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FRENCH HARMONIUM
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This is a French harmonium (reed organ). Unlike the American type of reed organ which uses vacuum, this one uses air pressure created by means of two foot pedals connected to bellows. The sound of this organ is very strong and penetrating. It can be played louder or softer by creating different amounts of air pressure when pressing the pedals more or less.
This organ has a 4 octave compass (49 keys covered in bone and ebony), and a single set of reeds, and it has the serial number 19932. The maker is uncertain, because the nameplate of the instrument is missing, but the reeds bear the name "Mainguet, Paris". I don't know how old the harmonium is but assume it dates back to around 1870. The reedmaker Mainguet was active between 1865-1890. It is quite an unusual and rare instrument, having some distinctive construction features of the bellows. The two white spots on the front, with the decorative carvings, are the air intake holes. If anyone can help me finding out more about this harmonium, please contact me.
A fter restoration:
This is how the harmonium looks after restoring it in August 2000.
The repairs included some work done to the pedals, action regulation and refinishing. I have changed the leather belts connecting the pedals to the bellows, which were worn and broken.
These belts are each encased in a leather sheath (see picture on the right) which maintains the pressure while allowing the movement of the belts which go inside the air reservoir. This harmonium has the two pumping bellows inside the main air reservoir, which is very unusual. Normally they are placed outside, separate from the main bellows. The bellows are made of leather, which is still very flexible and has no leaks after more than a century.
A few repairs to the wooden case were also done and then the refinishing began, which was quite a difficult job because the old lacquer was hard to remove.
The cleaned oak case was first colored to match the original reddish-brown finish. The color of the front panel was left a lighter shade, as it had been originally. The cloth behind the decorative wooden carvings has also been renewed.
B efore restoration:
This is the harmonium with the original finish, quite worn and with some scratches; the left pedal belt was broken.
I nside pictures
This is the air reservoir (before restoration), which also contains the two pumping bellows. The white one on top is the leather of the pressure regulating bellows, pushed by a spiral spring from the outside. Below are the two pumping bellows, within the air reservoir (right one is more visible). The belts are connected to the pedals over two wooden rollers (the left belt is broken in the picture). It seems that this way of building the pumping bellows into the air reservoir is very unusual, not found in other reed organs.
The leather of the bellows still is in perfect condition, very flexible and air-tight. Only the belts connecting the pedals to the bellows needed replacement.
P ictures of the action
This is the key bed, with the keys removed. The keys press on the round white heads of the valves. The valves are covered by a thin wooden board having the underside lined with a soft felt. It makes the reeds sound somewhat mellower.
The valve cover has been removed, you can see the valves here:
D etails of the valves
This is a closer view of the valves. In the left picture, a valve has been removed and you can see the hole leading to the reed, which is fixed on the underside. The right picture shows the removed valve.
These are some of the lower sounding reeds, on the underside of the key bed:
The reeds were in good condition, except for one which had been replaced in the past. Its sound was mellower, lacking the incisivene tone of the original Mainguet reeds. Luckily I was able to replace it with another reed which matches the sound of the others better.
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© Calin
Last update: 14.10.2006
