Antique pump organ made by Sterling company Derby conn. USA

The reed organ was once an important domestic instrument, offering a cheap alternative to the ever-popular family piano while, at the same time, providing a suitable instrument for accompanying family hymns on a Sunday. It was the product of a world-wide industry that turned out hundreds of thousands of organs a year at its peak. Demand for reed or pump organs dropped off after the First World War, and most ended up stored in back rooms and barns.Demand for them for is still very modest, and many were often converted into desks or bars by antique dealers looking to make them a more marketable item. In the current market, values for them in “as is” condition at auction is still very modest and depends on who wants one and how bad. Of the many pump organs I’ve seen come up for auction over the last couple of years very few have sold for more than $200.00