In reading a posting from a newsgroup loosely connected with mechanical
musical instruments, an anonymous writer asked whether anyone was
familiar with a 90-year-old gentlemen in San Francisco named Robert
Heilbuth who had a home-built band organ in his home playing Wurlitzer
band organ rolls.

That jogged my memory to several interesting visits I had with Robert
Heilbuth in San Francisco in the mid to late 1960's.  I had forgotten
about him, and I guess since he was advanced in his years when I saw
him, I assumed he was gone.

However, that apparently is not the case!  Around 1966, I had heard
stories of a somewhat reclusive gentlemen in San Francisco who had at
least one large home-built band organ in his San Francisco flat.  Since
I lived and breathed the Ross Davis Wurlitzer 165 organs in California,
as well as the San Francisco Playland 165 organ, I had to try to find
this person.

I finally located Robert Heilbuth who lived in a small 3rd floor San
Francisco flat.  He was a German immigrant, and cautiously and
gradually he welcomed me into his home for a lunch of ox-tail soup and
talk.  He wanted lots of conversation about everything, I wanted to
listen to the organs.  Yes, organs: two!  We finally compromised with
conversation and music.  Over a few visits in a couple years, I was
rewarded with an incredible listening experience, although I always
wanted more.

Robert Heilbuth had two home-built band organs, built into his home;
no facade or anything fancy, just the guts.  The first was an organ
modeled after the Wurlitzer 165 and sounding remarkably similar.  It
played style 165 music.  Heilbuth had many rolls, some T.R.T. 6690 and
6700 series, as well as some others.  Unfortunately, I didn't write
them down and don't remember, but some could easily have been original
Wurlitzer rolls.

He had also composed many tunes using the 165 scale and played them for
me.  He had a very simple perforator, but it worked!  His organ fed the
rolls from bottom to top, and he had respooled the 165 rolls to play
that way!

He had a second organ in his home, a more crudely built machine,
playing a roll and scale of his own design.  As I recall, these were
paper rolls, also feeding from bottom to top.  I remember a machine
that didn't look like anything special, but the music was incredible!

Unfortunately, I never visited Robert Heilbuth again, as work, travel,
and relocations intervened.  I would love to know if anyone else can
update this story, and if anyone knows what may become of this
remarkable musical collection.

Glenn Thomas