Current location:
Collection Storage Facility
Provenance:
A local Ottawa historian donated the Deagan Una-Fon to the Museum in 1989.
Technical history:
Manufactured between about 1915 and 1925, the Una-Fon is the oldest electronic instrument in the Museum’s music collection. It features a two-and-a-half octave keyboard. Pressing a key activates an electromagnet that causes a corresponding beater to strike a metal bar, producing a musical note. Behind each bar is a metal resonator tube that amplifies the vibrations. The Una-Fon produces a loud and clear tone, and was typically used to provide music for parades, fairs, and similar public events.
History:
J. C. Deagan Inc. was an instrument maker in Chicago, Illinois. The company crafted a wide variety of fine percussion instruments, including organ chimes, marimbas, orchestra bells, and xylophones. According to the donor, the Una-Fon was used by a band that played at the Château Laurier Hotel in Ottawa.
CSTMC/SMSTC 1989.0252
CSTMC/SMSTC 1989.0252
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