Marquette Piano Co. (Chicago, Illinois)

The Cremona Style K is one of a few American orchestrions with four art glass panels, two hanging lamps of the arts and crafts style and a beautiful case featuring full-length rectangular columns. It is the only American-made orchestrion with three ranks of pipes: 30 each of violins and flutes, 19 piccolos, with solo capability, plus castanets, tambourine and triangle, playing style M rolls. It was made by Chicago's Marquette Piano Co. in the mid to late 'teens. Fewer than two dozen are known. This example was one of the Milhous brothers' first acquisitions. It is still playing on an older partial restoration and includes a dozen re-cut 10-tune style M rolls.

Among American makers of coin-operated automatic musical instruments, the Marquette Piano Company of Chicago was one of the most admired. A wide variety of different pianos, orchestrions and even photoplayers was sold under the Cremona trademark. Marquette began in 1905 as a maker of player mechanisms for other piano companies. It entered the field of coin-operated instruments in 1907, establishing itself as one of the earliest American firms in the industry. The first Cremona instruments were keyboard-style pianos which used regular 10-tune "A" rolls, often with clear glass panels in the front. Among the employees was none other than J.P. Seeburg, who worked there circa 1905 to 1907 before leaving to start his own business. In ensuing years, continuing through the 1920s, many different Cremona instruments of great beauty were produced. The top of the line were two orchestrions, the presently-offered Style K, with an art glass front and arched wooden ends on the keyboard, and the Style J, with even more extensive instrumentation, an example of which is also in the sale. Either of these Milhous instruments will be a centerpiece in the collection of its next owner. 66x68x30 inches.