The KD-200 was a Select-O-Matic, so it was able to offer 200 possible selections from both sides of up to 100 45rpm records. The song titles are displayed on a drum that rotates when a button is pushed. The KD-200 was manufactured with an electronic memory unit that could store multiple selections and recall them when it came time to play them.

Dimensions:
57”H x 34.75”W x27”D

Manufactured by:
J.P. Seeburg Corporation
Chicago, Illinois

The Continental 2 is able to play up to 200 selections from either 45 or 33rpm records and features the AMi Stereo Round sound system. Still a relatively new concept, the first stereo jukebox was made by Wurlitzer in 1959.

AMi was founded in 1909 as the National Automatic Music Co., making coin-operated player pianos. AMi developed the first electric jukebox amplifier in 1927, greatly increasing the popularity of jukeboxes. They merged with Rowe Corp., a vending machine manufacturer, in 1959. Today the company is known as AMI Entertainment Inc. and is a worldwide supplier of digital entertainment, such as touch screen games and Rock-Ola jukeboxes.

Dimensions: 65”H x 30”W x 29”D
Weight: Approx. 350 lbs.

Automatic Musical Instruments, Inc.
Grand Rapids, Michigan

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Wall-O-Matics were manufactured between 1948 and 1958 and were initially released with a painted finish. The chrome finish was introduced in 1950. This early set has been restored and painted a trendy turquoise. These units were a very common sight in diners and restaurants and are recognized today as true icons of the jukebox era.

A new cabinet design was introduced with this model. This was one of the last Seeburg designs where the playing mechanism was visible. The graphics were getting larger on the newer models, and began to restrict the window space for displaying the inner workings of the jukebox.

This is a jukebox we restored that we no longer own. On the display at the back of the jukebox was space to list additional song titles. There is also an ad for the LP titled “Elvis Sails”. This album had recordings of the press interviews with Elvis when he enlisted in the US Army, just before he sailed from the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Brooklyn, New York on September 22, 1958. The album was released in December 1958. Graphics like this could be replaced on the jukebox, as new ads became available.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Wurlitzer family had a reputation for purchasing and making very fine instruments dating back to the 17th century in Saxony (a German-speaking region that became part of Germany in 1945). In 1853, 22-year-old Franz Rudolph Wurlitzer emigrated to the U.S. to make his own way, rather than joining the family business as was traditionally done. Starting out in New Jersey and travelling to Philadelphia, he was unable to find employment until he found a job in Cincinnati as a door-to-door salesman. In 1854 he got a cashier job at a bank and was able to save enough money to contact his family back in Europe and request they send him some of their high-quality instruments. He sold a selection of woodwind instruments direct to local retailers that had previously gone through a succession of middlemen to import their instruments.

In 1856 Wurlitzer officially founded The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company in Cincinnati, Ohio as a musical instrument import business. He started out operating out of 3 small rooms on a part-time basis while still working at his job as a cashier at the bank. Wurlitzer’s import business grew quickly and moved to a new building in 1858. He opened a retail store with a showroom in 1860. He supplied drums and other musical instruments to the U.S. Army during the Civil War and by 1865 he was the largest supplier of band instruments in the country.

Wurlitzer made the transition from importing to manufacturing, and in 1880, Wurlitzer built and sold the first American-made Wurlitzer piano. The manufacturing took place in a factory located in North Tonawanda, New York. In 1889, Wurlitzer’s son, Howard joined the business. In 1896 they introduced the first coin-operated electric piano, called the “Tonophone”. In 1901 the Tonophone won the Gold Medal Award at the Pan American Exposition. The next major innovation produced by the Wurlitzer Company was the Mighty Wurlitzer. This was an organ that was used in cinemas and theaters during the silent movie era, supplying some background music.

The combination of “talkie” movies and the onset of the Depression of 1929 created very hard times for Wurlitzer. Their stock had fallen from a high of $119 a share in 1928 to $10 in 1933 and the company was in serious debt. The Wurlitzer Company convinced Homer Capehart to join their company to serve as their general manager and bring with him his rights to the Multi-Selector record-changing system that he had bought from the Simplex Manufacturing Company. This device allowed customers to insert a nickel and select a particular record to listen to on a phonograph, rather than only being able to listen to the records play in the order in which they were stacked. The Wurlitzer Company knew that Prohibition would soon be coming to an end and there would be a huge demand for coin-operated music. By 1937 Wurlitzer had sold over 100,000 phonographs and they dominated the phonograph market. The jukebox became known as the “small man’s concert hall” and today the Wurlitzer jukebox will always be associated with the Big Band Era due to its great success during that time period from the 1930s to the late 1940s. This is referred to today as the Golden Age of jukeboxes.

