Skip Hunt inquired about a Gem Roller Organ he had. These were made
starting in the 1880's and through the 1920's in very large quantities,
I understand tens of thousands in some years. They remain very plentiful
(and generally quite popular since they do a nice job with very little).
There is a small group of collectors who are really into collecting the
cobs, and find it a great challenge to try to get all of the hundreds of
titles that were made (which it is).
The Concert Roller Organ was a glorified version of the Gem, with a
somewhat fancier and larger case and a glass lid, while the Grand Roller
Organ was considerably larger, had more notes, and had a much longer cob,
about 13" as I recall. The Grand is the only one that is difficult to
find; I doubt that we have more than one of those every year or so while
we might have one or two dozen of the smaller cob organs.
Marty Roenigk
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