ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER

Abelman, Frayne, &Schwab

On June 28, 1955, Angostura Bitters Ltd. received a registration for their brand of aromatic bitters used to flavor drinks:

ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters is a highly concentrated food and beverage flavoring. Made from a secret formula, it is a unique blend of natural herbs and spices that is used to flavour a wide variety of foods and drinks.

The story of Angostura® bitters begins with Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert. Originally from Germany, Johann Siegert, a doctor of medicine, left his homeland in 1820, the call of adventure ringing in his ears. He was bound for Venezuela, to join with Simon Bolivar in his fight against the Spanish throne. Bolivar then appointed him Surgeon-General of the Military Hospital in the town of Angostura.

Dr. Siegert was above all a scientist with a keen enquiring mind. He had seen soldiers battered by the enemy from without and within, by severe fevers and internal stomach disorders. From the beginning Dr. Siegert was determined to wrest a cure from nature itself and after four years of trial and error, researching and analyzing the qualities of tropical herbs and plants, he finally arrived at a unique blend of herbs which he called "Amargo Aromatico" or aromatic bitters. The year was 1824.

It was a period of great maritime activity in the Caribbean. The town of Angostura on the banks of the Orinoco River was an important trading post. Ships came into this port from all over the world, their sailors often complaining of sea-sickness. From the residents, they soon learned of the restorative qualities of Dr. Siegert's remedies and of Angostura® aromatic bitters began its continuing trip around the world. Dr. Siegert was encouraged to think of producing his bitters on a commercial scale.

In 1830, Dr. Siegert exported his unique aromatic bitters to England and Trinidad. By 1850, he had resigned his commission in the Venezuelan army, to concentrate on the manufacture of his bitters. By the time Dr. Siegert died in 1870, his reputation and that of his Angostura® aromatic bitters were internationally established.

On June 29, 1926, the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company received a registration for its brand of musical instruments: Rudolph Wurlitzer

The Wurlitzer family started buying and selling musical items in Saxony as far back as 1659. Rudolph Wurlitzer came to the United States in 1853 and started an import business selling instruments to the U.S. government during the Civil War. Soon he became the largest instrument supplier in America and through a chain of retail stores in Chicago he started marketing a line of pianos which he manufactured. It wasn't long before Rudolph attached a coin slot to a player piano and literally started the coin-operated music boom of the late 1800s.

Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, Wurlitzer became famous for the large theater organs that created sound for silent films. Rudolph Wurlitzer died in 1914, leaving the business to his three sons. As the demand for theater organs and automatic pianos weakened, Wurlitzer went through some difficult times. The depression of 1929 nearly put the company out of business.

In 1933, Rudolph's youngest son, Farny, entered into a deal with Homer Capehart. Wurlitzer would manufacture a coin phonograph. The repeal of prohibition was imminent and the demand for coin-operated music was about to explode. It did, and by 1937, Wurlitzer had sold over 100,000 coin-operated phonographs.

Wurlitzer dominated the coin-operated phonograph business until the introduction of the 45 rpm record. At that point, Wurliter's mechanism could handle up to 24 records, playing only one side. Seeburg introduced a new mechanism that held 50 records and could play both sides, yielding a true 100-select jukebox. Wurlitzer made many attempts to compete with this by engineering new mechanisms for its machines, but never really caught up with Seeburg's domination of the jukebox market. Wurlitzer held on into the '70s but then when demand for jukeboxes faded, so did the Wurlitzer factory, eventually going out of business.

A new company in Germany has purchased the name Wurlitzer and is manufacturing bubbler CD jukeboxes called "One More Time".