A fine secretaire barrel organ clock by Kaufmann,
This lot is subject to Collection and Storage Char… Read more
A fine secretaire barrel organ clock by Kaufmann,

Details
A fine secretaire barrel organ clock by Kaufmann,
in mahogany veneered case with arched pediment containing the two-train fusee clock movement, the dial encircled by carved serpent motif, the fall enclosing a fitted interior with green harewood drawers around a mirror-lined recess above a removable panel with two false drawer-fronts, central walnut panel and two silk-lined sound apertures (concealing the organ barrel, gravity motor and key-frame), on integral base with two false drawer-fronts and storage for the three barrels, the organ with forty-four key action, open and stopped flute pipes and three barrels playing operatic music by Bellini, Spohr and Auber -- 66in. (168cm.) high, 37in. (94cm.) wide, the barrels 21in. (53cm.) long x 5½in. (53 x 14cm), with winding and cabinet keys, pendulum and (modern) driving weight
Special notice
This lot is subject to Collection and Storage Charges. No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

The organ is activated from the clock every six hours, or can be started manually at any time.

The Kaufmann family's involvement with automatic musical instruments began with Johann Gottfried Kaufmann (d. 1818). He started the business in Dresden early in the 19th century, and it was continued by his son Frederick and grandson Frederick Theodore, the latter born in 1823. They devised a series of self-playing instruments and automata, culminating in the Orchestrion which was demonstrated at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 and reported at length by the Illustrated London News.

Inside the case of the present organ is a label stating "Herr Kaufmann & Son beg to inform the nobility and gentry that their newly invented self playing musical instruments (patronised by Royalty) will be executed at their establishment in Dresden (Saxony). Many of these instruments are already in the possession of the highest nobles and of families in Germany, Russia and France". From this wording, it could be inferred that the label pre-dates the firm's British tour of 1851, and the music on the barrels indicates a date no earlier than 1830.

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