DeBence Antique Music World facts for kids
DeBence Antique Music World is a fascinating museum located in Franklin, Pennsylvania. It's home to more than 100 old-fashioned mechanical musical instruments. Imagine music boxes, huge band organs, and pianos that play all by themselves! The museum also has many other cool antiques. Lots of these musical machines are super rare. Some are among only a few ever made. A few are even the very last ones still existing! This collection is truly priceless.
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How Did the DeBence Museum Start?
The DeBence Family Collection
The story of this amazing collection began in the 1940s. A couple named Jake and Elizabeth DeBence were dairy farmers. They lived in Grove City, Pennsylvania. They loved going to auctions. One day, they bought two beautiful lamps for a great price. This made them want to collect more unique items. Soon, they started collecting antique musical instruments. Their collection grew bigger and bigger over the years. Even today, people still donate items to the museum!
Moving to Franklin
In 1965, Jake and Elizabeth retired. They moved to Franklin, Pennsylvania. They kept their huge collection in their barn. They even opened it up for people to come and see. They called it 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 want the collection to stay in Franklin. So, she said no to the huge offer.
Saving the Collection
Elizabeth then reached out to the local Chamber of Commerce. Local people quickly formed a non-profit group. They called it the Oil Region Music Preservation Museum. This group worked hard to raise money. In just over seven months, they raised $1 million to buy the collection! People even bought wooden music notes to put in their yards. This showed their support for keeping the collection in Franklin.
The museum found a new home on Liberty Street. It's in the building where a G.C. Murphy five and dime store used to be. DeBence Antique Music World officially opened for tours in 1994. Besides the musical instruments, the museum displays many other antiques. These include items Jake and Elizabeth collected. There are also things with musical or local history. The museum is lit by over 40 Tiffany-style hanging lamps. These were also part of the DeBences' collection.
What Amazing Instruments Can You See?
The museum has many unique and historic musical machines. Here are some highlights:
- The Berry-Wood A.O.W. Orchestrion is a special nickelodeon. It plays 10 different instruments using a paper roll. This is the last working one of its kind! The Berry-Wood piano company built very few of these. It was their largest model, first made in 1912. Jake DeBence was once offered a lot of money for it.
- The 1850 Mandoline Basse music box is from Switzerland. It's the oldest item in the collection. It has tiny enameled metal bumble-bees. These bees strike bells as a metal cylinder spins and plays music.
- The hand-wound 1901 Gem Organette was a cheaper option. It cost only $3.25 in the Sears catalog! It was an alternative to a music box or phonograph. The Gem Organette was one of the first mass-produced music machines. Its music "cobs" cost 18 cents each. You could even get a machine for free with five pounds of flour!
- The Regina Grand music box plays melodies from over a hundred years ago. It uses a huge 27-inch disc. The music sounds beautiful, thanks to its solid mahogany case. It also has a coin slot and a storage spot built in.
- The Mills Novelty Company's Violano Virtuoso was very popular in 1911. President of the United States William Howard Taft even called it one of the decade's greatest inventions! This machine plays a violin using special rolls. A piano plays along with the violin. Lead weights are supposed to keep it in tune.
- Among the museum's old record players, two models are very special. They have table-top attachments. These use power from the record to make dolls dance to the music! The dancing figures are often worth more than the machines. This is because they were toys and often got broken.
- The Artizan Air-Calio Calliope from 1927 is super rare. Only three of these machines were ever made! It plays music from a special roll. It can also use a WurliTzer APP Roll, but only if it's reversed.
- The Wurlitzer Style 65 Band Organ is truly one-of-a-kind. No other model like it is known to exist! It can play in every musical key. This organ was last used publicly on a carousel. It was at Cabana Beach Park in Washington, Pennsylvania.
- The Wurlitzer 153 Band Organ was first used on a carousel. This was at Idora Park, Youngstown in Ohio. This machine has metal bells on the front. They play along with the music. This was one of the most popular models made by the Wurlitzer company.
- The Wurlitzer Pianino is another rare find. Fewer than two dozen of these remain. It has flute and violin pipes. These play along with a 44-note half-piano. These were some of Wurlitzer's first tries at making mechanical pianos.
- The Cremona "J" Tall Case is one of only a few ever made. This machine is one of several Cremona machines in the collection. It features many instruments. It starts playing when you put in a dime.
