Allen Ginsberg's Harmonium

Help Give Allen Ginsberg’s Harmonium a Permanent Home in Blake Cottage!

The celebrated American beat poet, Allen Ginsberg, acknowledged William Blake as a major artistic inspiration throughout his life.  Now the Blake Cottage Trust has an extraordinary opportunity to acquire Ginsberg’s parlour organ or harmonium, the instrument on which he sang and recorded William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience in 1969. It was central to Ginsberg’s legendary 1960s sessions—moments when Blake’s visionary poetry united with the voice of one of America’s greatest modern poets, creating a bridge across centuries.

Thanks to the generosity of the Ginsberg Estate, this historic instrument has been donated to one of our trustees who will give the harmonium to the Trust for display in the Blake Centre that we are creating. But we urgently need your help to bring it safely from the United States to Felpham, where William and Catherine Blake lived and where the Blake Cottage Trust is restoring their home.

To transport the organ securely and insure it properly, we must raise up to $5,000. Once in Felpham, the instrument will take pride of place in a new exhibition in the forthcoming William Blake Centre, celebrating Blake’s vibrant influence on contemporary artists, writers, and musicians.

This is a rare chance to unite two visionary voices—Blake and Ginsberg—under one roof. By contributing, you are helping to create a space where visitors can hear, see, and feel the creative sparks that connect them.

Please donate today and help us give this iconic instrument its new home in Blake Cottage.