Re: [Harp-L] Origins of the NeckRack

[Philharpn@xxxxxxx]

Neck Racks have been around for a long time.   All the guys you mention are 
newcomers.

The Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogue of 1897 (a facsimile reprint) shows a line 
drawing of a harp rack and of a guy with a derby hat and vest wearing the 
wire harp rack. For adjustments, you bend the wire. It looks similar to todays 
wingnut model but is a continuous loop of wire.

It's on page 528 (upper left corner). Two models are offered. A Harmonica 
Holder made of nickel plated wire cost 34 cents or copper plated wire for 9 
cents.

Obviously, if Sears was selling them, people were buying them. And what this 
means is that the original ragtime cowboy was using one. (For you kids, 
ragtime era was   circa 1890-1917.)

Arguably the best harp rack ever made was Blues Tools. Instead of wingnuts to 
lock, the rack holds harps 5 inches wide and has two disks on either side to 
adjust the level angle. The spring-loaded harp holder itself is bolted to a 
triangular bracket that can be adjusted by repositioning the screws in several 
different holes. This means the harp rack can be adjusted on two levels: close 
or closer to the face and by adjusting the angle of the harp. The part that 
goes behind your neck is padded. The whole thing is finished in a flat black 
finish.

When the Blues tools rack came out, (was it over 10 years ago)? it was pricey 
(much more than the $10 wire racks sold at the time). I don't know why Blues 
Tools went out of business. Whether is was a financing issue or that nobody 
wanted to spent $50 (if that was the price) for a harp rack when you could get 
one for $10. I don't know if it was patented; I can find no patent number on 
mine.   Based on my limited recollection of Gilbert Erector Sets (kids toy 
construction sets invented by Gilbert in 1911) it would seem the kind of thing 
somebody could mass produce and sell unassembled, thereby reducing costs.

A flat black neck rack by K& M (German firm called Koning & Meyer) looks 
similar to the Blues Tools harp rack but it lacks the angle adjustment. It holds 
harps 7 1/2 inches wide. And is not too pricey. No patent number here either.


Phil Lloyd






 


In a message dated 6/24/08 11:47:01 PM, rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:


> .....Woody Guthrie, Doctor Ross, Jessie Fuller, Gwen Foster, Jimmy Reed, 
> Slim Harpo to name just a few.
> 
> >>> "Bradford Trainham" <bradford.trainham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 25/06/2008 11:36 >>
> >
> I know for many  of us, the neckrack was first popularized by Dylan...
> But surely he wasn't the first to play the harmonica with another
> instrument??
> Can anyone point me to "pre-Dylan" neckrackers?
> Brad Trainham
> 
> 




**************
Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for 
fuel-efficient used cars.
      (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007)