Gebrüder Bruder (Waldkirch, Germany)

Organs made by the firm Gebr. Bruder (Bruder Brothers) are considered to be among Germany's finest. This large 80-keyless example, with 80 holes in its tracker bar for reading the folding cardboard book music, was acquired from the original owner through Siegfried Wendel of Rüdesheim, Germany. It was completely restored by master organ builder Johnny Verbeeck of Belgium prior to being shipped to the Milhous Collection. Only four original 80 Keyless Gebr. Bruder organs of this size are known to exist worldwide, each with a different façade.

The world's most famous town for building fairground organs was Waldkirch, located deep in Germany's Black Forest. From this small community several firms produced marvelous band organs and shipped them worldwide, including to many American locations such as Coney Island. In addition, Gebrüder Weber (Weber Brothers) manufactured electric pianos and orchestrions in the same village. The Milhous Collection has perhaps the greatest group of Waldkirch automatic musical instruments ever to cross the auction block.

Among the organ builders, one of the most highly acclaimed was Gebrüder Bruder (Bruder Brothers), which was one of several business entities set up by the Bruder family. With beautifully crafted mechanisms, ornate façades and powerfully voiced yet sweet-sounding pipes, the Bruder organs gained worldwide fame. A circa 1912 Bruder catalogue noted:

"The organs and musical instruments described herein are first class. They are of strong and solid construction; only the best materials are used. The ornamentation of the cases is practical and artistic. The voicing and the musical effects are just with orchestral arrangement of the music books in mind. The Bruder instruments have gained a worldwide reputation as being the best in the domain of mechanical concert organs."

The Gebrüder Bruder business flourished from the late 19th century until 1930, after which individual family members continued to service instruments and provide new music.

Given its rarity and size, the offering of such a Bruder organ—unquestionably one of the finest in the world—is an extremely rare event! The quality, beauty and high status of the Bruder organ in the world of collecting combine to make this a major attraction. The organ comes with cardboard books and a digital MIDI player for a large selection of music.

Reference: The Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments, Q. David Bowers, p. 823. 144x102x60 inches.