[Jukebox-list] Mechanical Music!!!

[Jens Hultgren]

Jasper Sanfilipo lives in his Victorian style mansion near the Lexington
racetrack.
Jasper used to play cards with one of the Chicago show organizers, and one
show some of us were invited to go there and see his collection (which is
not open to the public, but sometimes for charities and special events).
Jasper didn't have many jukeboxes - I think only one 1015. But he did have
orchestrions and automatic mechanical instruments of all sorts - by the
hundreds! They were being meticulously restored by a staff of artisans and
craftsmen/women.
The centerpiece was the theatre organ, probably the largest ever in
existence. To hear it was really something, an unforgettable experience.
He also had the steam locomotive with a track laid out around the house, and
a huge building to house his indoor circus, that was the largest of its
kind, turnofthecentury, imported from France.
Drinks were free, and everybody was having a helluva time. Next year same
event, rumour had spread andthere were cars lined up in the parkway all the
way to the street, and things were getting a little out of hand, I think,
and Jasper stopped it for the next year.
You can check some of it out at
http://theatreorgans.com/il/sanfilippo/

I think the mechanical music instruments are magnificent, but they do lack
something that jukeboxes have - a sense of humour perhaps?
But Jasper's collection could be among the best collections of anything,
anywhere, anytime.

  Jens



On 8/4/06, Gary Young <gazzyoung_uk at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Hi Jackie, sounds like you were in heaven. I similar
> thing happened to me a few years back. By strange
> coincidences I was selling some 78s to a guy in
> Germany. It turned out he had a friend in England who
> just happened to live about 2 blocks from some of my
> relatives. That was coincidence number one. To save
> postage costs and any damage the plan was for me to
> deliver the 78s to England get paid for the records
> and visit my relatives at the same time. The 78s would
> then be taken to Holland where both parties would meet
> up at Rossmallen the big european Jukebox show.
> Coincidence number 2 was that the complete stranger
> that I was to deliver the 78s to just happened to have
> the most amazing collection of early jukeboxes and
> very rare amusement machines. I counted at least nine
> jukes all 30s and 40s in superb original condition.
> Most he had been bought from a Canadian who had
> imported them to the UK many years ago. There has a
> whole room dedicated to his amusement and pinball
> machines. It was like stepping back in time to a penny
> in the slot. vintage amusement arcade. We have since
> become firm friends and he has agreed (hopefully) to
> sell me a rockola 1426 which has been in his garage
> for over 10 years and he has no more space. He told me
> a story of when he was over in the US for one of the
> big jukebox show (It may have been chicago) the
> organiser invited him back to his house which was
> really a huge mansion sitting in acres of land. My
> friend was asked if he wanted to see what the
> gentleman had in his shed at the bottom of his garden.
> Most people keep tools and lawnmowers and stuff. Well,
> this guy must have had a huge shed, because he had a
> an old Casey Jones type steam locomotive in it. Its
> amazing the interesting and friendly people you can
> meet through the common thread of jukebox and record
> collecting.
>
>
>
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