Re: Fwd: more on civil war harps

["Mark Lavoie" <lavoie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Pat,
Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburgh, Vermont has a collection of instruments that
the family of this homestead played. In the collection is a harmonica which
has stamped on the cover A-JAX reeds. Have you ever heard of this.  The
instruments are on display from time to time, but are mainly in storage.
The Homestead was built around 1812 and was also part of the underground
rail road.

Stay tuned!
Mark
lavoie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.middlebury.net/lavoie/


- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Pat Missin" <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 7:21 PM
Subject: Re: Fwd: more on civil war harps


>
> Winslow wrote:
> >
> >- --- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, rainbowjimmy@xxxx wrote:
> >
> >>There's a good article on Hohner's business located here:
> >>http://es.oupjournals.org/cgi/reprint/2/2/338
> >
> >>According to the article, Hohner made 700 harmonicas in 1857, by
> >>1867 they were were making 22,000 harmonicas. Apparently Hohner gave
> >>emigrants boxes full of harmonicas. When they landed in America,
> >>they sold them to their compatriots and mailed Hohner the money.
> >
> >That would make Hohner about the most trusting businessman in
> >history. Would you entrust your product, without compensation, to
> >someone unknown to you and not in your control in any way, who was
> >about to travel far beyond your reach? Possible but seems unlikely.
>
> I think articles such as these are best regarded as promotional
> material for the Hohner company, rather than accurate historical
> documentation.
>
> >>The article states there were no American harmonica manufactures then
> >
> >Typical Hohner propoganda, and not true. The Æolina type of chord
> >harmonica was apparently being manufactured by Lewis Zwahlen in New
> >York City, ca. 1831. See a picture at pat Missin's website:
> >
> >http://www.usd.edu/smm/Aeolian.html
>
> As well as Zwahlen in NY, James Bazin of Boston was making harmonicas
> around the same time. I would not at all be surprised to learn of
> other early US harmonica makers.
>
> >>-the reeds had to be hand cut and hand tuned, it was specialized
> >>labor and there were only so many people that knew how to do this.
> >
> >Apparently there were people in New York who knew how.
>
> By the mid-1800s, the reed organ manufacturing business in the US was
> starting to build some serious momentum - cutting and tuning reeds is
> a rather fundamental skill in this area.
>
> I also can't help but note how most of the reedplates from the "Civil
> War harmonicas" that you can find on eBay all seem to have nicely
> machined slots that do not look anything like my idea of "hand made",
> even though Hohner did not get their mass-production process into gear
> until after the US Civil War.
>
>  -- Pat.
>
>
>
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