Rollin Smith, Organ Historical Society at Stoneleigh: Aeolian-Skinner No. 878
This is the story of the Aeolian-Skinner organ at Stoneleigh, the former home of the Haas family and now the headquarters of the Organ Historical Society. The organ contract was signed in 1931 with the Aeolian company, the world's premiere builder of residence organs. But with the new company formed in 1932 by the merger of Aeolian with the Skinner Organ Company, this became the first residence organ installed by the new Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company. Rollin Smith's new book traces in detail the organ from its first home in West Orange, New Jersey, to its present home in Villanova, Pennsylvania. From the wealth of documentation on the Aeolian and Skinner firms available in the OHS Library and Archives, the story of this fascinating instrument is told through contracts, shop notes, architectural drawings, and photographs - a truly fascinating history of a unique historic American organ.