author

Thomas Dallam

A skilled Elizabethan organ builder, he is best remembered for carrying a remarkable mechanical organ from England to Constantinople as a royal gift for Sultan Mehmed III. His surviving travel journal turns that mission into a lively first-hand glimpse of music, craftsmanship, and diplomacy at the turn of the 17th century.

1 Audiobook

Early voyages and travels in the Levant : I.—The diary of Master Thomas Dallam, 1599-1600. II.—Extracts from the diaries of Dr. John Covel, 1670-1679. With some account of the Levant Company of Turkey merchants.

Early voyages and travels in the Levant : I.—The diary of Master Thomas Dallam, 1599-1600. II.—Extracts from the diaries of Dr. John Covel, 1670-1679. With some account of the Levant Company of Turkey merchants.

by John Covel, Thomas Dallam

About the author

Little is known about his early life, but reliable reference works describe him as an English organ builder from Lancashire who was apprenticed through London's Blacksmiths' Company and later became one of the best-known makers of his time.

Around 1599–1600, he made the journey that made him famous: escorting and installing an elaborate clockwork organ sent by Queen Elizabeth I to the Ottoman court in Constantinople. That voyage was important not only as a feat of engineering and diplomacy, but also because he kept a journal of the trip, giving later readers a vivid eyewitness account of the voyage and his meeting with the sultan.

He also belonged to a wider family of organ builders, and his reputation lasted well beyond his lifetime through both his instruments and his writing. For modern readers, he stands out as a craftsman whose story connects music, travel, and the wider world of early modern England.