I happened to look in Wikipedia for "Fair Organs" and saw a photo of
a Ruth fair organ.  To put it mildly, I was awe-struck by the sheer
beauty of the facade.  Basically, I have one question:  How did they
do that?  I have now stared at it for several hours and I'm still drawn
to it.  The relief looks almost like glass or porcelain.  How and from
what material is it constructed and finished?  It's almost transparent.

Then there are the colors -- fantastic!  The resolution of the photo is
very high and the details are wonderful on a good monitor.  I've looked
at a lot of fair organs on the Internet, but this one certainly is in
a class of its own.  The full resolution photo can be seen at
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Berger-markt-nacht002.jpg

Does anyone know the history of the organ and how such a grand facade
was made?  I can't read German, but I could make out that it was made
in Waldkirch in 1920.  I'm new to fair organs, but it sure seems to me
that this one belongs in a museum.

Max Huff

 [ The organ is available for hire for big events, which is better than
 [ being in a museum.  At http://swoboda-frankfurt.de/html/nostalgie1.php :
 [
 [   Built by the firm Adolf Ruth and Son in Waldkirch, Black Forest,
 [   about 1920.  Type 33 Ruth, 52-key, 196 pipes and seven registers.
 [   The ornaments are gilded with genuine gold leaf and silver plating.
 [
 [ Ron Bopp's Bumbling Bruder Tour of 2005 featured a visit to Siegfried
 [ Wendel's Mechanical Music Manufactory, where Jens Wendel showed us a
 [ similar large facade under complete restoration.  Jens' wife explained
 [ how the silver and gold leaf was applied, followed by several coats of
 [ clear finish to protect the surface.  -- Robbie