The Laura Musser Estey Player Organ

By Nancy J.Varner

The Muscatine Art Center and Stanley Gallery in Muscatine Iowa contains a very fine Estey Player Pipe Organ with an interesting history.  The historical section of the museum is the former home of Laura Musser and the home was given to Muscatine by the heirs of Ms. Musser in 1965.  The home, which is an excellent example of Edwardian style architecture, is maintained as an example of how mansions of the early 1900’s were decorated. 

Laura was a talented and gifted musician.  She was noted for her beautiful soprano voice and also played piano and organ.  She studied music at Grant Seminary in Chicago and also under Sbrilia in Paris, France.  It is no wonder that she wanted very fine instruments to put into the special music room addition she had built onto her home.  The addition is large enough to seat 100 people for a concert and both amateur and professional concerts took place there.  The room is still used for meetings, recitals and concerts and there is no charge for non-profit groups wishing to use the room and the instruments. 

The Estey Organ was built in 1919 by the Estey Company of Brattleboro, Vermont.  The original contract for the organ with all the specifications is on file at the museum.   The contract states that Ms. Musser would have the room ready 15 days prior to the delivery of the organ and is dated Jan 31, 1921.  The case style of the organ is in fitting with an Edwardian home, and is plain without the very fancy woodwork on the Victorian era.  This is a musician’s instrument designed to make any organist happy.  There are 731 pipes, 11 manual ranks and 2 pedal ranks, plus chimes and an unusual glass harp.  There is also an unusual complement of intra-manual couplers.  The tremolo affects the entire organ.  The stops are as follows:

Manual – 8’ open Diapason, 8’ gross flute, 8’ melodia, 8’ viol d’amour, 8’ viol d’orchectre, 8’ muted viol, 8’ viol celeste,  4’ flauto traverso,  8’ oboe, 8’ saxophone,  8’ vox humana 

Persussion – chimes and harp

Pedal – 16’ Bourdon and 16’ Bass viol

There are over 200 rolls at the museum and most were purchased by Ms. Musser.  There are 2 original bills of sale for organ rolls on file.  The first is for 86 rolls purchased by Mrs. E. L. McColm (Ms. Musser’s married name) from the Estey  Company for the amount of $361.00 dated 9/1/1922 and a second for 14 rolls, also from Estey  for 14 rolls dated 12/22/1922.  The price for the rolls was from $3.25 to $5.50.  The music on the rolls is from the 1920’s and ‘30’s and is mostly opera and classical.  The museum has a list of all the rolls and the contents.

The organ was sold to Ms. Musser by a representative from the Estey Company by the name of J. A. Collins from Iowa City, Iowa.  The agent’s business card is displayed in the museum. 

Laura Musser was the youngest child of Peter and Tamson Musser.  Her father was one of the lumber barons of the period and was in business with his brother and the Weyerhaeuser’s of lumber fame.  She was born November 23 1877.  In 1903 she married Edwin McColm owner of McColm and Company, Muscatine’s leading dry goods store.  The mansion, which is now the museum, was built for her by her father in 1908.  Her husband died in 1933 and she married William T. Atkins of Kansas City, MO in 1938.  Although Laura moved to Kansas City and lived there until her death in 1964 at age 87, she retained ownership of the home and made frequent trips to Muscatine.   She was active in music all her life and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music Degree from  Iowa Wesleyan College.