====== Gem Roller Organ======
<- back to [[instruments:organette:roller_organ:]]

{{ gem.jpg?200}}
|Style  |Gem Roller Organ  |
|Air supply  |Twin Single-acting Vacuum  |
|Dimensions  |14-1/2 x 12 x 7-1/2 inches  |
|Mfg Years  |circa 1889-1925  |
|Additional  |very common, many stencils  |

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The most significant design change in roller organ production was the introduction of a vacuum bellows system, which superceded the pressure design. Although the basic design for the Gem model is similar to the [[instruments:organette:roller_organ:pressure_gem]], retaining an almost identical mechanism and case style, some changes are readily apparent: Valve pallets are oval, covering larger oblong holes, and the top reservoir is expanded while at rest, rather than collapsed. Gone are the clover-shaped vents in the lower sides, as air is readily drawn into the valves. As this low-priced design sold in high quantities, and the Gem model remained basically unchanged during the following 35 years of production, with hundreds of thousands sold, it has become a familiar image to almost anyone interested in mechanical music.

{{stencils.jpg?200 }}
Not all Gem style organs were stenciled as "The Gem Roller Organ". Additional stencils met special markets or export requirements, appealing to nationalities in a manner similar to the introduction of various non-English roller titles. Some stencils reflected the name of the distributor: for instance Sears Roebuck & Co. arranged to have its own name and city stenciled as a subtitle to the well-known Gem name. Similar markets are represented in the titling of the rollers themselves. In addition to tunes appealing to several English-speaking nationalities, and a mix of hymns, popular, and classical tunes, it is common to find a significant number of Swedish, Norwegian, German, Spanish, Bohemian, and Polish titles.

Early Gem style organs were alternately stenciled the "New American Musical Box", a title which appealed to a variety of markets. Organs designed for export or for special interest groups were stenciled with a suitable translation or adaptation, such as the Norwegian "Den Nya Amerikanska Rull Orgeln" (The New American Roller Organ), or the "Svenska Roller Organ" (Swedish Roller Organ). There is insufficient data to determine how many nationalities were represented.