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Featured Phonograph № 115 - Magnola Talking Machine Co.

Make: Magnola Talking Machine Co. Chicago
Model: Sheraton
Serial #: N/A
Year(s) Made: 1916-1924
Original Cost: $ 110.00
Case/Cabinet Size: 43 inches tall; 18 ½" wide; 20" deep (has record files inside middle drawer)
equipped with casters.

Turntable/Mandrel: 12" turntable (Heinemann / Okeh) tan original felt.

Reproducer/Sound-Box: Heinemann No. 11 Universal Soundbox (plays all makes of records); Mica Diaphragm with nickel plated pot metal construction.

Motor: Motor of Quality (P5001) pillar and plate style; Double Mainspring; 3 weight governor; fibre governor drive gear, female crank; Plays 3 ten inch records on one winding (per catalog, and actual capability)

Horn Dimensions: N/A (has a tone graduator on side of machine to control volume)
Patented 12/10/1918; Invented by A.P. Gustafson, assigner to M. Schulz Co.

Reproduction Parts: None

Current Value: $ 200-350

Interesting Facts: Originally located at 711 Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL.
The company was founded in 1916, by Otto Schulz, President, the parent company was Schulz Piano Co., a fine maker of pianos in Chicago. The company promoted OKEH label records in advertisements. The machines came with a company printed record catalog. The company offered 4 models of machines in their catalog, ranging from $85.00 to 215.00. The Sheraton was offered in Oak and Mahogany finish. The machine has a balanced spring lid support.

A little more info on the Magnola Talking Machine Company.

OTTO SCHULZ -Manufactuer of 711 Milwaukee Avenue Chicago Ill was born Aug 15 1870 in Chicago Ill Since 1886 he has been engaged in the piano business He was educated at Morgan Park Military Academy and at Bryant and Stratton's Business College Since 1899 he has been President of the M. Schulz Company of pianos, Magnola Talking Machine Co., and he is also president of the Werner Piano Company He is the president of the Werner Piano Company He is a Member of the Chicago Athletic Association the Evanston Golf Club the Press Club and the City Club In 1899 he married Miss Emma Jung and they have a family of four sons and one daughter and reside at 6106 Kenmore Avenue Chicago Ill.

The rather drab gray building at 711 N. Milwaukee Avenue reads "M. SCHULZ CO.," as does the front door stoop in decorative tile. Given its uninteresting appearance, one would figure this was probably just a small local retail business at one time.

In fact, M. Schulz Co. was a very successful major American piano manufacturer in the late 19th and early 20th century. Built in 1889, these were their main offices for decades. Their piano factories were located nearby at the Southeast corner of North Curtis (now Aberdeen) and Erie Street (the Kennedy Expressway runs through where this intersection once was located) and what is now 950 W. Superior Street.

The company was established in 1869 by Mathias Schulz, an immigrant born in Germany in 1842. After growing steadily for a few decades, the company was finally incorporated as a major business in 1891. He lived in a home on Damen Avenue where Big Star is located today in Wicker Park. Another Mathias Schulz investment, the Italianate-style building at 1537-9 N. Damen Avenue, still stands. After Mathias died in 1899, his son Otto became president.

The M. Schulz Co. built very high quality pianos and organs. Every piano sold came with a warranty that the instrument would last for ten years. As noted in their 1901 catalog, they prided themselves on paying close attention to every detail of piano production, from being made with the finest grade material to having the clearest and most accurate tone and scale in the industry.

Besides running M. Schulz Co., Otto Schulz owned other piano companies as well as a bank, as noted in this contemporary account of him in 1911. He was diagnosed with heart disease in 1919 but continued to run the company until 1925 when his son, Otto Junior, became the third-generation president of the company. Otto Sr. died on July 30, 1929 at the age of 58 and was buried at Rosehill Cemetery. The company had big plans with a child-size Marionette baby grand around this time, but unfortunately, these plans were never fully realized as M. Schulz Co. was forced out of business in the early 1930s due to the Great Depression.