Limonaire Frères (Paris, France)

Limonaire Frères (Limonaire Brothers) built some of the finest automatic organs in the world, noted for their clarity of pipe voicing and fine musical arrangements. Surviving examples are on the rare side and when offered invariably attract a lot of attention.

In the 1920s, Limonaire developed the "Jazzbandophone," of which only a few examples exist today. This 50-key Jazzbandophone includes certain "jazz" features, such as swell shutters for expression, vox humana with tremolo and two temple blocks, along with the usual complement of pipes and drums. It plays original Limonaire folding cardboard music and was acquired from a private collection in Texas. Benefiting from a partial mechanical and cosmetic restoration, it continues to present very nicely. Several arrangers can create new music books to order to add to the already fine repertoire of three dozen music books. Carved wooden band master mounted on center podium is included but not shown in photo.

Reference: The Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments by Q. David Bowers (p. 881). 108x120x37 inches.