Kasriel Reed Organ (Harmonium): Museum Object and Cultural History
Kasriel Reed Organ (Harmonium): Object Name: organ (harmonium). Physical Description: wood (overall material). Physical Description: brass (overall material).
The object in the museum catalogue
This reed organ was made by M. Kasriel in Paris, France, around 1848-1852. It is a table-top harmonium, with a single keyboard, compass of F - g2. Bellows on top of the instrument are activate by the left hand, and the right hand plays the keyboard. There are three stops, one labeled “Flute 3,” the other two are unidentified. There is an enameled disc below the keyboard inscribed:
Louis Maurice Kasriel (1815-1899) was a Polish-born musical instrument maker. He moved to Paris in 1839, setting up a shop making harmoniums, harmoniflutes, and guide-chants. The firm continued to make harmoniums until 1984.
Materials, dates and provenance
- Object Name: organ (harmonium)
- Physical Description: wood (overall material)
- Physical Description: brass (overall material)
- Physical Description: ivory (overall material)
- Measurements: overall: 9 3/4 in x 20 7/8 in x 10 in; 24.765 cm x 53.0225 cm x 25.4 cm
- place made: France: Île-de-France, Paris
- ID Number: MI.393724
- catalog number: 393724
- accession number: 209347
- Credit Line: Gift of Peter H. Brandt
- 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.
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