The harmonium is attributed to H. Christophe and Etienne, 1860s. It has a rosewood case, 101cm high, 118cm wide and 60cm deep. The instrument itself is meticulously made. There are four rows of reeds, 244 altogether. The key compass is C – c4.
The whole instrument was cleaned throughout, including the keyboard and the 120 leathered pallets. The interior was treated liberally with woodworm fluid. There were various repairs made. The right pumping pedal remade using existing timber and new beech, a new heel strip fashioned from brass and beech, the brass ‘aged’ with Liberon patination fluid. New straps were supplied between the pedals and the bellows levers. The levers were corroded and needed freeing. The two (bass and treble) ‘forte’ stops refitted, and the metal rollers within the reed chest have been lubricated very sparingly with clock oil. The knee lever for the ‘Grand Jeu’ was an iron roller with a brass arm, which had fractured, the fracture repaired using a silver solder joint. The case had loose veneers, re-glued using animal glue. Minor blemishes were ‘touched in’ with wood stain.
