Civil War Harmonicas

[pvtben]

Hello guys

I am in need of some major help. Maybe im looking on the wrong place but i cant find anything. I am trying to find some pictures of some original civil wr harmonicas. I want to know what i need to do to defarb them or what i need to add. If anyone has anything on what they were made of who made them what they look like please contact me.

thanks
email me at
civilwarfreak013@aol.com

ben jenkins

[Michael Semann]

Re: CIVIL WAR HARMONICAS (need help)

Ben, The following web sight has quite a bit of info on 19th Century Harmonicas, and is one of the better online sites for Harmonica historyhttp://www.usd.edu/smm/Batespage.htm Hope this helps.

[hardtack1864]

Re: CIVIL WAR HARMONICAS (need help)

Yes, I also would like to know where I could find a authentic or defarbed Harmonica. Contact me at reliccrazy@aol.com if you have info.

[va-yank]

Re: CIVIL WAR HARMONICAS (need help)

I have seen a lot of supposedly dug harmonica parts from CW campsites. The items always consist of just the metal sound plate and reeds and maybe some small brass pieces. Never have seen the stamped metal covers that are common on all modern types. Either they were very thin and all have disintegrated, or maybe harmonicas of that era had wooden covers?

Its a missing part of the puzzle, and I wish you success.

[Lawg]

Popularity of the Harmonica

I have read in secondary soucres that the harmonica was popular because of its durability and easy playability. i was just wanting to know if anyone can tell me how much this instrument was really used and if there are in primary sources saying they had these readily available to the average soldier?
Thanks for the help.

Stephen Chavez
6th Tx Co. K

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Popularity of the Harmonica

I can't give you a primary source personally but I can say that they (the metal parts at least) are among the most common artifacts found in camps around here.

I do not recall a period site we have excavated that did not produce at least the partial guts of one.

[Charles Kaiser]

Harmonica

Hallo Kameraden,
for Portrayal of an Union Civil war soldiers, I am know learning to play harmonica.
So I am looking for any Information about periodical harmonicas .

[Jubilo]

Re: Harmonica

Dear Mr. ,
Seeing how you appear to be a "Dutchman " , you wil be proud to know that the instrument was invented in Germany . Lincoln supposedly played "The Blue Tail Fly " ( which he called "that buzzin' tune ," ) , on his harmonica. Google up Hohner Harmonicas and read their fascinating ( if you like harmonicas ) , history .
all for the old flag,
David Corbett

[Charles Kaiser]

Re: Harmonica

Hallo Kameraden,
in the compendium was writtten, that harmonica - plates are most common dug music relic, 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?

[Rob Weaver]

Re: Harmonica

Hohner was not the only nineteenth century maker. The majority were in Germany and had been producing quality instruments cheaply for thirty years before the War. Harmonicas always were cheap, portable and expendible instruments, and were hugely popular for those reasons. Also someone with very little musical training can get a pleasant sound.

[YoungCampaigner]

Re: Harmonica

Hello All. All of the originals that I have seen are definately all-metal. The sound boards are commonly dug in camps. All of the ones that I have seen are either brass or pewter. I don't know, however, what the most common metal for the outside would be.
Talk to almost any relic hunter. Chances are he has found parts of harmonicas before and he will be a wealth of knowledge.

[Charles Kaiser]

Re: Harmonica

Hallo Kameraden,
I will contact Hohner, if they have Informations of there early harmonicas. If I can get them I will post again.
Harmonica playing is realy very easy, if you are a little bit "musical". My conrades enjoy it on every Event, when I have learned new songs ( the american songs, and although the german folksongs, brought from home, and sung by the German Volunteers of the 17th Mo) . We often sit around the campfire, and sing these old songs.

[J.H.Berger]

Re: Harmonica

Christof. Hohner was exporting harmonicas to the US during the CW and before. So a German made harmonica would be absolutely correct if the style matches the originals. Try to get more info about how they looked like tand have a look at ebay.de Maybe you will find one there. Maybe!

[markj]

Re: Harmonica

Good news: there are several copiously illustrated books available on early Hohner harmonicas.

Bad news: Most, if not all, of them are "auf Deutsch" and tend to be quite pricey.

Good news: The odds are good you can obtain them through interlibrary loan without too much trouble.

Here are the EBay USA links for several tomes currently for sale on EBay Germany:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110189388765&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D110189388765%2509%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200170247232&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D200170247232%2509%26fvi%3D1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320179031333&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D320179031333%26fvi%3D1

Hartmut Berghoff's Zwischen Kleinstadt und Weltmarkt. Hohner und die Harmonika 1857-1961 (Between the Little Town and the World Market: Hohner and the Harmonica, 1857-1961) is probably the most in-depth review of how Hohner became a marketing giant. It's also well-illustrated, but is also exclusively printed in German, and hideously expensive here in the States (hard cover copies are now running upwards of US$140). You'd do better to get it through interlibrary loan or even pick it up in soft-cover from Amazon Germany (list price is around US$50 + shipping).

Here's the U.S. listing for the above work:

http://www.amazon.com/Zwischen-Kleinstadt-Weltmarkt-Unternehmensgeschichte-Gesellschaftsgeschichte/dp/350670785X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195020400&sr=8-4

You can also access portions of it on Google Books:

http://books.google.com/books?id=cq3wrFSVg1QC&dq=Hohner+Zwischen

Viel Glueck,

Mark Jaeger

P.S. If I can dig them up, I'll see if I can post two 1860's cdv's I own, which show children posing with harmonicas, which, from what I can tell, appear pretty much identical to modern Mundorgels. One of the images has a San Francisco backmark.

[J.H.Berger]

Re: Harmonica

Hi Mark, I think Christof and I can manage that "auf Deutsch" thing:):p
Thank you for the reference . We will see what we can get out of it!
Hohner does not have any information about early harmonicas. I have contacted them yesterday.