I am the owner of an Aeolian Grand player organ which has been in
my family for over thirty years. It was purchased in fully restored
condition and has brought a lot of joy to a lot of people over that
time.  The organ came with about 40 rolls; some of them classical
but there are also some old time waltzes (carousel style), ragtime,
early show tunes, some Gilbert & Sullivan, etc.  With such a varied
repertoire, the organ has been the life of many parties over the years.

But now my family has grown up and gone, and I've moved into a small
house on the beach where there is certainly no room for the organ.
The previous home is on the market, and the organ has to go.  My
question to this group is, what would be the value of this instrument,
what would be a realistic asking price?  At this stage it is likely
the organ will be put on eBay in the first instance.

The organ is now at least 100 years old, based on information from
the restorer we bought it from.  He said the organ had spent much of
its life entertaining the patrons of a brothel in Bendigo, Victoria,
in Australia.  This particular instrument has an electric playing
system, consisting of two air blowers mounted at the lower back of
the cabinet, with hoses leading inside.  It appears that one of these
blowers drives the roll mechanism, and the other provides air for the
reeds.  I don't know if this is a stock feature,  or someone's clever
modification somewhere along the line.  Anyhow, all that air power
allows the organ to positively thunder with all stops and damper slats
open.  It also plays with the original pedals, so it would be an easy
job to remove the electric blower system if desired.

Thirty years on, the organ is still in pretty good health, although
there are a couple of sticky notes that need looking at.  It is located
in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, and any buyer would be responsible for
the organs transport elsewhere.  If any readers of this group would
like to see more, you can e-mail me at <writer@scn.org>.  I can send
you a JPEG photo of the organ, along with a MP3 sound file of it
playing.  Any advice about finding a new home for my old friend would
be much appreciated.

Thanks
Tom Moffat
Tasmania