Click on any image to see a larger versionA monkey organ
Why do they call this a monkey organ? Where's the monkey? A monkey organ is a small organ operated by turning a hand crank. The small size of these instruments made them suitable for use by street performers, known as organ grinders. At one time (a long time ago) organ grinders were often accompanied by live monkeys, who not only attracted attention, but worked the crowd of spectators by carrying a cup to collect coins. Photo and Instrument: Courtesy of Debence Antique Music World Turning the crank
The organ plays when the crank is turned. No batteries or electricity are required, so monkey organs are very portable. They are well suited for outdoor performance. Music on punched paper
Music for monkey organs is often punched rolls of paper like this one. Since monkey organs are generally used as a form of public entertainment, they often play crowd-pleasing popular music. Photo and Instrument: Courtesy of Debence Antique Music World Monkey
These days, organ grinders are often accompanied by toy monkeys, not live ones. |
All third-party
materials have been used with the assumed owner's permission, however if you
claim copyright on materials here and you wish them removed please contact the
Website Manager on the
Contact page. If I don't know you I'll ask you to supply proof of ownership
(a notarized copyright registration certificate will be your best bet). If
your claim is valid and verified then the materials will be removed immediately.
|
Contact Us
