Pipe organ
Maker
David Dutton
Date1850 ca.
Place MadeMont Vernon, New Hampshire, United States, North America
SignedInscription on the nameboard, in gold with details in black: D. Dutton. / Mt Vernon, N.H. / PatentDescriptionMechanical-action pipe organ. Compass: GG (dummy GG-sharp key) to a3 (5+ octaves)
Disposition (names in italics as on the six stop knobs):
Stopped Diapason 8', on permanently, GG to F-sharp (11 pipes)
Stop Diapason 8', G to f-sharp (12 pipes; open from c to f-sharp)
Open Diapason 8', g to a3 (39 pipes)
Dulciana 8', g to a3 (39 pipes)
Principal 4' bass, G to f-sharp (12 pipes)
Principal 4' treble, g to a3 (39 pipes)
Stopped Flute 4', g to a3 (39 pipes)
The stop knobs push in to turn the stops on.
Two pedals: swell (left) and bellows (right). Wind is supplied by a cuneiform feeder bellows under a large cuneiform reservoir. Slider windchest. The distal portions of the key levers, which are balanced just behind the playing surfaces, push up on backfalls, the distal ends of which push down on pins to push down the pallets. The backfalls are fanned outwards, so the chest divisions in the bass and tenor are wider than those of the keyboard. The pipes, all of wood, are generally traditional in construction and very conservative in their voicing on low wind pressure, with no nicking of the windway. However, the maker applied the invention described in U.S. Patent no. 5,520, issued to David Boardman of Mount (sic!) Vernon, N.H., on April 18, 1848 (reproduced below) of “placing a partition of coarse cotton cloth” in the foot of each pipe. “By means of the partition of cloth the air is divided into a great number of small streams before it rushes out of the eduction passage ... . By such division or by some other cause not known the tone of the pipe is very highly improved.” This can be seen in a photo of a Dulciana pipe with the cap temporarily removed:
Case in the form of an Empire-style cabinet; veneered in mahogany; keywell veneered in rosewood.
DimensionsHeight:2135 mm (7 feet)
Width:1565 mm (maximum at cornice)
Depth: 710 mm (maximum)
ProvenanceRestored for the previous owner by Jeremy Adams, Danvers, Massachusetts.
Gift of W. Thomas Edwards in memory of Stephen E. Long, 2004.
Published ReferencesJohn Koster, "A Chamber Organ from the Granite State Goes on Exhibit in the Abell Gallery," National Music Museum Newsletter, vol. 33, no. 2 (May 2006), pp. 4-5.
John Koster, "Historical Organs in the Museum Context," The Tracker, vol. 50, nos. 3 & 4 (Summer/Fall 2006), pp. 30-35, specifically 31 and 35.
Credit LineGift of W. Thomas Edwards, in memory of Stephen E. Long, 2004
Object number10778
On View
Not on view
