What’s Wrong with This Picture?

In the past, the Journal has carried “Mystery Photos”—and we’ll continue that, from time to time. Now, as we welcome the New Year, we’re introducing another occasional feature, “What’s Wrong with This Picture?”

We’ll print a picture that has something about it that “just isn’t right.” Sometimes, just what’s amiss will be immediately apparent; other times, well, not so much. We’ll also post a high-resolution copy of the picture on Theatre Organ Online; you can download it and blow it up to take a closer look if you want, but in most cases the answer will be readily visible in print.

When you think you have the answer, e-mail it to editor [at] atos.org with “What’s Wrong” in the subject line. We’ll publish the first correct answer we receive in the next issue. Sorry, no gift certificates, t-shirts, or coffee mugs for the winner. A bit of recognition is all you get.

All entries must be received not later than the first of the month prior to publication (we need the answer to this one no later than February 1).

This issue’s subject is a Wurlitzer Tambourine action. Since there is more than one thing you might spot, we’ll give a couple of hints this time. For reference, we’ve included a picture as it appeared just before it was removed from the trunk (in the picture, the wiring has already been disconnected, but it was wired as you’d expect for an instrument still running on an electro-pneumatic relay, complete with cotton-covered wire wrapped in black tape).

We’re not interested in the “wings” attached to the base, the thickness of the leather on the pneumatic, the variety of screw types in the flanges, or the flexible hose being used to wind it.

There’s something much more obvious.

What’s wrong with this picture?