Street Organ with Animated Figures (Drehorgel mit Figurenautomat) Probably made by Ignatz Blasius Bruder of Simonswald and Waldkirch, Germany c. 1820-1840 The Murtogh D. Guinness Collection Morris Museum

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Even though this street (or barrel) organ is heavy—it contains a hand-driven mechanism and four ranks of organ pipes—the organ-grinder who owned it had to carry it from place to place with the aid of a leather strap fitted to its side handles. The lid opens to reveal a display of 16 animated characters, including Napoleon Bonaparte, and the 22-key organ plays 10 tunes, including the “Bonaparte March.”

The pinning on a rotating, wooden music cylinder, or barrel, activates the music—as well as the characters that twirl and spin. The moving figures were actually part of the act, as the grinder would recount entertaining stories about each of the characters to his or her audience.

This organ’s maker was probably Ignatz Blasius Bruder of Simonswald and Waldkirch in the Black Forest, Germany, whose family descendants continued to build organs well into the 20th century.

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