Scan 252
Catalogue of the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments, 1918
18 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Section E. Vibrating Free Reeds, with Mechanically operated Bellows and Key-board Mechanism.
3In the Melodeon, and the more modern Cabinet Organ, the "exhaust" principle—employed in the Chinese sheng—supplanted the direct action of the reeds, characteristic of the Harmonium. Very popular in the last century it has been relegated to the background by the ubiquitous pianoforte.
51348. MELODEON ………………………………………United States
6Oblong case of rosewood and black walnut. Two foot levers, one operating the bellows, the other a swell shutter. One set of free reeds. It has a compass of five octaves, from F.
7Length, 94 cm. Width, 58 cm. Depth, 24 cm. Height, 78 cm.
8Signed—"Child and Bishop, Cleveland, Ohio."
9(Mrs. S. T. Cook.)
111349. MELODEON. Middle nineteenth century …………United States
12This instrument has one set of free reeds and a compass of four octaves. Length, 78 cm. Width, 47 cm. Depth, 15 cm. Height, 71 cm.
13Signed—"Geo. A. Prince and Co., Buffalo, N. Y."
15With the exception of the bowed-zither, it may be asserted with confidence that the instruments listed in Cases XIII and XIV have contributed more to the advancement of musical appreciation than those belonging to any of the preceding types. The stringed instruments legitimately played with a bow have made the orchestra possible. The repertoire of that puissant agency reveals the endless possibilities of creative musical art, while in the realm of chamber-music these instruments have aided in the establishment of some of the most intimate, refined, and satisfying composition-forms known to music. In several of the chamber-music forms, the pianoforte enters as a prominent artistic factor, and through it the key-board type comes into its own. But the last-named instrument fills a more important place in the home; it is, therefore, one of the most beneficent and potent instrumentalities in the development of real musical taste and knowledge. The organ, with its traditional religious associations, fully justifies its title "The King of Instruments," and, in certain respects, may be considered the noblest representative of the key-board class.
17While it may be maintained that the improvements already made in key-board instruments predicate future progress in the realization of their possibilities, the same cannot be said of the legitimate bowed types. The earlier types are obsolete, and newer forms, like the Viola alta (Eng. Ritter viola), invented by Hermann Ritter in 1876, and having a fifth string (g'') have not entered into the equation. The violin type has maintained itself consistently, and may be considered perfect. The same holds with equal force in the case of the bow. Therefore, from the point of view of evolution, this type may claim superiority over all others.
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