Melodeon
Alternate name(s)
- Reed organ
Maker
George A. Prince & Co.
Date1872-1873 ca.
Place MadeBuffalo, New York, United States, North America
ModelImproved Melodeon
Serial No.39129
SignedDecal on nameboard, in black and gold: Patent Divided Swell / GEORGE A. PRINCE & CO. / BUFFALO, N.Y. / NEW YORK CHICAGO / Patent Graduated Swell
Rectangular label inside organ – atop bellows: No. 39129 / IMPROVED MELODEON / Manufactured by / PRINCE & CO. / Patented December 26, 1846
MarkingsMetal stop plate, left side: BASSO TENUTO / PATENTED 24TH JUNE 1862
Metal stop plate, right side: DIVIDED SWELL / PATENTED 22 MAY, 1855
Inside case is a piece of wood with a reed hook attached by a piece of deteriorating leather. On label: [diagram] / proper manner of applying the Hook. [next to previous text] [diagram] / Manner in which reeds are broken. / CAUTION / When drawing a Reed from its place, care should be taken that the Hook / is not inserted further than the Rivet Head at the mouth of the tube. The / Reeds are frequently broken, in the manner represented above, in the act of / drawing them out. When the reed is returned to its place, it should be / driven in firmly with the hook.
Three printed labels inside:
To get at the Reeds, pull this strip out.
GRADUATED SWELL. / PATENTED 17th Sept. 1861.
Remains of paper label: [...] DED SWE [originally DIVIDED SWELL] / [...] / 22d
Keys are numbered in pencil inside case, starting with number 1 in the treble.
Stamped on front of legs, inside: 30
In pencil, inside back of case: 9B [?] 171
Next to swell label inside of case, in penciled handwriting: K. [M.?] Manser Jan. 12th/67DescriptionCompass: Five octaves, FF to f3.Pitch at A = 450
Two pedals: swell (left) and bellows (right).
Two handstops: “basso tenuto” in the bass endblock, by which a key played in the bass octave (FF to E) is held down until another is played; and “divided swell” in the treble endblock, by which the swell slat behind the reeds f1 to f3 is opened.
DimensionsWidth: 95 cm
Front to back: 47.4 cm
Height: 75.6 cm
ProvenanceGiven to Eva O. Allen (ca. 1886-1986) by her father and mother who received it as a wedding gift in Wisconsin. Allen subsequently gave it to Dayton and Ada Armin, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Credit LineGift of Dayton and Ada Armin, 1987
Object number04188
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