Barrel organ, organ

Barrel organs like this one were used to play popular tunes on the streets of London. The organists would move from place to place, often playing as they walked with the instrument strapped around their necks. The organ was operated by turning the crank that rotated the wooden cylinder inside. Sound was emitted from the organ pipes. There was a crude volume control on the side of the case. The case is made of pine, veneered with mahogany. It is decorated with gilded piping over a red silk background.

This organ could play twelve different tunes including 'Rule, Britannia!' and 'God Save the Queen'. The latter tune, a reference to Queen Victoria, shows that the cylinder is not contemporary with the organ itself. Later in the Victorian period middle class Londoners campaigned against street organ music, which they regarded as noise pollution.