Hello, Eric Schaller
The Unsere Lieblinge ("Little Darlings") harmonicas were made by Hohner
from before World War 2 to the present, for the German and French markets.
They are just intonation-tuned,
The German harps are named Unsere Lieblinge, the French are labeled Modele
Alsacien. They are the same model numbers, with different names.
They all have wood combs, and they are octave-tuned harmonicas, with brass
reeds and .9mm thick brass reed plates.
Once the note placement setup is learned, they could be very useful as rock
or blues harps, for their octave playing, producing more resonance and
more volume than the single reed per note diatonic 10-hole blues harps. They
are similar to the Hohner Comet harps sold in the USA.
Bending and overblowing are possible, by playing either the top horizontal
row of reeds, or the bottom horizontal row of reeds. The octave harps may
be played two notes together, vertically, one row separately, or a mouthful
of reeds, either melodically horizontal) or vertically (harmonically).
Catalog # 6194 has 12 double holes, 24 reeds, 4" long, and is in C only.
#6195 has 16 double holes, 32 reeds, 5" long, in C or G.
#6196 has 14 double holes, 28 reeds, 4.5" long, in C.
#7330 has 20 double holes, 40 reeds, is 7" long, in C, F or G.
#7331 has 40 double holes, 80 reeds (it's double-sided), 7" long, in C and
G. It was discontinued around 1994 (a guess).
#7332 has 24 double holes, 48 reeds, is 7" long, in C or G.
The case of the Unsere Lieblinges is a cardboard material, with the model
name and pictures of 2 ladies on the case cover.
In the past, during the era of USA President Ronald Reagan and Soviet
Union President Brezhnev, the two ladies were changed to the two countries'
president's pictures. Why, it's a mystery, but it may be to commemorate the
presidents' signing of the nuclear weapons reduction treaty.
Or, Hohner may have had a sense of humor by naming the two presidents
"Little Darlings."
Happy New Year
John Broecker