Lowrey Organ Serial Numbers
AppraisalsThe Estey Organ Museum does not provide appraisals of Estey instruments or related products. We suggest that you look at our Organ Classifieds page or on-line auction sites to determine the value of your item.In addition, the provides guidelines for determining the value of reed organs. RepairsAt this time, the Estey Organ Museum does not repair reed, pipe, or electronic organs.
There are several reputable organ restorers in New England and throughout the country. The has member throughout the United States who specialize in this work. For additional information. Determining the Age of Estey Reed OrgansDetermining the age of an Estey reed organ starts with identifying its serial number. Serial numbers are generally found on a paper label on the back of the instrument.Each Estey reed organ was numbered as it was shipped out. By the time the company closed in the late 1950’s they had built over 521,000 reed organs.Some serial number dates are known for certain:.
No. 8,700 was shipped in May 1864. No. 100,000 was built in 1880. No. 250,000 in 1892.
No. 350,000 in 1905. No. 500,000 in 1951The exception was the Estey Virtuoso Organ. These organs were given special serial numbers. A few organs have been identified with lower serial numbers than dates of manufacture, perhaps indicating that they were not made consecutively.
Finding the Serial NumberFinding the serial number on Estey reed organs can be challenging. Ned Phoenix, an expert in reed organ restoration, has provided a guide for locating serial numbers and.Occasionally the serial number on an older instrument is impossible to locate. If you are trying to determine the age of an organ with no serial number, please feel free to for assistance. Make sure to include a photo of the organ.
Determining the Date of ManufactureOnce you have identified the serial number, you can use the Gellerman chart on the Reed Organ Society website to approximate the date of manufacture. This is just an estimate, but it will give you a good idea of when your Estey was built. Contact a professional appraiser if accuracy is essential.Viewing the Gellerman ChartR.F.
Gellerman published a chart of Estey serial numbers in the Reed Organ Atlas. Below are instructions for viewing this chart on the Reed Organ Society website. Access the Gellerman pages on the website. Select Online Database to open the Reed Organ Database.
Key in Estey as the reed organ manufacturer. The first Estey organ in the database will appear. In the Maker row of the chart, click on the Information on Maker link. A chart of serial numbers with corresponding dates will appear.Estey Pipe Organ RecordsPipe organs took longer to build than reed organs and created a greater amount of paperwork. Most of these records were destroyed when the company closed in 1960.
Lowrey Organ Manuals Free
However, we do have photo copies of the Shop Orders for about 2/3 of the organs. The has access to most of the correspondence files for the pipe organs. The Estey Organ Museum has records on most pipe organs built and shipped.Pipe organs are identified by opus numbers.The Estey Organ Virtual Museum provides a comprehensive list of Estey pipe organs by opus number and site of initial installation.We encourage you to for additional information on your Estey pipe organ.
In excellent cosmetic and working condition, a Lowrey Genie 98 would be worth about $50 - $125 in today's market (November 2013). If it's near mint and comes with a bench, you could potentially make as much or more, assuming you can find a buyer. The Genie series organs are a consumer or -home-market organ, made to be inexpensive in the first place, and not particularly sought after today.
For every Genie I've seen sell, I've seen plenty more shuffled off to the local Goodwill or, worse, curbside pickup. As a former Lowrey salesman, and the owner of Majesty, I can tell you not much based on the original selling price. One has to understand that organs in general are the worst investment there is bar none! The best one can hope for is about 15 cents on the dollar.and that would be a organ that is only several years old.
Most domestic organ manufacturers got out of the business in the early 80's. Lowrey was the only one left, and they are in difficulty these days.
They were bought out by Kawi Pianos a couple of years ago, and their sales continue to drop due to the waning interest in home organs. As to the current value of a Majesty today.the real world value would be about 2500-$3,000. One can ask any price they want, but on E Bay the ones that sell are in the range quoted as of 11/2010. I've seen listings as high as $19,900 but they don't get one offer.
Someone will think because the organ cost 50-$80,000 new that 25% of the original price is a great deal, but it isn't. They think hope patsy will come along and pay their price, but it will never happen! One last thought as to the value of any used organ.some will go to the original store where the organ was purchased new and ask it's value.
They will be given a inflated value so they don't make a scene in the store and scare other potential customers away.so be warned.