Mason & Hamlin Organ Company

This is just about all the information that’s survived the passing of time on the Mason & Hamlin Organ Co.

The company was located on Cambridge St., then 277 Washington St., then 134 Tremont St., Boston, MA 1854-1888. The company was renamed Mason & Hamlin Organ & Piano Co. in 1888. It was founded by Henry Mason and Emmons Hamlin with funds provided by Oliver Ditson and Henry's father, Lowell Mason.

They built about 450 organs per year from 1855-1861. Factory capacity was 10,000 organs per year by 1902. In 1905 Mason & Hamlin made a contract with Alphonse Mustel in which he would make his home in Boston and supervise the manufacture of Mustel Harmoniums by Mason & Hamlin.

While it is uncertain that Mustel ever went to Boston, twenty-five years earlier Mason & Hamlin had produced their "Orchestral" organ which had pressure bellows, expression, percussion action and the same specifications as a Mustel harmonium. Mason & Hamlin was acquired by The Cable Co. in 1911, which which was acquired by American Piano Co. in 1924. Reed organ production ended in 1927.

Serial numbers (probably a combination of case and action numbers):

1856 - 596 1874 - 24001 1890 - 103200
1859 - 1946 1876 - 34435 1892 - 112000
1861 - 2600 1876 - 80204 1894 - 117000
1863 - 3503 1880 - 45927 1899 - 212377
1865 - 5050 1881 - 50000 1900 - 214191
1866 - 6810 1883 - 58900 1903 - 223506
1867 - 8541 1885 - 73000 1904 - 225174
1870 - 10000 1886 - 77027 1906 - 229269
1871 - 11110 1887 - 81000 1916 - 239552
1872 - 12219 1888 - 86000 1918 – 24009
1873 - 17000 1890 - 103200

Out of sequence: 1859 - 3431, 1863 - 10933, 1867 - 15971, 1869 - 17493, 1872 - 63058, 1875 - 80607, 1875 - 83947, 1876 - 86732, 1877 - 94767, 1880 - 117936, 1881 - 118300, 1884 - 25163, 1886 - 160920, 1887 - 170987, 1893 - 194980, 1894 - 240043

Catalogs and other sources give the following cumulative production quantities:

1873 - 100000 1878 - 100000 1884 - 150000
1875 - 80000 1880 - 102817 1889 – 175000

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