In 1946 the model 1015 Wurlitzer jukebox was introduced and they sold 56,000 units in less than two years. But Wurlitzer lost their edge in the jukebox market with the creation of the 45-rpm record. Their chief competitor, Seeburg, released a phonograph that was able to hold 50 records as opposed to Wurlitzer’s 24. Also, Seeburg’s jukebox was capable of playing both sides of a record, making it the first 100-selection juke. Wurlitzer was not able to come out with a competitive mechanism and Seeburg succeeded in dominating the jukebox market throughout the 1950s.

By the early 1970s Wurlitzer had virtually given up all jukebox production. They had some success in the 1980s with a return to retro and the re-release of the Wurlitzer 1015 jukebox. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1015 in 1986, it was released once more and called the “One More Time”. It was a unique juke, with 1946 styling and state-of-the-art music technology. The Gibson Guitar Corporation bought the Wurlitzer Jukebox Company in 2006 and they continue to produce jukeboxes today in their manufacturing plant in Hullhorst, Germany.

Seeburg HF100R Jukebox

A Swedish immigrant named Justus P. Seeburg founded the J.P. Seeburg Piano Company in 1902. The company began as a manufacturer of coin-operated electric pianos. These pianos were equipped with a music roll that indicated the notes to be played. The rolls could be changed depending on what music was popular at the time. In 1910 instruments were added to the automatic pianos, like violins, a mandolin, flute, snare drum, triangle and other percussion instruments to add to the quality of the sound it produced. This new design was called the “Orchestrion”.

Amplification was introduced in the 1920’s and allowed for a great improvement in the quality of 78-rpm record sound. Unfortunately, this also made player pianos less desirable, and as a result, less profitable. In 1927, the coin-operated non-selective phonograph was introduced and Seeburg stopped making player pianos and organs altogether.

In 1928 the “Audiophone” was introduced, which was a coin-operated 8-selection phonograph that played 78-rpm shellac records. It had 8 individual turntables that were mounted on a “Ferris-wheel” mechanism that was turned by a pneumatic pump. The large wheel with turntables would spin, allowing the customer to choose their songs. The cabinet for this phonograph was rather wide, to allow for the “Ferris-Wheel” within.

Seeburg was prospering in early 1929 and their engineering department developed a smaller and less expensive version of the Audiophone called the Audiophone Junior. Unfortunately, the stock market crashed later that year and the U.S. entered in to the Depression. Seeburg sales were nearly nonexistent so few Audiophone Juniors were sold, making it a rare model today.

During the Depression, the J.P. Seeburg Company had to diversify into other areas of manufacturing. They created coin meters for washing machines and refrigerators. They manufactured arcade games like the 1936 Seeburg Ray-O-Lite that utilized a revolutionary new light ray technology, developed by Seeburg. This game was encased in a beautiful wooden cabinet, as were the early Seeburg jukeboxes.

When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, Seeburg saw an increase in jukebox sales. They went back into production and introduced the “Selectophone” 10-selection phonograph. This new design had 10 separate turntables placed vertically on a spindle, each spaced so the tone arm could go up and down and between each turntable to play all of the records. This phonograph played 2 selections for a dime or one for a nickel. It was designed with an art deco-styled walnut cabinet that only needed 3 square feet of floor space.

In 1937 Seeburg introduced the “Symphonola” and the Melody King line of jukeboxes. This group consisted of the first machines with illuminated selection panels. In 1940 Seeburg added automatic record changers and phonographs to their line and became the largest supplier for companies like Stromberg-Carlson and RCA-Victor. Seeburg also manufactured their first bottle vending machine in 1940.

