Novachord: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This Novachord was made by Hammond Instrument Co. in Chicago, Illinois, around 1939-1942. It is a model H, serial #1173, with 72 keys (F – e), 3 pedals (volume and sustain), and 1 swell pedal (sustain by either foot). Sounds are generated by 12 oscillators using frequency division. There are 14 control knobs which can be set to produce various sounds:

Deep Tone (off, 1, 2, 3) First Resonator (off, 1, 2, 3) Second Resonator (off, 1, 2, 3) Third Resonator (off, 1, 2, 3) Brilliant Tone (off, 1, 2, 3) Full Tone (off, 1, 2, 3) Balancer (soft bass to strong, bass) Bright – Mellow Attack ((1 (fast) – 7 (slow)) Combination – Percussion – Singing Volume ((4 (high) - 1 (low)) Normal Vibrato (off/on) Small Vibrato (off/on) Starter (lift/release)

U.S. Patent #RE20825, dated August 9, 1938 by Gilbert Smiley for producing musical sounds electronically.

U.S. Patent #RE20831, dated August 16, 1938 by Gilbert Smiley for an electronic musical instrument.

U.S. Patent #2117002, dated May 10, 1938 by Laurens Hammond for a keyboard for musical instruments.

U.S. Patent #2126464, dated August 9, 1938 by Laurens Hammond for an electrical musical instrument.

U.S. Parent #2126682, dated August 9, 1938 by Laurens Hammond for an electrical musical instrument.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1939-1942
• Object Name: novachord
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Physical Description: glass (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 38 1/2 in x 53 in x 37 1/2 in; 97.79 cm x 134.62 cm x 95.25 cm
• place made: United States: Illinois, Chicago
• ID Number: MI.71.10
• catalog number: 71.10
• accession number: 292941
• Credit Line: Gift of Russell K. Gernhofer
• 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.