W. Bell & Co Organ

[Tweaky]

Hi

I am not sure if anyone here can help me, but here we go. I have two Bell organs, one marked W.Bell & Co and the other is marked Bell Organ & Piano Co. Now i have just saved these from being put on a skip and thrown away. They have been kept in a dry celler for years, and as such are very dusty and in need of a good clean etc. The one marked Bell Organ & Piano Co is the smaller of the two and is pretty had it, as the woodworm have been feasting on it it would seem. The other one looks to be in much beter condition, and from what i can see from Google searches is the older one of the two. I have been informed that the better one of the two has had an organist look at it over the last 5 years and did get it to work.

I am wanting to sell them and donate the proceeds to charity, but don't have the first clue as to A - whether thay would be worth anything, and B- Who would i ask to look at them and advise? I am based in Southampton, Hampshire if that helps.

Any advice or assitance would be greatly recieved.
Phil

[Bill Kibby]

Talking generally, Victorian harmoniums fall into much the same category as Victorian pianos, and when I saw one at auction on TV recently, I jokingly shouted "Ninety Pounds" at the TV - that's exactly what it fetched. Only today, another TV presenter who seemed to know nothing about them said that if viewers see a Victorian harmonium for 150 pounds, they should buy it and sell to an antique dealer for a profit. I doubt it! We bought one for 30 pounds for the elegant shelf arrangements at the top, the instrument part was riddled with worm. Another was given to us for nothing.