On Feb 23, 2007, at 5:20 PM, David Coulson wrote:
Alan Bates is a harmonica collector who donated a huge collection of vintage harmonicas (second in size only to that in the Harmonikamuseum in Trossingen, Germany) to the National Music Museum at the University of South Dakota.
Oh, ok, that's cool, BUT suddenly I am now struck with the question South Dakota? I suppose it was a monetay consideration, but I don't really see SoDak as a Mecca for harmonicas. Seems pretty far from the general population.
The quote about the quantity of harmonicas imported in the early 1860s and the Civil War came from this page, http://www.usd.edu/ smm/Batespage.htm , presumably vetted by the musical instrument historians at the University. It sounds like someone had better set them straight!
Shan't be me, my story was only conjecture and while I thought it was a masterpiece of reasoning, I wouldn't expect anyone to give it any credence. :) smokey-joe
David
On Feb 23, 2007, at 3:16 PM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Who IS Alan Bates?
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