Ludwig Hupfeld, A.G., Leipzig, Germany, was the world's largest manufacturer of automatic music instruments during the 1920s. One of the most popular products since 1902 was the self-playing piano Phonola, the European counterpart of the pianola. Hupfield had some success with its 1908 reproducing piano, which later took over the role as Triphonola successfully. The mechanical orchestrion the Violina, despite an ingenious design, was seen as aesthetically unsatisfactory and therefore less successful. However, Hupfeld's Phonoliszt Violina still is widely regarded was one of the finest mechanical instruments ever built.