Bird Barrel Organ with 12 wooden pipes playing 8 bird tunes - late 1700's
Purchased December 2023 along with a job lot of seven other assorted musical boxes.
It's in mint condition and works perfectly (almost - see below). It even has the original key for the lock.
It's in mint condition and works perfectly (almost - see below). It even has the original key for the lock.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ...
BARREL ORGAN. A musical instrument, of all others the most easy of manipulation, as it requires nothing beyond the regular rotary motion of a handle to keep it playing. In some examples even this power is applied mechanically, either by means of clock-work, or by weights. These instruments are of the most various capacities, from the simple street organ—the 'barrel organ' of ordinary parlance—to large and complicated machines representing the full orchestra. But the principle of action is the same in all. A wooden cylinder, or barrel, placed horizontally, and armed on its outside circumference with brass staples or pins, slowly revolves, in the direction from back to front; and in doing so the pins raise certain trigger-shaped keys, which correspond with simple mechanism communicating with valves that on being opened allow wind to enter the required pipes. In this way either melody or harmony is produced. The wind is produced by bellows which are worked by the same motion which turns the barrel. The most simple kind of instrument of this nature is the small 'bird organ,' used, as its name implies, for teaching bulfinches to pipe—which plays the simplest music in melody only. |
My learned friend Anna Svenson says:
"That is a nice little chamber barrel organ which was made in the British Isles. They are sometimes called bird organs or serinettes but yours is slightly different from the French serinettes made around Mirecourt described in your Wikipedia article which have metal pipes and wooden keys rather than the brass ones with the wood block at the back."
"That is a nice little chamber barrel organ which was made in the British Isles. They are sometimes called bird organs or serinettes but yours is slightly different from the French serinettes made around Mirecourt described in your Wikipedia article which have metal pipes and wooden keys rather than the brass ones with the wood block at the back."
We are not sure about whether the winder handle is the original as the lid has to be open in order to play it.
One of the bird tunes - Some are indistinct so if anyone has any advice on what to do to improve them, please contact me.
Having sent links to this page to several people 'in the know', it transpires that one of the pipes needs adjusting as it plays all the time, like a drone. Watch this space.