Europa CEPT'1981. Folklore

    Netherlands  1981.09.01

    In issue: Stamp(s): 2   

    Printing: multicoloral offset

    Issued in: sheets of 10 (2*5) stamps

  • Number by catalogue:  Michel: 1187   Yvert: 1157   Gibbons: 1363  

    Perforation: Comb   Perforation type: 13 ½x12 ¾

    Subject:

    65 cents.

    The barrel organ, decorated with the image of a windmill in the center.

    Additional:

    *A barrel organ (also called roller organ or crank organ) is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic principle is the same as a traditional pipe organ, but rather than being played by an organist, the barrel organ is activated either by a person turning a crank, or by clockwork driven by weights or springs. The pieces of music are encoded onto wooden barrels (or cylinders), which are analogous to the keyboard of the traditional pipe organ. A person (or in some cases, a trained animal) which plays a barrel organ is known as an organ grinder.

    In Holland of the 15th century, barrel organs are used, which are a complex stationary structure that operates using hydraulics, weights or a factory mechanism.