by Dr. Bill Black

A Rare Breed Indeed!

This months photo features a Calliope manufactured by the Artizan Factories around the 1927 period. They called their calliope "The AIR-CALIO". These were made in very small numbers and this example is thought to be the only surviving example. The calliope is part of a large collection of music machines at the DEBENCE ANTIQUE MUSIC WORLD in Franklin, PA (north of Pittsburgh).

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As the other Artizan machines, it uses only a pressure system and no vacuum system. It has 46 pipes and the keyboard range is three and three quarter octaves from C to A and all notes play. The music rolls are arranged especially for the machine and are not shared with other machines. So, the machine can be played either automatically from the music roll or by hand from the keyboard. Air pressure is provided by a bellows type pump similar to those used in band organs.

  

Their advertising pointed put several advantages of the AIR-CALIO over their competitors. No clogging of the vacuum system with paper dust as the dust is blown out of the tracker bar rather than sucked in. No problem of getting caught outside in the rain with the machine. The chests and valve mechanisms are built above the pipe mouth level obviating flooding during rains. No problem in the winter with freeze up whioh can happen with a steam operated calliope. Low height so it can be loaded into a one half ton canopy top truck.

The machine weighs 675 pounds and is larger than the Tangley which weighs 335 pounds. So, The Air Calio requires more muscle to move it around.

Would you like your band organ featured here? It's easy! Just contact Dr. Bill Black for information on how to submit your photos!