Orchestrion (Nickelodeon) - Image 1

Front view of Seeburg orchestrion (nickelodeon) with the panel doors closed. Cabinet made of quartered oak veneer. Torch-style, leaded art glass panels on doors are illuminated from behind by two incandescent light bulbs. Often called nickelodeons, because they play automatically each time a nickel is dropped into the slot, orchestrions were popular in restaurants, hotel lobbies, and saloons. Using a pneumatic action powered by an electric motor, the instrument is operated by changeable perforated paper rolls that each contain ten different tunes, many of them melodies from the 19th-century operatic and orchestral repertoire.