Why "Harp"?

[Steve Jennings <100010.1152@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gordon:

You were asking a couple of weeks back about where "harp" came from.
For what it's worth, Kim Field says in his *brilliant* book,
"Harmonicas, Harps and Heavy Breathers", when talking about the early
importation of mouth organs into the States - "Some mouth organs bore
the legend 'French Harp', a lyrical allusion that may account for a
pseudonym that is still common in the Southern United States.".  I read
somewhere else that the 'French' bit may have derived from the fact
that at the time (mid-1860's) almost anything that was imported from
Europe would be referred to as 'French' - Paris being a centre for high
fashion even then. It's also possible that the 'French harp' would have
been aimed at those States that had previously been under French rule
(Louisiana, in particular), as a sort of sales gimmick to remind the
populace of "home", though this may be tenuous, as the War of
Independence had been over for well nigh 100 years by then. Interesting
to speculate, though.

Steve Jennings,
Editor, Harmonica World