Barrel Organ
ca. 1795 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
John Pistor was a leading London-based builder of keyboard- and barrel organs from about 1780 until 1800. The barrel organ took its name from the wooden cylinders (or 'barrels'), studded with pins, which the player slotted inside the organ and turned with a crank-handle. The rotating barrel and its pins activated bellows and a series of sophisticated mechanisms which controlled the supply of air to each organ pipe inside the case, playing a sequence of different tunes. The pipes on the outside are purely decorative. This elegant instrument would have been suitable for the drawing rooms and parlours of quite prosperous houses, and provided entertainment with popular tunes.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 5 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Solid mahogany case, with satinwood stringing, gilded dummy pipes |
| Brief description | English barrel organ, solid mahogany case with satinwood stringing, John Pistor, about 1795. |
| Physical description | 'Mahogany case with satinwood stringing, surmounted by an inlaid pediment and a gilt vase. The front has three compartments of gilt, dummy pipes.' - Raymond Russell: Victoria and Albert Museum: Catalogue of Musical Instruments Volume I Keyboard Instruments (London, 1969) , pp. 69 - 70. |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Summary | John Pistor was a leading London-based builder of keyboard- and barrel organs from about 1780 until 1800. The barrel organ took its name from the wooden cylinders (or 'barrels'), studded with pins, which the player slotted inside the organ and turned with a crank-handle. The rotating barrel and its pins activated bellows and a series of sophisticated mechanisms which controlled the supply of air to each organ pipe inside the case, playing a sequence of different tunes. The pipes on the outside are purely decorative. This elegant instrument would have been suitable for the drawing rooms and parlours of quite prosperous houses, and provided entertainment with popular tunes. |
| Bibliographic reference | Raymond Russell: Victoria and Albert Museum: Catalogue of Musical Instruments Volume I Keyboard Instruments (London, 1969) , pp. 69 - 70. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.62-1929 |
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| Record created | October 22, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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