BRATTLEBORO — Beautifully crafted instruments, made in Brattleboro: That's what you can see, hear, and play when you visit the Estey Organ Museum this season.
As part of its mission to collect, preserve, and interpret the physical and cultural heritage of the Estey Organ Company (1846–1960), one of the world's largest organ manufacturers, the museum displays instruments dating as far back as the mid-1800s. Museum volunteers periodically offer organs and organ parts to the public.
“Estey is unique in that anyone who comes to visit is turned into an instant musician,” museum volunteers said in a news release. “Unlike what we're used to in most museums, the hosts in this museum say to all visitors - adults and children alike - 'Please touch: Please sit down and play, please make the reed and pipe organs come alive again.' Visitors even have the opportunity of walking through a pipe organ to see how the mechanism works.”
In addition to the organs, the museum has a significant collection of music sheets, instructional books for amateur organists, catalogs, trade cards, advertising materials published by the company, and photographs of the buildings and workforce.
A display on loan from the Brattleboro Historical Society explores Brattleboro's industrial past. It includes an introductory video about the Estey Organ Company and an ornate Carpenter organ like the one on display at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.
The museum urges guests to allow at least half an hour for their visit. “There is a lot to see,” museum volunteers write.
The museum, at 108 Birge St., will be open Saturdays from 2 to 4 p.m., from May 20 through Oct. 14 or by special arrangement. Admission is $5 (free to museum members).
For more information, to arrange a visit, to join the museum, or to contact the museum, visit esteyorganmuseum.org.