Ed, As Conrad and Ron stated you have a piano-case reed organ, which technically is an "American Organ" mechanism in a big empty box. A Melodion (or Melodian) is much the same in a small 'writing desk' box, both of these devices run on air vacuum provided by the bellows, whereas the Harmonium, of European origin runs on pressure supplied by the bellows. Many companies started up making these instruments, and later switched over, sometimes gradually as the market changed, to making pianos. The American style of reed organ had the advantage that with the negative pressure all the seals between bellows and the reed chest stayed tight when things dried out, but at the same time any dirt in the environment got sucked into the reeds, pretty quickly blocking them up. The Harmonium seemed to keep its reeds clean for a longer time. Several composers wrote serious for the Harmonium - Dubois, Saints-Saens and Bartok among them. In North America the reed organ was a very important instrument in our developing society, requiring less maintenance than a piano, and were as Ron said, a lot easier to move. These light "piano-case" instruments were possibly more prestigious than the humble melodeon especially when people started buying upright pianos. A piano would cost several hundred dollars, but these would sell for about $30. Ralph Thorn
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