Civil War Harmonicas

[Virginia Mescher]

Re: Harmonica

but I wonder that this Instrument was so common in civil war, because honer was fonded in 1857( They have this Year there 150th aniversary). So what is about the american made harmonicas?

I haven't done much research on mouth harmonicas (if you do a database search on just "harmonica" you will get an entirely different instrument for the late 18th and early 19th century) but mouth harmonicas started being patented in the US in the mid-1870s. You can do a Google Patent search and find some of them and then go to the USPTO site and do a classification search for a more complete list.

I don't know how many of the early patents were manufactured in the US but with the number of German toys imported into the US it is not surprising that the harmonicas were an imported product.

I just found an advertisement for a 1867 concert in Lowell, MA that included a selection by Professor Wallach, a celebrated Mouth Harmonica performer. He played a Swiss March and a Scotch air with variations. Apparently it was a popular performance because it was listed over several months.

I did find an 1879 advertisement for the German Harmonica Co. that apparently was a US company that was located in Shelburne Falls, MA. The advertisement stated that their product was "superior to the Langhamer, Richter, Concert, or Knitlingen harmonicas in style, durability and quality of tone."

Another advertisement from 1887 was for the John F. Stratton Company who was an importer of "all kinds of Mouth Harmonicas." They were located in New York.

[Charles Kaiser]

Re: Harmonica

Hallo Jan, Hallo Kameraden,
a good Idea to use the good old telephone, by email Honer dont reognize my question.
I will contact by phone the" Deutsches Mundharmonka Museum", which now owned the Hohner- Fabric Collection, a Collection with more than 25000 exhibits. I hope they can help

[tiger_rifles]

Re: Harmonica

Good Day to All,
My thought would be how common were these items? What would it have cost then? Would ever other soldier had one in his pocket? I don't remember reading about too many harmonicas in the personial accounts.
How does this compare to the good old "Juice Harp"?
Paul Bennett

[Virginia Mescher]

Re: Harmonica

Good Day to All,
My thought would be how common were these items? What would it have cost then? Would ever other soldier had one in his pocket? I don't remember reading about too many harmonicas in the personial accounts.
How does this compare to the good old "Juice Harp"?
Paul Bennett

Although I haven't done a great deal of research on harmonicas, I haven't run into their sale in store ledgers. Since they didn't seem to be manufactured in the US until after the CW, they would have had to have been imported but German imports were very common in the US so it is very possible that they were readily available.

I did find the prices of harmonicas in an 1885 catalogue and the prices ranged from $ .40 to $2.00 each. Brands listed were Richter, American Professional, Emmet and different models of Richters.

Jaw harps were very common in the CW period. They were listed in Historic Accounts (1859-1861) and ranged in price from $ .02 to $ .13 each.

[birdseye]

Re: Harmonica

Pards,

I play the harmonica, and I've been researching the instrument for a long time. I started out looking for documentation on how it was played, and images of period harps so I could defarb a modern model. Failing that, I moved onto just hoping to find some shred of evidence to rationalize playing it at all in a CW setting.

I'll share some of what I've learned, but let me cut to the chase by saying that I leave my harp at home. Also, nothing is cut-and-dry: I eschew the harmonica due to a LACK of supporting documentation, rather than proof-positive that soldiers didn't carry them. I would LOVE to have my conclusions dashed, so please... have at me!

At the time of the Civil War, only a few German companies were making harmonicas, including Hohner. I haven't found documentation of any American companies making them, although local artisans might have crafted their own. Harmonicas were invented in the 1820s, so it's likely that at least some found their way to America, and maybe Joe Blacksmith made a couple copies here and there. But...

For the harmonica to be found in the quantities that relic-diggers claim they are found, requires mass production. Look on eBay: EVERY collection of dug relics contains a harmonica reed-plate. This is ridiculous (I'll try to support why below). This means EVERY campfire had a harmonica player, which is the common perception that I have come to reject. I conclude that either the excavation sites have been polluted with material since the war ended, or someone is "giving the people what they want."

It's not just relic traders: books must also be questioned. In "Civil War Artifacts: A Guide for the Historian" (by Howard R Crouch, 1995), a group of dug harmonica parts is shown with a statement of how common such finds are. Unfortunately, the harmonicas shown are post-war! (disclaimer: I was told they're 1880s parts by a collector on a harmonica forum, so take that with the usual grains of salt).

Speaking of salt grains, don't believe what you read on Wikipedia, either. They say that Abe Lincoln owned a Hohner harmonica and soldiers carried them into battle (often saving lives by stopping minnie balls!). The earliest source I can find for these "facts" are from marketing materials put out by the Hohner company who love to perpetuate these myths. What? Wikipedia unreliable?? Go figure. Some claim there's a letter in the Hohner museum in Germany from Old Abe himself, but several enthusiasts on harmonica forums followed that up and were told by a curator that no such letter exists. There is no documentation that Lincoln ever played the harmonica, only hearsay.

