My Ruth model 36b
I thought some of you may be interested to see a couple of photos of my Ruth model 36b (78 keyless) Concert Organ. (click the links below). It was built in Waldkirch around 1920 and used with a carousel in Germany for many years, before being owned by the Dutch showman Jan Hoefnagels. It is a very original instrument which has obviously been cared for during it's life (it even still retains the original Ruth factory cardboard tubing connecting the relay to the key frame). I acquired the organ last July after more than a year of "discussion" with the former owner and we got it home to the UK in September. There is about three hours of music with the organ, including some original Ruth factory arrangements and very old books. Much of it is more familiar to continental ears and many books do not even have titles. The organ is currently on loan to the Amersham Fair Organ Museum where it is the "guest organ" for this winter's season of open days (see the photos) and you can see and hear it there. The next open day at Amersham is Sunday December 9th and the Ruth will be in play, along with the other instruments in the collection, from 11am to 5pm. http://s232.photobucket.com/albums/ee63/PaulK08/?action=view&current=DSCF3229.jpg http://s232.photobucket.com/albums/ee63/PaulK08/?action=view&current=DSCF3228.jpg http://s232.photobucket.com/albums/ee63/PaulK08/?action=view&current=Ruth36bOct2007inKevinsworks.jpg

Now that was a shocker! i wonderd who who had bought this organ. i was told it was someone in the UK! Very very nice Paul its a stunner!

Its looks very nice Paul, I'm looking forward to hearing it when you start taking it out to rallies. Ben :)

Ahhhh, saw that for sale in a website, cant wait to hear it, we have a 36b aswell

I was over at Rudgwick Rally in Sussex today and saw this thrilling organ while I was there! It's superbly and very exceptionally tastefully presented and played to absolute perfection. The sound carries through the fairground very well - far better than French or Dutch instruments. It's harmonious, orchestral, balanced, spirited, in tune and glorious. This is far and away the most thrilling and melodious instrument I've heard anywhere for a long time and it's certain to become a big hit on the scene in the years ahead! The repertoire is interesting, fine and varied. I stopped and listened to some new Kevin Meayers books, original Carl Frei bits and more, met Paul Kirrage and grabbed a few photos very quickly while ominously grey skies rolled overhead. Some of the photos below are in 3D (if you have a viewer that is!) regards Adam :D 3D Stereoscopic images : :roll: :roll: :roll:

What a wonderful organ, very beautiful and I even heard it on the website. You are so lucky. :org:

The new lorry came out really well! I happened to see it in a partially constructed stage (though I didn't know who it was being built for at the time) and thought it would be very fine when done. The overall presentation is stunning, great job, Paul. Adam-- you make reference to a "viewer" for the stereo pics-- is there an easier alternative to crossing your eyes? Roger

is there an alternative to crossing you eyes? Of course there is! The alternative is "don't cross your eyes"! LOL! These are parallel stereo as opposed to crossed-pair stereo. These should be viewable in any old fashioned stereoscopic card viewer ...if you print them down to a suitable size or hold the viewing assembly to you monitor. For the basics see here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereo_photography If you ever fancy something more high quality for personal use just get in touch and I can tell you more! Perhaps the most amazing stereoscoping thing I have ever encountered were Lumiere Autochrome glass-plate stereoviews http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autochrome : full color slide views from c.1910 to c.1930 each so clear and with such perfect color each looked like it could have taken this afternoon - you could imagine walking into the photograph. See http://www.albertkahn.co.uk for what autochromes looked like. regards Adam

I don't seem to be able to cross my eyes that far :-) Stephen Update : I actually submitted this comment before Adam's post above appeared in the forum postings - hence the reason why there is no reference in my message to his answer to the crossed eye problem... !!

Doh! Who would ever think, in a group dedicated to 100 year old technology, of something as quaint as printing pictures and using a 100 year old stereo pair viewer :oops: . Point taken. And here I was thinking about something that would polarize the two halves of your monitor at 90 degrees or some other such technological marvel. In ancient times before computer graphics protein structures were routinely published as stereo pairs or projects that way in talks and we'd all have to sit, squint, and try to get the image to converge so that we could see what the heck the speaker was talking about. I hated those seminars! Roger