Paul Fuller for Wurlitzer

Acquired from the Antique Apparatus Co., Ventura Boulevard, Los Angeles.

Wurlitzer is a name synonymous with the effusive excitement of the rock’n’roll spirit in the form of its vibrant 1940s jukeboxes: at the time, the brand name ‘Wurlitzer’ was used by many to mean ‘jukebox’ in the same way as ‘Hoover’ or ‘Band-Aid’ are often used in British and American English. The history of the firm dated back to 1856, when the German Wurlitzer family of musical instrument makers founded an American branch for their exports. They began producing instruments in the US in 1880 and had a clear ability to harness new social developments in the consumption of music: as well as entry-level pianos for the home, the firm found great success in the early 20^th century producing pipe organs known as ‘Mighty Wurlitzers’ and new types of instrument like nickelodeons. The firm reached its zenith in the 1940s with its legendary jukeboxes, and remained in business until 2013.

At a time when three quarters of records produced in America went into jukeboxes,¹ the winning formula at Wurlitzer was predominantly the innovative and luscious designs produced by Paul Fuller (1897-1951). Fuller, who was of Swiss origin, began his career creating product displays at the department store Marshall Field & Co., and came into his own with Wurlitzer by introducing radical new materials and styles to jukebox design. Where jukeboxes had previously looked more like cabinets in wood and glass, Fuller created striking new effects through his pioneering use of shimmering catalin plastic, ‘liquid fire’ bubble tubes and polaroid film. His designs were also informed by historical design: the extravagant 850 model, the last one he designed before the USA entered the Second World War, recalls both 1920s Art Deco with its peacock panel and also fin-de-siècle Art Nouveau with its fluid metal mounts. Fuller’s jukeboxes are also known for their dynamic sense of spectacle, with novel flashing lights that often moved or even changed colour, as with the peacocks on this model. 

¹ Tyler Cowen, In Praise of Commercial Culture, Cambridge MA, 2000, pp. 164, 166.