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Melodeon

Melodeon

Alternate name:Reed organ
Maker: George A. Prince & Co.
Date: 1855-1856 ca.
Place Made:Buffalo, New York, United States, North America
Serial No: 17300
SignedEngraved on metal plaque attached above keyboard: GEO. A. PRINCE & CO. / BUFFALO, N.Y.

Printed label inside, adhered to bellows: No. 17,300 / IMPROVED MELODEON / MANUFACTURED BY / PRINCE & CO. / PATENTED DEC. 28TH, 1846.

Handwritten on lower edge of printed label: Rebuilt by L. J. Dunham 5-4-1937
MarkingsOval-shaped label attached to interior cover: A GOOD PIANO TUNER / E. J. DUNHAM / HAMBURG, N. Y.

Stamped on brass swell slide: DIVIDED SWELL / PATENTED 22ND MAY 1855
Description1854-1856 ca., based on serial number information in Gellerman, but there is a patent date of 1855 inside the instrument, so ca. 1855-1856

61 keys, compass: (FF-f3) 5 octaves
detachable, threaded legs

Rosewoose veneer; two stop knobs, one on each side of keyboard, identification has fallen off; two pedals with lyre-shaped brace for pumping bellows; tracery panels on front with cloth backing; small brass slide for locking patented "divided swell"

Pedal rods stored inside instrument, along with several other small removed (and bagged) pieces
DimensionsHeight (with legs): 820 mm (32-1/4 in)
Width: 1350 mm (53in)
Depth: 655 mm (25-1/2 in)
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.
Credit Line: Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Not on view
Object number: 01329