April 23, 2024
Antique Gem Roller Organ, 8x12x14 inches, with 1 wooden cob
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Antique Gem Roller Organ, 8x12x14 inches, with 1 wooden cob, made by the Autophone Co. of Ithaca, NY and dated 1906. This one is not in great shape but it does play (see below). The organ bellows and reservoir were redone at some point. In the photos you can see that the playing mechanism has been modified. The little fork that normally holds the carriage in place is broken so some springs where installed to pull the carriage forward (very clever). Since the fork is broken the cob will not return automatically at the end of the tune. You have to stop cranking at the end and then rotate the carriage out a bit by hand and the cob will snap back to the beginning. Also notice several replaced parts, the bottom skirt, the crank handle and the front crank shaft bushing. Additionally, upon testing this unit I found that the lowest note does not sound. Usually this is because there is a piece of debris stuck in the reed. Often this can be cleared from the outside with a thin tool but that did not work. I was then going to remove the front panel to get at the reed and found that the panel has probably been glued on. There appears to be a gasket between the parts so this could probably be corrected without too much difficulty. I also noted that the non-sounding reed draws a lot of air. I suspect that it is broken rather than stuck so it would
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