Given the comparatively high prices (about an average annual income) of pianolas and push-up players, as well as the associated music rolls, it was mainly well-to-do and very wealthy people who owned these innovative musical instruments. Manufacturers such as Welte, whose instruments cost more like two annual incomes, also initially focused exclusively on royal and princely clients – not only because of the high prices, but also because the highest degree of artistic interest was assumed there.
Aeolian began very early on to explicitly name personalities as customers. Hupfeld and Welte then increasingly felt obliged to publish concrete customer lists as well – mainly with very well-known names of great advertising value. Around 1914, M. Welte & Söhne GmbH of Freiburg published a 25-page small catalog, “Welte im eigenen Heim” (Welte in your own home), with photos of Welte instruments in the rooms of well-known customers. It shows the instruments in different style variants to suit the respective salon, music room, study, reception room, vestibule, etc. At the same time, quotes from artists and owners praising the Welte system are listed.
This small catalog and other publications list many of the owners of Welte instruments – which we list here without comment to give an impression of the homes in which these instruments stood. This list is of course not complete – after all, it can be assumed that more than 6,000 Welte instruments were built in total. Only very rarely are Welte instruments still owned by their first owners today – but it does happen occasionally that today, 100 years later, faithfully restored Welte instruments are acquired again by descendants of the original owners.
Excerpt from the list of customers of M. Welte & Söhne:
His Royal Highness Grand Duke Friedrich of Baden
His Serene Highness Prince Thurn and Taxis
His Royal Highness Prince Alfons of Bavaria
His Royal Highness Duke Carl, Munich
His Majesty King Georg of Greece
His Majesty the King of the Belgians
Her Majesty Queen Margaritta of Italy
Her Majesty Helene of Italy
Her Majesty the Queen of Naples
His Imperial Majesty the Sultan, Constantinople
Son Altesse Royale Le Kedive d’Egypte
His Majesty the King of Siam
Son Altesse Imperiale le Duc Georg de Leuchtenberg
Le Duc de Montpensier, Paris
His Serene Highness Prince Hohenlohe Paris von André Cannes
Baron de l’Espée, Paris
His Highness Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich
His Serene Highness Prince Rudolph Lichtenstein
His Serene Highness the Reigning Prince Johann von and zu Lichtenstein
Her Highness the Dowager Princess Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
His Serene Highness Prince Dolgurucki, Rome
Her Highness Princess of Battenberg, Darmstadt
Her Grace de Duchesse of Manchester
Her Duchess of Marlborough (née Vanderbild)
Count Fritz von Hachenburg
Prince Wittgenstein, Heidelberg
Countess M. Branicka, Bjelaia
Count Kossakowski, Warsaw
Count Ph. v. Kageneck, Freiburg
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Connaught St. James
Lord Pirrie, London-Belfast
Field Marshall Lord Roberts
Count Limburg-Styrum, Berlin
Imperial Count Fritz von Hochberg, Halbau
Lord Wolsely, Hampton Court
Earl of Dysart, Richmond
His Grace the Duke of Newcastle London
General Tan Hamilton, Malta
Lieutenant General A. A. Wakulowsky Dotschinsky, St. Petersburg
Actual State Councilor A. G. Eliesejeff, St. Petersburg
Count A. A. Orloff-Dawydow, St. Petersburg
Chief Lady-in-Waiting Baroness von Reitzenstein
Baron von Venningen Baden-Baden
Baron von Goldschmidt-Rothschild, Frankfurt am Main
Baron von Thiele-Winkler, Vollratsruhe
Baron Teixeira de Mattos, Rotterdam
Baron von Barnekow, Altmarrzin
Baron von Blanckenburg-Schötzow
His Excellency Baron von Bodman, Freiburg
His Excellency Dr. Bürklin Privy Councilor, Karlsruhe
His Excellency Privy Councilor Röntgen, Munich
His Excellency Minister Ruhstrat, Oldenburg
Director General Ballin, Hamburg
Director, Captain (Navy) von Grummer, Hamburg
Imperial Consul Ferd. Schott, Gibraltar
Central Director Ferd. Ritter von Böhm-Bowenberg, Vienna
Industrialist Ludwig Ritter von Liebig zu Reichenberg in Bohemia
Professor Dr. Max Schottelius, Freiburg
Manufacturer A. Dietler, Freiburg
Manufacturer Heinr. Brenzinger, Freiburg
Manufacturer Theod. Kromer, Freiburg
J. Himmelsbach, Freiburg
Gentleman of private means Theod. Ganz, Freiburg
Pharmacist Höltscher, Freiburg
Ivan Hörner Gentleman of private means, Freiburg
Franz Pyhrr Director, Freiburg
Mrs. Isenberg, Glotterbad and Bremen
Manufacturer Berth. Ziegler, Todtnau
Industrialist A. ten Brink, Arlen-Rielasingen
Privy Commercial Councilor A. Wacker, Schwachen
Konstant Kraft, Karlsruhe
Max Schwab, Karlsruhe
Dr. Knittel, Karlsruhe
F. Winkelsröder, Pforzheim
Director F. Artmann, Mannheim
Commercial Councilor H. Vögele, Mannheim and Triberg
E. Lämmert, Mannheim
Willy Kaufmann, Mannheim
Prof. Dr. Krehl, Heidelberg
Commercial Councilor Schott, Heidelberg
Privy Councilor Dr. Gans, Frankfurt am Main
Director Schäfer, Frankfurt am Main
Director Habers, Frankfurt am Main
H. Suhlfeld, Frankfurt am Main
Mrs. von Deusler, Frankfurt am Main
Consul General Weinberg, Frankfurt am Main
Dr. Lohsen, Frankfurt am Main
Manufacturer W. Haller, Friedberg near Frankfurt am Main
Ludwig Ganz, Mainz
Manufacturer Franz Gastell, Mainz
Manufacturer (sparkling wine cellar) Otto Henkell, Wiesbaden
A. Th. Schüfer, Wiesbaden
H. W. Pfühler sen., Wiesbaden
A. Domeier, Wiesbaden
M. Sutorius, Wiesbaden
Dr. Graefe, Wiesbaden
Commercial Councilor Rüping, Wiesbaden
Commercial Councilor Wünsch, Rothenburg (Tauber)
Privy Building Councilor von Rieppel, Nuremberg
Privy Commercial Councilor R. Wetzler, Eupen (Rhld.)
Commercial Councilor Engelhorn, Stuttgart
Commercial Councilor Dr. Enke, Stuttgart
Senior Building Councilor Weigle, Stuttgart
Prof. Hofmeister Senior Medical Councilor, Stuttgart
Dr. Karl Höhn, Ulm
Privy Councilor Benger, Uhlbach
Commercial Councilor A. Junghans, Schramberg
Dr. Kuhlmann Attorney, Dortmund
Major von Oeser, Mühlhausen
Gentleman of private means Sager, Colmar
Manufacturer Aug. Michel, Strasbourg
Dr. Sorgius, Strasbourg
Humert de Wendel, Hayingen
Director General Großberger, Kneutlingen-Hütte
Commercial Councilor Behrens, Hannover
Commercial Councilor Hornschuh, Hannover
Gust. Heise, Hannover
Banker S. L. Mayer, Hannover
Regional Councilor Baron v. Spörcken, Lüdersburg
HUPFELD REFERENCES
In a Phonola catalog from around 1908, Hupfeld includes a multi-page list of customers to whom instruments were delivered. We will list these here soon as well.