Prince & Co. Reed Organ (Melodeon): Museum Object and Cultural History
Prince & Co. Reed Organ (Melodeon): date made: ca 1850. Object Name: organ (melodeon). Physical Description: rosewood (overall material).
The object in the museum catalogue
This reed organ was made by George A. Prince & Co. in Buffalo, New York, about 1850. It is a portable melodeon, also called a "singing teacher's organ" with a rosewood case, collapsible legs, bellows pedal and a small pedal on the left front leg. It has a single keyboard, with a compass of C - c3. The instrument has a printed paper label:
No. 4409 IMPROVED MELODEON MANUFACTURED BY PRINCE & CO. PATENTED DEC 28th, 1846
This instrument features U. S. Patent #4912 dated December 28, 1846, by Jeremiah Carhart for bellows for musical instruments.
Materials, dates and provenance
- date made: ca 1850
- Object Name: organ (melodeon)
- Physical Description: rosewood (overall material)
- Physical Description: ivory (keys material)
- Physical Description: metal (overall material)
- Physical Description: ebony (keys material)
- Measurements: overall: organ in case: 9 in x 31 1/4 in x 17 in; 22.86 cm x 79.375 cm x 43.18 cm
- place made: United States: New York, Buffalo
- ID Number: MI.248299
- accession number: 48146
- catalog number: 248299
- Credit Line: Gift of Delia Curtis
- 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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