ABSTRACT
Abbey’s organs were highly reputed for their overall excellence of craftsmanship, responsive action, and fine voicing. They featured composition pedals, string stops, adjustable action, and backfalls. His work effected a transition from French classical to Romantic, and his only competitor was Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (who won a contract for St. Denis’s new organ over Abbey in 1833). Abbey exported instruments as far away as South America; he trained Joseph Casavant as well as his own sons John Albert Abbey (1843-1930) and Edwin Abbey (1840-1895), who continued their father’s firm after his death in Versailles on 19 February 1859. Edwin’s son John-Marie Abbey (1886-1931) was the last builder in the family, and the firm closed in 1935.