During WWII, Seeburg was dedicated solely to the development and production of electronics used by the US military. This earned Seeburg three Army-Navy “E” Awards (excellence awards). After the war, in 1948, Seeburg introduced “The Industrial and Commercial Music System”. It produced background music in offices, stores and factories with a 110-record automatic phonograph. The technology that made this possible was known as the Select-O-Matic mechanism. This was an impressive device that stored the records in a vertical position and was able to play both sides of both 78- and 45-rpm records. This technology was adapted and used in coin-operated phonographs as well, the first being the famous M100A. This very quickly made Seeburg the most successful manufacturer of jukeboxes. With improvements to record-making technology, the 45-rpm microgroove disc was introduced and Seeburg made the M100B that played 45-rpm records exclusively.

Seeburg M100C Jukebox

The years that followed brought many improvements to music systems that were copied by other manufacturers. In 1953 Seeburg was the first to introduce high-fidelity reproduction with a wide-range, low-distortion, multi-speaker instrument called the HF100G. In 1955 they came out with the first 200-selection phonograph.

Seeburg HF100G Jukebox

In 1956 the Seeburg family sold their company to Fort Pitt Industries and the Seeburg Company became a subsidiary of Fort Pitt. In 1958 a Seeburg phonograph was introduced with a 160-record selection. This proved to be the ideal capacity for a phonograph. It was also in ’58 that Seeburg returned to the manufacture of vending machines. They produced an electric cigarette vendor and in 1959 followed that with hot and cold drink vendors.

In 1961 Seeburg addressed the introduction of the 33½-rpm record by introducing two phonographs that could play both 45 and 33½-rpm records. They were the AY-100 and AY-160. The Select-O-Matic DS100 and DS160 followed these in 1962. Seeburg was active in promoting the 33 1/2 –rpm record as the next big-profit item for manufacturers.

Throughout the 1960’s, Seeburg, or one of its affiliates acquired various companies including those that made electronic organs, musical instruments and vending machines. They expanded their operations abroad. They also continued to make electronics at their industrial division for the US government. In 1968 Seeburg was sold to Commonwealth United and then in 1972 to Seeburg Industries. Again the company was sold in 1984 to a group of industry inventors that formed the Seeburg Corporation. In 1986 they introduced the first CD jukebox, called the Seeburg SCD1. The production of CD boxes led to the end of the Seeburg jukebox’s popularity, and by the late 1990’s the company was finally closed.

The Wurlitzer 1100 Jukebox was produced from 1947 to 1949. The look of the 1100 is indicative of the move away from 1940’s art deco design to the more modern look favored in the 1950’s. This was one of the first models where the glass dome over the record player is larger and can be opened up. The 1100 is a 24-selection jukebox that plays 78-RPM shellac records. Artists you can hear on records of the time are the great performers like Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James and Judy Garland. The domed glass front allows you to watch the arm lift the record onto the turntable. As the jukebox plays, brilliant multi-colored lights rotate within the pilasters, creating an impressive light show. The extensive chrome reflects the lights as the jukebox plays.

Dimensions: 57 7/8”H x 30 1/2”W x 27 1/4”D
Weight: 355 lbs.

Manufactured by:
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.
North Tonawanda, NY

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby.

View the video of the Wurlitzer 1100

1954 Seeburg HF100R Jukebox — “The R”

The Seeburg HF 100R Jukebox was produced from 1954 to 1955 and is one of the most sought-after of all the 50’s jukeboxes. This model was made in 1954 and features the chrome accents and visible Select-O-Matic system that was, and still is, so popular among collectors of jukeboxes from the Silver Age. It holds 50 records and is capable of playing up to 100 selections at a time. There are 5 speakers with a high-fidelity sound and a lightning bolt design across the speaker grill. The glass lid is larger on this model than on previous models, to allow for greater visibility of the mechanism. The lid lifts easily to change the records or selection titles. A 25-watt fluorescent lamp illuminates the mechanism, the speaker grill and ornaments and backlights the selection titles. The 100R accepts nickels, dimes and quarters: a nickel for one selection, a dime for 2 and a quarter for 6 plays.

Dimensions:
59”H x 35 1/2”W x 27”D

Weight: 325 lbs.

Manufactured by:

J. P. Seeburg Company

Chicago. Illinois

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby.

To view more pictures of the completed restoration visit the RetroPlanet.com Museum.

