39 Facts About Wurlitzer

Wurlitzer initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments from Germany for resale in the United States.

Wurlitzer enjoyed initial success, largely due to defense contracts to provide musical instruments to the US military.

Wurlitzer is most known for their production of entry level pianos.

Over time, Wurlitzer acquired a number of other companies which made a variety of loosely related products, including kitchen appliances, carnival rides, player piano rolls and radios.

Wurlitzer operated a chain of retail stores where the company's products were sold.

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Wurlitzer ceased manufacturing jukeboxes in 2013, but still sells replacement parts.

Wurlitzer initially imported musical instruments from the Wurlitzer family in Germany for resale in the United States.

Wurlitzer was an early American defense contractor, being a major supplier of musical instruments to the US military during the American Civil War and Spanish–American War.

In 1880, Wurlitzer started manufacturing its own pianos, which the company sold through its retail outlets in Chicago.

Wurlitzer bought an interest in de Kleist's North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory in 1897.

In 1909, Wurlitzer bought the entire operation, and he moved all Wurlitzer manufacturing from Ohio to New York.

Wurlitzer abandoned production of nickelodeons but continued to manufacture the music rolls for player piano music through a wholly owned subsidiary called the Endless Roll Music Company.

Wurlitzer assumed production of Lyric brand radios from the All American Mohawk Radio Company in Chicago.

Wurlitzer constructed a separate plant at Goundry and Oliver Streets in downtown North Tonawanda specializing in short production runs to manufacture organs and hurdy-gurdies for amusement parks, circuses, roller rinks and carnival midways.

Rembert Wurlitzer independently directed the firm's violin department from 1949 until his death in 1963, building it into a leading international center for rare string instruments.

In 1967, Wurlitzer entered the guitar market as the sole distributor of Holman-Woodell guitars, which were originally sold under the Wurlitzer brand.

Wurlitzer then switched to an Italian guitar maker, Welson, before abandoning guitar sales altogether in 1969.

Wurlitzer sold its Martin rights to LeBlanc in 1971, to focus on its core markets with pianos and jukeboxes.

In 1973, Wurlitzer sold its jukebox brand to a German company and closed the North Tonawanda factory.

Wurlitzer continues to manufacture jukeboxes and vending machines at its factory in Hullhorst, Germany.

Wurlitzer headquarters are located in Hullhorst, and it has distribution and sales offices in Gurnee, Illinois and Oxfordshire, England.

In 1914, Wurlitzer became the sole distributor of Melville Clark Pianos and in 1919 acquired the Melville Clark company.

Wurlitzer continued to manufacture pianos at the Clark factory in DeKalb, Illinois under the Melville Clark name.

Wurlitzer made at least three different versions of the 73 key model butterfly.

Wurlitzer bought de Kleist's interest in the business in 1909 and assumed operation of the North Tonawanda factory.

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Wurlitzer abandoned production of band organs and nickelodeons in 1939 but continued to manufacture the paper music rolls through a wholly owned subsidiary called the Endless Roll Music Company.

Production of Wurlitzer organs ceased in 1939, the last organ to leave the factory being a style 165 organ in a 157 case.

Wurlitzer, starting around 1900 until circa 1935 produced nickelodeon pianos, or coin pianos, which are electrically operated player pianos that take coins to operate, like a jukebox.

Wurlitzer produced an automatic roll changer system so when a roll finished rewinding another was put on in a carousel-like system.

Records indicate Wurlitzer sold player piano mechanisms to other manufacturers who installed Wurlitzer components in their own pianos and sold them under other brand names.

Wurlitzer used a system of unification, which multiplied considerably the number of stops relative to the number of ranks.

The Mighty Wurlitzer survived the war, but was seriously damaged in 1962 by a fire caused by a careless cigarette.

Wurlitzer was the iconic jukebox of the Big Band era, to the extent that Wurlitzer came in some places to be a generic name for any jukebox.

Wurlitzer's success was due to a first rate marketing department, the reliable Simplex record changer, and the designs of engineer Paul Fuller who created many cabinet styles in the "light-up" design idiom.

Already in 1960 Wurlitzer founded a wholly owned subsidiary in Hullhorst, Germany, the DEUTSCHE WURLITZER GMBH, which was building electronic organs, vending machines, mostly cigarette vendors, and jukeboxes for the European market.

Deutsche Wurlitzer was at that time a major factor in Europe for vending machines and coin-operated phonographs, the internal word for jukeboxes.

Jukeboxes bearing the Wurlitzer name were in production until the company ceased manufacturing in 2013.

Wurlitzer became the sole distributor of guitars made by the Holman-Woodell Company of Neodesha, Kansas.

In 1967, Wurlitzer ceased its affiliation with the Holman-Woodell Company, possibly due to problems with the finish on Holman-Woodell guitars which resulted in many instruments being returned to the factory.