Because of their affordability and portability, reed organs were extremely popular in the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century. They were used in both churches and in homes, and were among the most common instruments to travel with pioneers during the great Westward Expansion. The upper portion of the casework typically incorporated small shelves, mirrors, applied carvings, turnings, and other assorted Victorian "gingerbread." Such instruments served as the focal point of a home's parlor and as a potent symbol of a family's buying power and of its interest in the finer things of life.

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