Re: [Harp-L] Civil War harmonica on ebay

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

It looks like a mid-20th century Hohner reedplate. No a Marine Band (single bolt holes instead of double on each side) but a closee relative. Amateurs with metal detectors generally don't possess the archaeological training or skills to accurately assess the age of what the unearth.

While I've always maintained a skeptical attitude about the popular image of the Civil War harmonica - I believe that 1940s Hollywood screenwriters saw evidence of harmonicas during WWI - when harmonicas were being shipped to the US in the multiple millions - and extrapolated back to that earlier conflict.

However, recently I've seen documentary evidence of harmonicas being sold in New York during the 1840s in the form of commercial invoices, which is fascinating. That's not direct evidence of wartime use, but it puts the harmonica in relatively common use earlier than any evidence I'd seen previously, which dates from the 1870s, about the time that production ramped up enough to allow for significant exports to the US following Hohner's 1868 establishment of a trade link.

Winslow
Â
Winslow Yerxa
President, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica
Producer, theÂHarmonica Collective
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, JazzschoolÂCommunity Music School


________________________________
 From: Vern <jevern@xxxxxxx>
To: BO <bostonmoejo@xxxxxxx> 
Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 4:26 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Civil War harmonica on ebay
 

The caption generalizes about the war and harmonicas but doesnât even claim that this particular reed plate is from a civil war harmonica. The offeror doesnât say when, how, where and by whom it was found. Even if it is authentic, he hasnât come close to establishing its provenance. Besides that, it isnât very interesting.

Vern

On Jul 22, 2014, at 2:03 PM, BO <bostonmoejo@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> I just came across this:Â 
> 
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> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Civil-War-Harmonica-Display-for-Civil-War-150th-Anniversary-/291193354836?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43cc79fa54
> 
> 
> Any thoughts on authenticity? 
> 
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> 
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>