Object Record
Images
Additional Images [4]
Metadata
Object ID # |
2012.025.001abc |
Object Name |
Organ, Reed |
Other Name |
Melodeon |
Title |
John Sloan Melodeon (Mended & Refinished) |
Lexicon category |
6: T&E For Communication |
Date |
19th-century |
Year Range from |
1856 |
Year Range to |
1889 |
Artist |
John Sloan (Sloane) |
Made |
Sloan, John |
Place of Origin |
Owen Sound, Grey County |
Description |
Finished wood, metal, brass and fabric travelling/portable melodeon (a). The bellows fold up into the body after the mid-piece is removed. One leg goes up before the other. It has 32 ivory keys, and 22 ebony keys. It has a flat, hinged lid. There are three brass hinges at the front of the lid, and two brass hinges to access the back area above the bellows. There is a small, plain keyhole with no escutcheon at the front. The key is no longer extant. The right side of the keyboard has a round brass knob lever in a clipped, cornered-style brass lever plate with an "L"-shaped cut-out. The left side of the keyboard has a rectangular wooden block with a large wire staple. It holds a rather flat, ornate, hinged brass hardware piece. Two plain metal rods are stored inside, at the top. They are (b) and (c), and would be vertical when installed to connect the pedals to the rest of the melodeon. One of the rods has a round, flat end. The other rod has a slightly irregular end, with a small, off-center socket in it. Two square-cut sockets are visible on the underside, at the rear, where they would be installed. The left foot pedal has an ornate, cast iron shank which ends in an inset, convex and ovoid brass pedal area. The right pedal is somewhat longer, but has a similar floral casting. It has a brass roller at the front. The wooden bottom of the bellows is black-finished. Red and maroon fabric is present in the bellows and keys. There is also a sheer blue fabric used at the top inside area, which appears to be more recent. When opened at the top rear, a printed paper surface is visible, which is likely original to the piece. It was mended with a couple of pieces of wallpaper. The top rectangular area of the instrument is decorated with narrow, nailed-on moulding at the top and bottom. The item appears to have been refinished. It was broken and repaired. |
Makers mark |
Clipped-cornered engraved brass plate affixed to the front above the keyboard: "John Sloan / Maker / Owen Sound." (script-style lettering) |
Provenance |
Made by John Sloan (Sloane) in Owen Sound, Grey County. Dates to the 19th-century. John Sloan's Owen Sound melodeon factory was located on Scrope Street (now part of 3rd Avenue East). He had agents in Orangeville, Meaford, and Mount Forest. Last owned by Ron Verhage of Niagara Falls, an instrument hobbyist and collector. He found it at Meisner's Flea Market in West Flamborough. The vendor told him that he acquired it at auction in Freelton, Ontario. |
Collection |
Musical Instruments & Accessories Collection |
Material |
Wood/Metal/Cloth/Ivory/Brass/Finish/Paint/Glue |
Dimensions |
H-82 W-90.2 L-48.2 cm |
Found |
Ontario |
People |
Sloan, John |
Subjects |
Owen Sound Industry Owen Sound Industries Music Musical instrument industry Musical instruments |
Search Terms |
Owen Sound Industries and Products Scrope Street |
Function |
Victorian musical instrument with a keyboard, which uses airpower to play music. Melodeons are wind instruments with brass reeds and make sound by sucking air through them. This one can be folded up (portable type). Legs fold into the body. One foot pedal would work the bellows, and the other pedal would be for swell (volume). It is a type of reed organ. The player would be seated on a small chair or stool. It would be an item suitable for a parlour, although occasionally melodeons were used at small churches and halls. |