8’ W. x 10’ T. x 3’ D. Circa 1915, Imhof & Mukle (Vohrenbach, Germany). One of only three Badenia models still known to exist today. This example was installed in a Swiss hotel lobby almost 100 years ago. Decades later it was acquired by prominent German collector Klaus Fischer, and later moved to America to join the famous Milhous Collection of Boca Raton, FL. The instrument is currently a part of the extensive musical collection of Paul and Chris Andrews of Ft. Worth, Texas. This example features unusually ornate German case design with wooden carved arched pediments, original bronze Art Nouveau lights on its side cabinets, and three glass moving pictures commonly known today as “moving scenes”. Electricity was a relatively new phenomenon at the time of its manufacture, making this Imhof instrument quite a sensation when new in 1915. The Badenia name is derived from Baden, the German state that includes the town of Vohrenbach, where the Imhof & Mukle factory still stands today. The motion portion of the three moving scenes includes a waterfall, windmill, and dirigible, which was considered the most advanced form of
aviation transportation at the time. Instruments that were constructed with glass animated effects were available on the very largest Orchestrions of the day, and other manufacturers such as Hupfeld, Wurlitzer, and Phillipps also produced moving scene effects. Today, these are considered a great rarity from this bygone era. Due largely to the destruction during WWI and WWII, very few still survive. The musical instrumentation of the Badenia includes a piano with expression effects, xylophone, flute and violin pipes,
orchestra bells and percussion consisting of snare drum, bass drum, and cymbal. While in the Fischer collection it was restored to brilliant playing condition by Musikwerkstatt of Monschau, Germany. The instrument plays with original I&M cardboard rolls, a supply of which is included. It also operates with a modern digital MIDI player system. This feature was added by the firm of J. Verbeeck of Antwerp Belgium and includes a nice library of snappy current music song files. (Excellent). 90,000.00 - 140,000.00
21 сен 2024
