Re: [Harp-L] was Online harmonica museum, now Wm. Kratt, playa

[David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I forgot to mention something about Kratt. He started working for Hohner, I believe, as a kid and emigrated at 18 years old to the U.S. He was staying with an aunt, who owned this restaurant, "The Old Homestead" in Orange, N.J. (is it still there?). He was working as a dishwasher and hated it, so his aunt hooked him up with Edison about a week after he started.  Edison liked the boy and hired him as a machinist, Edison gave him his first set of tools.

 He and Thomas Edison had a close relationship.  Edison would come in, have an idea and say something like "Eureka! This just came to me, an idea for a super-cool left-handed smokeshifter!" Edison would talk it over with some with Bill, scrawl a sketch on some scrap paper or something and Bill would build the smokeshifter or whatever. Kratt was with Edison from 1910-1915, so anything Edison invented at that time, Kratt probably built the prototype, such as the "modern" record player.
Dave
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Dave Payne Sr. 
Elk River Harmonicas
www.elkriverharmonicas.com 


----- Original Message ----
From: "jcolbyspell@xxxxxxxx" <jcolbyspell@xxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 11:37:02 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Online harmonica museum

I recently got an old Kratt harmonica.  I could find very little information on it.  It got me to thinking that it would be fun to set up and on-line harmonica museum of different diatonics.  If you have any cool diatonics I would appreciate you sending me a picture so I can post it.  I would like to stick to diatonics for now.  I picture of both covers and the back would be great.  If it has other unusual features a picture of that would be nice.  The trick is getting the flash angled so it doesn't reflect of the covers.  I did not do a good job with this picture.  http://fromthedarkvillage.blogspot.com/2008/06/pre-war-marine-band.html ; So if you are willing send them to me and I will let you know when I got it all together.

Colby
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_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l