Savoy Hotel - New York City
  Twin-chimneyed Savoy Hotel - center
Click on image to enlarge
Phoebe Palmer Knapp Residence

767 5th Avenue at East 58th Street
New York, N.Y. 10153





Phoebe Palmer Knapp  

Phoebe Palmer Knapp (1839-1908) was a composer of sacred music, including the music for the hymn, "Blessed Assurance" in 1873, with text by Fanny J. Crosby. Phoebe’s parents were Methodist evangelists Dr. Walter C. Palmer and Phoebe Worrall Palmer. At the age of 16, she married Joseph F. Knapp (1832-1891), a partner in the lithography concern Major & Knapp, and a director of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. The Knapps lived in Brooklyn and were members of the John Street Methodist Church in New York City, as was Phoebe’s close friend Fanny Crosby. After her husband’s death, Phoebe was left with a large income, much of which she gave to charity. In 1898, she moved to a suite in the Savoy Hotel in New York City, and composed over 500 hymn tunes.
               
George Jardine & Son
New York City (1880); moved to Savoy Hotel (1898)
Mechanical action
3 manuals, 24 stops, 24 ranks


An account of this organ was given in The Musical Critic and Trade Review (Vol. 3, No. 2, 1880):
"An exhibition was given on Thursday afternoon of last week, in Jardine & Sons' [sic] factory, on a large and beautiful three-bank organ, built for the magnificent music room of Mr. Joseph F. Knapp, of Bedford Ave., Brooklyn. The organ was thoroughly tested by the following well-known organists, Profs. Morgan, Johnston, Gueli and Loretz, and Mr. Edw. G. Jardine, and proved equal to the trial."
In 1898, this organ was moved to Phoebe Knapp's suite at the Savoy Hotel in New York.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes
8
  Open Diapason
58
4
   German [Boehm] Flute
58
8
  Melodia
58
4
   Principal
58
8
   Oboe Gamba
58
2
   Piccolo
58
               
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 58 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon Bass
12
4
   Violoncello [Violina]
58
16
   Bourdon (TC)
46
3
   Quintadena
58
8
   Clarinet Gamba
58
2
   Flageolet
58
8
   Stopped Diapason
58
8
   Trumpet Bass
12
8
   Viol d'Amour
58
8
   Trumpet (TC)
46
8
   Vox Celestis
58
     Tremulant  
               
Solo Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
8
   Bell Open Diapason
58
4
   Harmonic Flute
58
8
   Doppel Flute
58
4
   Octave
58
8
   German Gamba
58
8
   Vox Humana
58
8
   Quintadena
58
     Tremulant  
               
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
   Bourdon
30
        
8
   Violoncello
30
        
               
Couplers (by Piston Knobs)
    Swell to Great     Solo to Pedal
    Great to Pedal     Solo to Great
    Swell to Pedal      
               
Accessory Stops and Pedals
    Chime of Bells      
    Snare Drum      
    Bass Drum      
               
Combination Pedals
    Forte to Great        
    Piano to Great        
    Hydraulic Engine    
               
Sources:
     Blumhofer, Edith L. Her Heart Can See: The Life and Hymns of Fanny J. Crosby (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005) 225-232.
     "Exhibition at Jardine's Factory," The Musical Critic and Trade Review (Vol. 3, No. 2, 1880).
     New York Architecture website: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GON/GON024.htm

Illustrations:
     New York Architecture website. Exterior of Savoy Hotel.