Wurlitzer Model 850 jukebox

Pricing & History

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Wurlitzer Model 850 (1941) Plays 24 selections - 78 rpm Described by its manufacturer as "the only super deluxe phonograph in the industry," The 1941 Model 850 - also known as the Peacock - introduced Polarized film on a commercial scale. It is still the only jukebox ever to have used the film. The machine's Polarizer unit is made up of two spinning, Polarized acetate disks with three incandescent light bulbs behind each one. (reproduction Polarizer assemblies use a single bulb in each unit). The Polaroid film interacts with the cellophane in the "analyzer" assembly to create a prism effect, breaking up the white light and producing a rainbow of colors in the peacock display on the front panel as the disks rotated. The front door of the 850 is a sandwich composed of the front glass with the peacock image screened onto it; the analyzer, which kept the image from showing black spots; the Polaroid film; and a final sheet of clear glass. As Wurlitzer claimed at the time of its release - 1941 - t was "nothing like it ever on any phonograph." This is the largest jukebox that Wurlitzer ever produced. The analyzer and Polarizer unit on this box are reproduction units. The originals rarely survive and are not often found. The title strip covers, (the plastics covering the Name of the selections), are also reproductions as the originals are read more

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