I particularly like this wonderful picture of M. Charles Marenchi’s magnificent truck-mounted fairground organ that I took on Weymouth sea front just this month. It was located there for only 2 days following it’s complete restoration by a dedicated enthusiast. It was playing ‘fit to bust’ for us with all it’s organ pipes, bells, whistles, tambourines and triangles – complete with the moving dandy of an orchestral conductor standing in the middle. Driven by compressed air, the musical score is fed into the system on a continuous punched-card such as is still used on ‘self playing pianos’.
In its wonderful mise-en-scene of a Georgian English seaside town it looked delightful! So, my, almost apologies, for sneaking in another picture to illustrate the day.
Wikipedia adds: “Charles Marenghi & Cie was a French fairground organ manufacturer. Charles Marengi started his career working in the famous organ factory of Gavioli & Cie in Paris. By 1900, he was chief of the Gavioli workshops. After troubles between the associates he decided to start his own business in 1903, in the former Gavioli factory at the Avenue de Taillebourg near the Place de la Nation in Paris. His products had a strong resemblance to Gavioli’s organs; however, Marenghi added several inventions of his own, like the “GrÉlotophone”, a register of tuned sleighbells for which he was granted a patent in 1914.”
Nothing matches the sound of a Fairground Organ.
First timers stand in awe – listening to that amazing sound.
Engineering excellence from times gone by.