Appleton Pipe Organ: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This pipe organ was made by Thomas Appleton in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1844. It has a single keyboard, with a compass of GG – f (no GG#), and pedal. The organ’s disposition is as follows:

8' Open Diapason, bass and treble (break at f# / g) 8' Stopped Diapason 8' Dulciana (from g) 8' Hautboy (from g) (rare and original pipes) 4' Principal (full compass) 2 2/3' Twelfth 2' Fifteenth 4' Flute Pedal (GG-g) Pulldowns only

This organ was built for the Free Street Baptist Church, Portland, Maine, and moved in 1872 by E. and G. G. Hook to the Baptist Church, Buxton, Maine. It was rescued in 1961 by Peter Perkins and acquired by Charles Fisk in 1964. It was first lent to St. Stephen's Church, Boston, 1965-1967. After a time in the Fisk shop in Gloucester, Massachusetts, it was lent to Our Lady of Good Voyage Church in Gloucester, and then acquired by the Smithsonian in 1982.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Object Name: organ
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Physical Description: ivory (overall material)
• Physical Description: ebony (overall material)
• Measurements: crate 4860: 108 in x 56 in x 25 in; 274.32 cm x 142.24 cm x 63.5 cm
• Measurements: overall: 163 in x 116 in x 107 in; 414.02 cm x 294.64 cm x 271.78 cm
• Measurements: crate 4866: 72 in x 114 in x 27 in; 182.88 cm x 289.56 cm x 68.58 cm
• Measurements: crate 4865: 40 in x 84 in x 59 in; 101.6 cm x 213.36 cm x 149.86 cm
• place made: United States: Massachusetts, Boston
• ID Number: 1982.0791.01
• accession number: 1982.0791
• catalog number: 1982.0791.01
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.