John Rutoskey wrote in the 010920 MMD:

> Other organs that used the style 150 roll, mostly earlier styles, did
> use brass piccolos.  Early style 146 organs had brass melody piccolos
> on the front, not wood pipes as in the case of the late style 146-A
> and B.  The style 150 had a rank of brass clarinets also.

I would like to see some real documentation on this claim.  As I have
Mike Kitner's large collection of pipes, I have been spending most of
my (now unemployed) waking time sorting through eight boxes of pipes,
each which holds one cubic foot of material.  Plus twice that amount
in large mitered pipes.  John R. has asked me for the so-called "brass
146 piccolos" that Mike supposedly had.

In searching Bowers' Encyclopedia and other writings, along with
dozens of hits on search engines like Google, I can find no indication
that the Wurlitzer 146 ever had brass.  I think it important, in light
of what Judith Howard wrote, to understand what these instruments were
made of, and what enhancements and other things were done by park
maintenance people to update the instrument.

I have also taken to traveling to organ rallies and meetings to see for
myself some of the existing instruments, to compare them with the parts
I do have.  Many of us are likely to see the century of these designs;
a lot can happen in 100 years.  Sure there are exceptions -- many times
the exception is documented and the common pattern is ignored.

I do know, in my study of Wurlitzer roll frames and tracker systems,
that there are six major variations.  Even I will be guilty of this as
I have an early style Simplex tracker frame which I restored and will
be putting it into a Caliola I am re-constructing.

I have been fortunate to view three Caliolas in major collections,
and a collector has sent me pictures of another one.  All of them
have subtle variations for individuality.  According to Art Reblitz'
"Treasures" book (which I do not personally have a copy of but have
been allowed to see pages of for good behavior), there were 62 Caliolas
made, which is quite a lot compared to other organs.

I do know that I have stack parts, bell mechanism parts, trombones and
the stopped 'G' bass helper of a Wurlitzer 146.  Thanks to Jack Conway
and Matthew Caulfield, who along With Dr. Bill Black supplied me with
146 photographs.  This has made me sensitive to what was.  Like many,
I am limited to catalog pages collected in other eras.

When I was starting the documentation of the Wurlitzer 165 I really
thought that, since a 105 had brass, a 165 should as well.  I saw an
instrument kits at eBay auction which was basically a collection of
parts like mine, with the wrong spoolbox marked as original.  This
so-called 105 had a rank of brass clarinets that looked to be an
add-on.

We must be careful that, as we learn, we do not spread misinformation.
There are people for who this is common knowledge.  I would like to
hear from them as well.

Julie Porter