I recently had the pleasure of assisting my friend with work on an
Orchescello (I don't believe I have the spelling right), a combination
player piano-pipe organ, made in Boston about 1913, serial #165.

It is about the size and shape of a large Orchestrelle.  There are two
manuals, the upper is organ only, the bottom is piano action + organ.
If you do not turn organ blower on, it plays piano only.  There is a
full pedal board.

The instrument plays 88-note rolls, and has elongated holes at each end
of the tracker bar; we suspect they are for Themodist rolls.  There is
no room for, or evidence of, a piano action pump in the bottom of the
case.  It has a modern remote suction unit.  There are large grates in
the floor over the basement pipe room, with shutters in each of the two
grates.  The shutters open and close with the organ blower on/off.  I
can't get the shutters to work from the console.  

We've made minor repairs to this instrument before, mainly lubrication.
There is no tracking mechanism, and this time the roll had been
wandering and not playing in spots.  We did a lot more playing around
with the machine this time, heard the piano play with the organ, and
was quite taken back!  It also has chimes that can't be shut off, but
were beautiful.

This is an original installation in the Beardsley mansion in Elkhart,
Ind.  This mansion is now a museum, and the instrument is played on
every tour.

Have any of you heard of one of these?  I'm going to be gone for a few
days, so won't be able to reply until I return home.

Jay Merrill

 [ In an attempt to verify the correct spelling of the name of the
 [ piano-organ Jay describes, I found the website for the museum,
 [ Ruthmere: http://www.ruthmere.org/  It has a picture of what seems
 [ to be the instrument.  But the website is under construction,
 [ and its links don't work at present.  I did email Ruthmere for
 [ more information.
 [ --Relief Editor.