reached out to the local Chamber of Commerce. People in the community quickly formed a non-profit group. They called it the Oil Region Music Preservation Museum. This group worked hard to raise money to buy the collection.
In just over seven months, they raised $1 million! People showed their support by buying wooden music notes. These notes were placed in storefronts and yards all over town. It was a big community effort to keep the music in Franklin.
The museum officially opened for tours in 1994. It is located in an old G.C. Murphy five and dime store on Liberty Street. Besides the musical instruments, you can see many other antiques the DeBences collected. The museum is lit by more than 40 beautiful Tiffany-style hanging lamps.
Amazing Musical Machines
The DeBence Antique Music World has many unique instruments. Here are some of the highlights you can discover:
The Berry-Wood A.O.W. Orchestrion
This special nickelodeon is the last one of its kind that still works! It was built in 1912 by the Berry-Wood piano company. The A.O.W. Orchestrion is huge and can play 10 different instruments using a paper roll. Jake DeBence was once offered a lot of money for this rare machine.
The Oldest Music Box
The museum's oldest piece is the 1850 Mandoline Basse music box from Switzerland. It has tiny enameled metal bumble-bees! These bees strike bells as a metal cylinder spins, creating beautiful music.
The Gem Organette
The 1901 Gem Organette was a hand-wound machine. It was a cheaper way to enjoy music than a music box or phonograph. In 1901, it cost only $3.25 in the Sears catalog! This was one of the first music machines made for many people to buy. You could even get music "cobs" for 18 cents each.
The Regina Grand Music Box
The Regina Grand music box plays melodies from over a hundred years ago. It uses a large 27-inch disc to make music. The sound is even more beautiful because it comes from a solid mahogany wooden case. It even has a coin slot and a place to store things!
The Violano Virtuoso
The Mills Novelty Company's Violano Virtuoso was very popular in 1911. The President of the United States, William Howard Taft, even called it one of the best inventions of that decade! This machine plays a real violin with piano music. It uses special rolls to create the sound.
Dancing Dolls and Record Players
Among the old record players, some have cool attachments. These attachments use the power from the record to make dolls dance to the music! The dancing figures are often worth more than the record players themselves. This is because they were seen as toys and often got broken.
The Artizan Air-Calio Calliope
The Artizan Air-Calio Calliope from 1927 is very rare. Only three of these machines were ever made! It plays music using a special type of roll.
Unique Wurlitzer Organs
- The Wurlitzer Style 65 Band Organ is truly one-of-a-kind. No other machine like it was ever made! It can play music in every key, which is very special. This organ was once used on a carousel at Cabana Beach Park.
- The Wurlitzer 153 Band Organ used to play music on the carousel at Idora Park, Youngstown in Ohio. It has metal bells on the front that add to the music. This was one of Wurlitzer's most popular models.
- The Wurlitzer Pianino is another rare find. Fewer than two dozen of these still exist! It has flute and violin pipes that play along with a small 44-note piano. These were some of Wurlitzer's first tries at making mechanical pianos.
The Cremona "J" Tall Case
The Cremona "J" Tall Case is one of only a few ever made. It is one of many Cremona machines in the museum. This machine plays many instruments and starts when you put in a dime.
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See also
- List of music museums
