Author Topic: Occupation: Street Organist? What would this be?  (Read 1687 times)

Offline jbml

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Re: Occupation: Street Organist? What would this be?
« Reply #9 on: Monday 03 April 17 11:38 BST (UK) »
There's also a museum of mechanical music signposted in one of the villages off to the left on the main road from Oxford to Cheltenham and Gloucester (A34??). I've often thought I ought to go and have a look some time, but never have.
All identified names up to and including my great x5 grandparents: Abbot Andrews Baker Blenc(h)ow Brothers Burrows Chambers Clifton Cornwell Escott Fisher Foster Frost Giddins Groom Hardwick Harris Hart Hayho(e) Herman Holcomb(e) Holmes Hurley King-Spooner Martindale Mason Mitchell Murphy Neves Oakey Packman Palmer Peabody Pearce Pettit(t) Piper Pottenger Pound Purkis Rackliff(e) Richardson Scotford Sherman Sinden Snear Southam Spooner Stephenson Varing Weatherley Webb Whitney Wiles Wright

Offline barryd

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Re: Occupation: Street Organist? What would this be?
« Reply #10 on: Monday 03 April 17 13:10 BST (UK) »
I wonder if an Organ Grinder and monkey would survive for very long in the streets of today. Probably a law to ban one or both.

Offline jennifer c

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Re: Occupation: Street Organist? What would this be?
« Reply #11 on: Monday 03 April 17 23:40 BST (UK) »
Have you found them on the 1911 census to see how he described his occupation?

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Offline Cell

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Re: Occupation: Street Organist? What would this be?
« Reply #12 on: Monday 03 April 17 23:45 BST (UK) »
I came across this interesting article,
http://www.english4italy.com/2013/10/20/robert-winders-bloody-foreigners-the-story-of-immigration-to-britain-the-italian-link/
Seems many of them in London were Italian boys who lived in appalling conditions.
Interesting subject, there is an association of street organists  in the uk who do fairs and such.
I've only seen them in fairs. There was one in our local annual fair not so long back (wasn't the barrel type, it was the  big steam type, beautiful thing. It was run by an old bloke, who also had some very beat up puppets that looked better suited to a horror movie.
Is he in any of the censuses? Is he a street organist in them too?
Have you searched the online newspapers with his name? Being a busker, you may get lucky that he has fallen short of the law a few times (I have a peddler and he makes the papers r on a few occasions for peddling without a license )

There is a company that still make them in them in the uk if you've got a few grand to spare
http://www.deanorganbuilders.co.uk/index.htm

Kind regards :)
(Excuse any typos , I am using my phone)

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