The Wurlitzer 1015 Jukebox was introduced in 1946, after WWII ended and building materials became available again. The 1015 brought the Wurlitzer Company great success, allowing it to rebound from near-bankruptcy brought on by the Depression. The 1015 pushed Wurlitzer forward as the leader of jukebox manufacturing, with 56,000 units being sold in less than 2 years. This was the Golden Age of jukebox production. And the 1015 wasn’t just a huge hit in the United States, but also appeared anywhere Americans went, following GIs all over the globe.

Also called the “1015-Bubbler”, this juke is arguably the most popular jukebox of all time. It was conceptualized by the famous designer Paul Fuller (who was chief designer with the Wurlitzer Company from 1935-1948). The ornate design of 1940’s jukeboxes has been referred to as “gothic” or having a “cathedral” look, but this juke has more of an art deco influence. With its illuminated, color-changing pilasters, 8 bubble tubes, shiny chrome and domed top, it is reflective of the positive, uplifted attitude of the post-war nation. The coin-operated 1015 plays 78-RPM records and has push-button Multi-Selector technology, allowing selected records to be played.

The model 1015 was produced from 1946 to 1947, and was so popular that many of them were utilized right into the 50’s. This longevity is responsible for the 1015’s association with the 1950’s sock-hop era. By 1954 the 45-RPM records were becoming so popular that the Wurlitzer factory introduced conversion kits for their jukeboxes so they could play them. In addition, the Wurlitzer 1015 was such a popular model of jukebox that in 1986 Wurlitzer celebrated the 40th anniversary of the 1015 by manufacturing it once again and dubbing it the “One More Time”. It had the classic design of the 1015 with all the latest technology, including the ability to play CDs.

Through the years, there have been many Wurlitzer 1015s that appeared in background shots of TV shows and films like “Cheers”, “Friends”, “Back to the Future” and “On the Waterfront”.

Dimensions:
60”H x 32”W x 24 1/4”D

Weight: 355 lbs.

Manufactured by:

The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.

North Tonawanda, NY

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby.

To view more pictures of the completed restoration visit the RetroPlanet.com Museum.

1950 Seeburg M100B Jukebox — “The B”

This jukebox was not only a revolutionary new phonograph for Seeburg, but also for the jukebox industry. It was the first Select-O-Matic coin-operated phonograph that played only 45-RPM records. It allowed for 100 selections from 50 records. It played only the newly introduced, high-quality, unbreakable, 7-inch vinyl 45-RPM records. This phonograph made Seeburg the sales leader in the jukebox building business. The 100B was built for two years, from 1950 to 1951 and introduced the Silver Age of Jukeboxes. Whereas the jukeboxes from the 1940’s used catalin plastic (a resin that had a tendency to yellow), resulting in the term “Golden Age”, the Seeburg jukes of the 1950’s were decorated with chrome. For this reason they were referred to as the jukes of the Silver Age.

Another feature of the Seeburg M100B is the visible record mechanism. A nickel plays one selection, 2 plays for a dime or 6 plays for a quarter. Once the coins are inserted, you can watch the Select-O-Matic mechanism travel down to your record selection, the record is placed vertically onto the turntable, and the vertical arm plays the record. Then you can watch the lights and listen to the great sound of your Seeburg 100B.

Dimensions: 54”H x 34”W x 28”D
Weight: 310 lbs.
Manufactured by:
J. P. Seeburg Company

Chicago. Illinois

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby.

To view more pictures of the completed restoration visit the RetroPlanet.com Museum.

Seeburg M100C Select-O-Matic Jukebox

The Seeburg M100C Jukebox was produced in 1952 and sold for $1050. It could play 100 selections, or both sides of 50 records. Selections were 1 for $.05, 2 for $.10 and 6 for $.25. Features include a 20-button selection system, removable title strip holders and illuminated front pilasters with rotating color cylinders. Additional features on the cabinet are a tiger oak veneer and 12 silvered glass tubes in front of the speaker grill.

Dimensions: 54 in. high x 35 in. wide x 26 in. deep
Weight: 305 lb.

Manufactured by:
J.P. Seeburg Company
Chicago, IL

We restored a Seeburg 100C here at Vintage Vending. What a beautiful machine! This is a very sought-after jukebox. Do you have anything additional to add to this blog, or have you seen a Seeburg jukebox? Then please, blog in.