Limonaire Frères were an

amusement ride Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This could be due to ...

street organ A street organ ( or ) played by an organ grinder is a French automatic mechanical pneumatic organ designed to be mobile enough to play its music in the street. The two most commonly seen types are the smaller German and the larger Dutch street or ...

and

fairground organ A fairground organ is a musical organ covering the wind and percussive sections of an orchestra. Originating in Paris, France, these organs were designed for use in commercial fairground settings to provide loud music to accompany rides and a ...

builder, based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, during the 19th and early 20th century.

History

1839 to 1886

Started by the Limonaire brothers Joseph and Antoine in 1839, as piano and organ builders, after only three years the two brothers separated and set up their own companies. Joseph concentrated on the piano business while Antoine continued to expand into the organ building. By 1852 the company, under Antoine's management, was based in the rue Neuve des Petits Champs, and by the 1870s had added a workshop in the rue St. Sabin, building portable

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

and orchestral organs.

1886 to 1908

After the death of Antoine aged 70 in 1886, his two sons Eugène and Camille established a new factory in the

Avenue Daumesnil Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, Lon ...

, in the same area of Paris as the organ building firms Gasparini and

Gavioli Gavioli & Cie was a Franco–Italian organ builder company that manufactured fairground organs in both Italy and later France. History Gavioli was founded in 1806 in Cavezzo, Italy, by Giacomo Gavioli (1786–1875). Giacomo's hobby was the deve ...

. A steam engine was installed in 1890, and the company expanded at a fast pace. The two brothers attended many international expositions including those at London (1888), Chicago (1893), Amsterdam (1895) and St Louis (1904). In total, between 1849 and 1906, 29 medals from the expositions were awarded to the Limonaire company. Between 1895 and 1916, the company filed patents for twelve inventions and one brand name, the Orchestrophone. In 1894 the piano range of instruments was withdrawn from general sale, but in its place came a large variety of fairground rides, some made in partnership with other companies. Limonaire never opened an office in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, due to the imposition from 1892 of high

import tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty imposed by a national government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods or raw materials and is ...

s by the

United States Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

. In 1893, carousel builder William Herschell traveled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to meet Limonaire employee

Eugene de Kleist Baron Frederick Joseph Eugene de Kleist (18 January 1853 – 1911), was a pioneering German organ builder, who in founding the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory, started the American style of Band organs. Eugene de Kleist was born in Düssel ...

. Backed by Herschell, in 1893 DeKeist set up band organ production in

North Tonawanda, New York North Tonawanda is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. Its population was 31,568 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo, New York, Buffalo–Niagara Falls, New York, Niagara Falls Buffalo-Niagara Falls me ...

, founding the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory. As parts were not subject to the import tariffs, many of the companies early organs had Limonaire components.

1908 to 1936

In 1907, the economic crisis in the USA severely affected the export market of Gavioli in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

town of

Waldkirch Waldkirch () is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located 15 kilometers northeast of Freiburg im Breisgau. While the English translation of its name is ''Forest Church'', it is known as the "town of mechanical organs", where fairground org ...

, centre of the German fairground organ industry, with the result that Gavioli ceased trading there. This allowed Limonaire the opportunity to be able to take over the premises and remaining stock in 1908, and business became successful enough that a new factory was built on land previously owned by Richard Bruder in 1912. Many organs were produced by Limonaire in these years, under the "Orchestronphone" trade name, often incorporating a bioscope. In the heyday of

La Belle Époque LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

, only the other Parisian firm of Gavioli was larger. The confiscation of the German factory in 1917 during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, signalled the end of peak production, and indeed, after the war, Limonaire chose not to return to Germany, their factory eventually being bought in 1926 by Alfred Bruder who continued building organs. Camille Limonaire died in 1920 and Eugène sold his shares in the company, a new company then being created in 1920 under the management of Charles Albert Demouts and later Louis Moutier. Unfortunately demand for the organs and merry-go-rounds continued to decline, and in 1929 the Limonaire company went into liquidation. It was bought immediately and run as a non-specialist company for a short time, taking over one by one the names and remaining assets of once famous organ companies such as Gasparini, Gaudin, Marenghi and Gavioli, but this ultimately failed and by 1932 all stock was being sold off. In 1936 the factory at 166 Avenue Daumesnil, Paris, was closed and demolished.

Preservation

Today, due to their fine sound and high quality, Limonaire organs are considered highly collectable. Many have survived in museum collections and in active use around the world, although only limited numbers remain in their original condition. The French language reference ''Le Petit Robert de la langue Française'' considers the name Limonaire to be generally defined as "a barrel organ mainly used for carousel music".

References