John McLoughlin was the Father of Oregon, and his history is celebrated at the McLoughlin House in Oregon City.
Before treatment!
We conserved the Prince & Co. Melodeon he gave to his granddaughter, part of a larger collection housed at his home, now part of our National Park Service. The melodeon was not operational, and covered by 100 years of wood smoke and soot from oil heaters. It had missing veneer and trim, and structural damage to the stretcher.
Inside before, 100 years of dirt.
Inside after, even some of the stains lifted.
Kate cleaned the melodeon inside, above; Mitchell removed layers of soot from the finish, created new veneer and trim for the missing pieces, and we began to match the original historic shellac to the new veneer. The instrument’s carcass was polished, and delivered back to the house, below.
After treatment! She is sweet!
And finally, we made the melodeon work again. Mitchell worked with the mechanism that operated the billows, and we were able to hear the sound of the melodeon again! There is a free ebook with enhanced sounds that you can download and then you can hear it too!
For more information, you can view a PDF of the before and after here.
Tours are free — You should go!
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