Ann, Greetings from The Bronx! Regarding your inquiry about a small
nickelodeon in Texas, the instrument appears to be a Coinola 'Midget'
with xylophone and percussions. It was manufactured by the Operators
Piano Company of Chicago, Illinois. It plays the Coinola Style 'O'
music roll.
Not all Coinola instruments took full advantage of the 'O' roll's
capabilities; this particular 'Midget' has only the bass drum beater
and cymbal, but not the two tympani beaters. The snare drum has both
a single stroke beater as well as a reiterating or repeating beater.
At the bottom center of the photograph is a triangle. There might also
be a woodblock, but with the poor quality of the photo it's hard to
tell. (The 'O' roll scale also has provisions to play a tambourine.)
The 'Midget' would also have a mandolin attachment, wherein a rail with
leather strips with metal clips attached would drop down between the
piano hammers and the strings, and so would give the instrument that
'rinky-tink' sort of sound that nickelodeons were famous for.
I hope that this is helpful to you,
Dale F. Rowe
Bronx, New York
fredsorchestrion@aol.com.geentroep
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