MIMF

At some point in the next year or so I'm planning on making a portative organ, partly because I like them, partly to enable a more experimental build later on. I've located a source for plans http://www.renwks.com/prices/present/price-plans.htm, but I'm looking for any books/articles etc about the history and development of the instrument in the meantime so that I can form my own ideas about the design.

Any help gratefully received.

Carl

This guys has some nice diagrams and says he will send a booklet with his plans for free if you ask: http://www.johnboersma.nl/mini-orgelconstr.html
There are also some homebuilt portative organs on YouTube, some with wood tubes, and others with PVC to give you some ideas.

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the link, I've contacted him but not had a reply yet - I had seen the page before but discounted it as there were no bellows, however, in the search for contact details etc I realised that there was a lot more to his site so I've now discovered a lot more of general interest that will be very useful.

Thanks,

Carl

Giotto's Baroncelli altarpiece is worth a look as Giotto obviously knew that future instrument makers would want to see both sides of the portative, and so he gives us two angels facing opposite directions so you can see the bellows side and the keyboard side.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroncell ... 323cm..jpg
It actually looks like a pretty factual depiction - as do the trumpets, shawms and fiddles.