Carl Curtis Demonstrates his Victorian Organette

Carl Curtis, president of the Manchester Area Historical Society, is well-known around town as a collector of antique mechanical musical wonders. At this year’s MAHS Show and Tell night, Mr. Curtis demonstrated this late 19th Century organette. As the operator cranks the organette, a pair of bellows on the bottom of the box pump up and down, blowing air through fourteen tonal reeds (like a harmonica). All the reeds are blown at the same time. But, the unspooling paper has holes cut in it to allow air to flow out of different reeds at different moments, allowing the song to sound.

The song currently loaded on the spool is the American Tin Pan Alley classic “In the Good Old Summertime” written in 1902 by George Evans (music) and Ren Shields (lyrics). The music notes, cut as holes on the paper, were hand cut by Mr. Curtis’ wife, Sharon. The paper came from a 1980’s era phototypesetter, owned by Mrs. Curtis. It happens that the typesetter used a paper spool the exact same width as what was required by the organette. Mrs. Curtis had the lyrics of the song typeset onto the paper, so that the song can be sung as the organette is cranked and the music sounds.

(I apologize for my finger, which obscures the first few seconds.)

Carl Curtis’ Victorian organette.

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by Fritz Swanson

Fritz Swanson has written for The Believer, the Christian Science Monitor, Print Magazine, McSweeney's, Esopus, LSA Magazine, and The Mid-American Review. He serves as a trustee on the Manchester District Library Board. He's the designer and publisher of The Manchester Mirror.

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