Adam's Country House Collections Day II - 10th October 2023

120 452 A GEORGE III INLAID MAHOGANY CHAMBER BARREL ORGAN BY ASTOR & CO., the hinged top above sliding front section with thirteen faux pipes, enclosing barrel, with five stops for Diapason, Principal, Fifteenth, Drum and Triangle, and handwritten tunesheet list- ing the 10 Irish traditional airs, of three barrels, raised on outset base and plain slender square supports. € 3,000 - 5,000 The Astor family originated in the German town of Walldorf, in the Electoral Palatinate. George Astor (1752–1813) the eldest brother emigrated in 1770s to London and set up his workshop and publishing company in 1778. He was joined by his younger brother John Jacob (1763 – 1848) in 1779 and they worked to- gether for a number of years before John left London for Amer- ica. There he became a wealthy merchant making his fortunes in the fur trade and established the family name on the other side of the Atlantic. The company George & John Astor (c.1778–1783) traded from 26 Wych Street and following John’s departure it was known as George Astor or Astor & Co, with premises in 79 Cornhill and 27 Tottenham Street. This barrel organ dates to the late 18th century and is partic- ularly of interest for its thirty Irish traditional airs that are en- coded onto the barrels. These are recorded in handwritten tune sheet listing each of the ten songs played across the three barrels. Some of the airs preserved include the double jig ‘The Irish Washerwoman’, with one of the earliest appearances of the song in Robert Petrie’s ‘Collection of Strathspeys Reels and Country Dances, 1790’. Or ‘Garryowen’ a jig dance that originat- ed in Limerick in the 18th century as a popular drinking song, with an alternative title of ‘Let Bacchus’s sons be not dismayed’. By turning the hand crank, the barrel controls both the bellows and raises the levers to allow air to flow to the flutes resulting in a beautiful melodious sound. As an item of furniture, they were often found in middle class houses, providing domestic enter- tainment. Barrel organs by their nature preserve old styles of musical or- namentation that were popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and as such offer a chance to hear songs that may have otherwise been lost.