Re: Fwd: more on civil war harps

[Pat Missin <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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.