USA Free Reed Organ History - MASON & HAMLIN - Catalogues 1857-1909

Mason & Hamlin was founded in 1854 in Boston, MA, USA, on the corner of Charles and Cambridge Streets.

The first rooms in a wooden house were converted into a factory that burned down completely in 1861.
In 1861 to 1862 a second, better factory was built on the same plot as the first factory.
In 1870 Mason & Hamlin moved across the Charles River to 162 Broadway, Cambridge, where the third factory was built. (the second factory was abandoned)

From 1854 until about 1927, Mason & Hamlin built Free Reed organs using suction wind bellows technology.
In the first factory (1854-1861) Portable Melodeon, Piano Style Melodeon, Organ Melodeon, Harmonium (suction wind) and Organ Harmonium (suction wind) instruments were developed and built.
The second factory (1861-1870) built the Mason & Hamlin Cabinet Organ, the forerunner of the American Organ.
In the third factory (1870-~1927) the Cabinet organ was further improved and the Liszt organ series was developed.

Mason & Hamlin received several awards in the USA and at international exhibitions and was one of the most important producers and developers of American suction wind free reed organs.

Around 1930 the factory in Cambridge was sold.
The ownership of Mason & Hamlin later changed several times, but the Mason & Hamlin brand remained.
From around 1881, the company began researching and building piano models

Mason & Hamlin pianos (Upright and Grand) are still manufactured today in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA.