Reig Verbena Organ No. 728 barrel piano roll (1950s – 1960s)

The Reig Verbena Organ No. 728 was a children’s 15-note barrel piano using a plastic barrel (or roll) and was made by Claudio Reig S.A. in Spain. The rolls are interchangeable, and instructions on changing them were provided on the back of the instrument. The instrument itself resembled a small piano, and was just 39 cm high. The barrel was 28 cm wide and offered four different tunes, selected by turning a cam that shifted the position of the barrel.

Despite being called an organ it was a barrel piano. This is different to a barrel organ, which is a form of pipe organ and this barrel piano by contrast used tuned steel rods. Turning the barrel caused the pins to move hammers to strike the rods, and in this case also percussion including cymbals and bells.

It’s not clear when this model of barrel piano was produced by Reig, but it appears to be the 1950s or 1960s.

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