Estey..need help final finishing

[74corvette]

I picked up a 1871 Estey Cottage organ yesterday. The past owner had the internals rebuilt and cabinet refinished. It has a nice voice considering only 6 stops;
Diapason
Flute
Vox Humana
Vox Jubilante
Viola
Melodia

Two things I need to complete and solicit your help

1. The Stop Lettering is all worn off, you can just barely read it. And one stop knob was broken off the shaft. So I need a Stop knob to match what you see in the pictures. Where does one look to buy
a stop knob end ? I also need to somehow re-letter the stop names on the knobs ???

2. The Estey Name and Brattleboro, Vt that was on the stop rail is all faded and hard to read. How does one recreate the original Lettering

Thank You
74corvette

[myorgan]

74corvette,

It depends on how the stop names were placed on the knobs. Are they engraved in the end of the stop face, paper labels, or via another method? If they are engraved, I may know a fellow in my town who can engrave them, but I'm not sure he'd be able to do a custom job like this.

For the fonts, most computers have appropriate fonts available--it's just a matter of matching them up.

The stop shanks and faces appear to be ebony, or wood painted to look like ebony. That will be more difficult to find. Have you checked the Reed Organ Society database to find out what stop faces would have been originally been labeled. If you look inside the organ on either the right-hand, or left-hand side (inside the back), there should be a model number you could use to search the Reed Organ Society database.

Hope that helps get you started.

Michael

[74corvette]

Michael;
In my post I listed the stop names as best I can read them. The stop knobs are not engraved. It 'looks' like the stop names were lettered right on the black knobs with white ink. I am sure technology for lettering the knobs was limited in 1871. This organ is is listed in ROS data base #5627

Maybe the best way to try to make the knobs look original is to find a font that matches and then have a artist
put them on the knobs ?

74 Corvette

[74corvette]

Just found a set of 6 Estey stops as I need on *bay. So the stops are solved.

74 corvette