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Abbey
St Vincent-de-Paul (Clichy-la-Garenne)
Parisian organs built by Abbey
Saint-Roch, Chapelle de la vierge (1830) I/5 Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois: choir organ (1838) II/12 Sainte Jeanne d'Arc (1838, 1901) II/15 Sainte-Odile (183x) I/3 Saint-Eustache choir organ (1842) II/12 Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs choir organ (1844) II/23 Chapelle du lycée Henri IV (1845) I/7 Notre-dame-de-Lorette choir organ (1887) II/14 Chapelle du collège et lycée Gerson (1892) II/16 Eglise Protestante Unie Chapelle du Luxembourg (1892) II/23 Chapelle du Corpus-Christi (1898) II/24 Saint-François-de-sales, l'ancienne église (around 1900) III/31 Saint-Anne-de-la-maison-blanche (1920) III/37 Chapelle Sainte Thérèse (1931) III/43 St Vincent-de-Paul (Clichy-la-Garenne) (1899) III/44
John
Abbey
(1785-1859)
was
an
English
organ
builder,
who
went
to
Paris
in
1825
on
the
invitation
of
Sébastien
Érard,
the
celebrated
harp
and
pianoforte
maker,
to
work
upon
several
organs
which
Érard
had
designed,
e.g.
an
organ
for
the
Exhibition
of
the
Productions
of
National
Industry
in
1827 which won the Grand Médaille d’or.
Abbey
became
soon
a
leading
organ
builder
in
France
and
elsewhere.
He
built
the
first
choir
organ
in
Paris
(at
St.
Etienne-du-Mont).
The
firm
was
well-known
in
the
1920’s
as
builder of cinema-organs.
John
Abbey
introduced
several
innovative
techniques
from
England,
among
which
the
swell
case
(!),
a
balanced
key-action,
pedal
controls
for
changing
the
stops,
free
reeds,
the
Dulciana
stop
and
an
improved
winding
system
(bellows
invented
by
Cummins*).
After
his
death
in
1859,
the
firm
was
continued
by
his
two
sons,
Eugène
(Edwin)
Abbey
(1840-1895)
and
John
Albert
Abbey
(1843-1930).
Eugène's
son
John-Marie
Abbey
(1886-
1931)
was
the
last
builder
in
the
family;
the
firm
closed
in
1935.
The
most
important
organ
of
Abbey
in
the
Parisian
region
is
the
organs
of
St
Vincent-de-Paul
in
Clichy-la-Garenne
(a
suburb of Paris), which is still in its original state.
* John Abbey introduced Paris to Alexander Cumming's wind system, which
included feed bellows and wind tanks with inverted folds for improved wind
stabilization. Sébastien Érard was the first in Paris to utilize the Venetian
bellows, which were already known to the Cavaillé-Colls of the southern
provinces.
Organs of Paris
Abbey
ORGANS OF PARIS © 2025 Vincent Hildebrandt ALL ORGANS 
John
Abbey
(1785-1859)
was
an
English
organ
builder,
who
went
to
Paris
in
1825
on
the
invitation
of
Sébastien
Érard,
the
celebrated
harp
and
pianoforte
maker,
to
work
upon
several
organs
which
Érard
had
designed,
e.g.
an
organ
for
the
Exhibition
of
the
Productions
of
National
Industry
in
1827 which won the Grand Médaille d’or.
Abbey
became
soon
a
leading
organ
builder
in
France
and
elsewhere.
He
built
the
first
choir
organ
in
Paris
(at
St.
Etienne-du-Mont).
The
firm
was
well-known
in
the
1920’s
as
builder of cinema-organs.
John
Abbey
introduced
several
innovative
techniques
from
England,
among
which
the
swell
case
(!),
a
balanced
key-
action,
pedal
controls
for
changing
the
stops,
free
reeds,
the
Dulciana
stop
and
an
improved
winding
system
(bellows
invented by Cummins*).
After
his
death
in
1859,
the
firm
was
continued
by
his
two
sons,
Eugène
(Edwin)
Abbey
(1840-1895)
and
John
Albert
Abbey
(1843-1930).
Eugène's
son
John-Marie
Abbey
(1886-
1931)
was
the
last
builder
in
the
family;
the
firm
closed
in
1935.
The
most
important
organ
of
Abbey
in
the
Parisian
region
is
the
organs
of
St
Vincent-de-Paul
in
Clichy-la-Garenne
(a
suburb of Paris), which is still in its original state.
* John Abbey introduced Paris to Alexander Cumming's wind system, which
included feed bellows and wind tanks with inverted folds for improved wind
stabilization. Sébastien Érard was the first in Paris to utilize the Venetian
bellows, which were already known to the Cavaillé-Colls of the southern
provinces.
St Vincent-de-Paul (Clichy-la-Garenne)
