Re: plastic reedplates?

[Pat Missin <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Kenneth Wolman wrote:
>
>At 05:19 PM 4/18/2004, Pat Missin wrote:
>
>> >Have any successful harmonicas ever been made with plastic reedplates?
>>
>>I guess that depends on how you define "successful". Finn Magnus
>>became a millionaire by manufacturing harmonicas that were entirely
>>made of plastic.
>
>Irresistible to run a search on Finn Magnus's name and see what
>appears. One entry under a site called Horatio Alger Stories. Then there
>are some desultory sites linked to old-time toy collections. What scared
>me is I remember the Magnus Organ because I may have had one when I was a
>kid--if I played it I must have looked like Schroeder in "Peanuts." Like
>the harmonica, it was all plastic and/or bakelite. I probably owned at
>least one of the harmonicas as well. I have absolutely on recollection of
>how they sounded, quality, any of that stuff.

I have a few different Magnus harmonicas. They sound surprisingly good
all things considered, but I can't see Howard Levy giving up Filiskos
in favour of these.

Having said that, Finn Haakon Magnus was an extremely smart guy and
some of his many patents cover innovations of sheer brilliance in both
harmonica design and mass production methods. I'm not 100% certain,
but I am pretty sure that Magnus was granted more harmonica-related
patents than any other person. I am also lucky (courtesy of the late
Bob Shatkin) to have a copy of Magnus's inspirational autobiography,
detailing the full story of his success, with tips for how you too can
be as successful as he was. He came to America unable to speak a word
of English, made a million making plastic harmonicas, lost it all,
then made another million making fishing boats.

 -- Pat.