Still, Hohner was manufacturing harmonicas at the time, so let's look at them. The Hohner company started production of harmonicas in 1857. He bought out his main competitors to corner the market and developed mass-production techniques which ultimately led to market domination. He seems to be the first to put metal cover plates on harps, around 1858-59. His famed Marine Band model wasn't patented until 1897.

Hohner doesn't appear to have exported to the US until 1866 (some say 1868). However, some sources say Hohner’s relatives emigrated in 1862, and Hohner could have shipped instruments to them as a "market test." Even if we accept 1862 as the beginning of Hohner imports, we are left with some questions:

1) We can write-off 1861. Nobody had a Hohner harmonica, and he was the earliest German exporter to America (this is generally agreed to on the harp forums, but maybe future research will uncover an earlier exporter or domestic manufacturer).

2) In order for the harmonica to be carried by every other Billy and Johnny in the war (and lost in the campfire for future relic hunters)...
a) Hohner would have to export hundreds of thousands of them;
b) They would have to become a sudden fad (like smoking caps?);
c) They had to be distributed very quickly and efficiently;
d) They had to spread across the lines and/or blockade;
e) Everyone had to learn how to play them quickly;
f) Popular songs had to be learned on the harmonica.

- If they were a big fad, where are the articles in Harper's and Leslie's and Southern Confederacy Newspaper? I have found many patterns for smoking caps (for expl), but nothing on the harmonica.

- Where are the contemporary advertisements and depictions in art, engravings, and photographs? I have found none; please post if you have a screenshot.

- I've seen sheet music depicting piano, guitar, banjo, bones, tambourine... but not harmonica. Again, would love to see screenshots.

- I've seen multiple images of string bands; none with harmonica. Likewise with military bands.

I searched patents on Google for "harmonica" (and several alternate search terms) from 1840-1870 and only got one hit: A patent from 1867, but it was referring to a different instrument altogether (not harmonica as we know it).

Okay, now on the OTHER HAND... I'm not saying they didn't exist at all. I never said that. Some guys, especially Germans, MIGHT have had them. I mean, somebody HAD to have a harmonica around a campfire, right? But I’m unconvinced they were a staple musical item, as they would become in the next couple of decades.

There was also some isolated development of the instrument in this country prior to the war. Here's a useful post by a well-known harmonica teacher & researcher:

http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/3077798.htm

So, one must decide if they intend to portray the ONE guy in the regiment that has a harmonica (sent from German family members? Hand-crafted by a local artisan?). If so, is your repro harmonica accurate? How is it tuned? Do you play it authentically?

Modern players tend to rely on a blues style of bending notes ("cross-harp"). This style didn't develop until around the turn of the Century, so reenactors often play "wrong" (similar to fast bluegrass finger-picking on the banjo: wrong for our period).

Also, reenactors show up with modern, plastic-comb harmonicas; understandable since nobody makes a period repro. But that's no different than using a stainless steel mucket.

It's certainly possible that there were some harmonicas in camp. But until I see photos, illustrations, articles, instructions, sheet music, patents, diaries, testimonials, sutler's inventory lists, import/export bill of lading, death certificate itemization of personal effects... anything that states "harmonica" from the Civil War, I will continue to leave mine at home.

I hope to be proven wrong! Sincerely!

Yours in authentical researchery,

-Paul Canter

[birdseye]

Re: Harmonica


Here is one of the only & earliest surviving American harmonicas (not mass produced, however). Made by James A. Bazin of Canton, MA, sometime in the 1830's. It has 15 functional holes, with one tone (one reed) per hole. Made of copper & brass. It is housed in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. More info & an audio clip can be found here: http://www.mfa.org/collections/objec...armonica-51479

-Paul Canter

[birdseye]

Re: Harmonica


Here is a German harmonica in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC, dated "1860-70." It is made of "beech and metal" with 16-holes, almost certainly one reed per hole (unspecified). Tuning unknown.


This one is an 8-hole harmonica, date & maker unknown, but it is very similar to a 10-hole model illustrated in a Nuremberg merchant's catalog dated 1834. Tuning is almost like a modern harmonica (starting at hole #3), with one difference. The mouthpiece is ivory. Of course, it could be from much later, but interesting to look at and compare to modern harps.

Hope these images & info above is of use. Cheers.

-Paul Canter

[wajohnson12]

Re: Harmonica

On a recent trip to Gettysburg while happening through the Visitor's Center, I saw this harmonica and remembered this thread on the AC. I don't recall any specific provenance to the item, but I'm guessing it was thoroughly vetted before being placed on display.

[birdseye]

Re: Harmonica

Andy, thanks for posting that pic! (just now seeing it) It’s certainly a cool, old harmonica. Unfortunately, it wasn’t vetted by the Gettysburg center and isn’t CW period. It’s a Wilhelm Thei tremolo 1880s model. In the 2.5 yrs since I posted to this thread, I have found no CW images or advertisements depicting harmonicas. Still looking...

-Paul Canter

[Silas]

Re: Harmonica

Thank you, Mr. Canter, for your posts. The harmonica has a great sound and fits well in a pocket. Unfortunately, there are serious questions about their use during the CW and especially at authentic events. I wanna believe soldiers had them, but the record does not support the belief.