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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > I’ve been appreciating my pre-war hohners lately
I’ve been appreciating my pre-war hohners lately
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Sundancer
346 posts
Jun 04, 2020
12:10 PM
I own three pre-war Marine Bands. One is a pretty beat up, but really well restored by Burke Trieschmann, Mouse Ears. Probably from early 1930s. I get the sense that it has seen a lot of American history in the past 90 years.

The other two are NOS models that I lucked into and, based on Pat Missin’s research, are from 1935-6. Just beautiful craftsmanship.

I find myself, this week especially, looking often at the six-pointed stars on the bottom cover plates. And wondering about how it came to be that Hohner removed them in 1937 and never brought the star back. And wondering what it was like to live in the era this sort of thing was happening. Those harps make me both hopeful and fearful that something like that won’t happen again in my lifetime. Everybody who loves harmonica should own at least one pre-war.

Last Edited by Sundancer on Jun 04, 2020 3:30 PM
SuperBee
6666 posts
Jun 04, 2020
5:03 PM
I have 3, “in the mail” since 23 March.
I’d been ready to give up but then another flush of scanning activity occurred in mid-May and I became hopeful again.
the_happy_honker
325 posts
Jun 05, 2020
12:24 AM
"... this week especially"

Yeps.
florida-trader
1518 posts
Jun 08, 2020
12:20 PM
One of the commonly held beliefs is that the Six-Pointed Star on Hohner Harmonicas prior to WWII was a Jewish symbol. It was not. The Start of David is two interlocking triangles – not a Six-Pointed Star. That said, one ca hardly blame Hohner from abandoning anything that resembled the Star of David during that era.
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Tom Halchak
Blue Moon Harmonicas
Blue Moon Harmonicas

Last Edited by florida-trader on Jun 08, 2020 12:20 PM
SuperBee
6669 posts
Jun 08, 2020
5:04 PM
Once I believed the presence of a Star was a good indication the harp was made prior to WW2. In the case of Marine Band harps I still believe that.
With other models though, I think it it less reliable. It seems that there are numerous examples of post war production bearing the star on lower cover.
The standard explanation for this is that there was a stock of parts on hand in 1938 (or was it ‘37?) which was withdrawn but not destroyed, and these parts were then used once the star was again non-controversial.
I can see how this makes sense but I don’t know if it’s more than speculation.
As a modern example though, while the various Hohner 10 hole chromatics and slide harps were withdrawn in 2013, some parts are still available from the German store. This was also true for low-tuned Marine Bands last time I looked, although that’s been a year or so. The low tuned Marine Band was withdrawn around 2011 I think, but I could still buy reedplates for a Low Eb a year ago.
So it makes sense that Hohner would have parts on hand when the decision was taken to stop producing units bearing a potentially problematic emblem.
Post war, the time taken to use up the old stock would depend on how much old stock was on hand and the turnover rate of various products. Possibly there would have been some changes in the popularity of different product lines too. I expect sales to Eastern Europe were curtailed post war, but I don’t really know about that. I do know that prewar there was a market for Hohner into the east and they made models particularly aimed at those markets. I assume those lines dried up, so the sales of harps built on those templates may have slowed considerably.
I don’t know what the situation was in the late 30s re Marine Band, which was specifically a line marketed in USA at that time, but given USA didn’t officially enter the war in Europe until ‘42 perhaps trade with Germany was still flowing through that period. I’d be interested to know more about that.

At the moment I speculate the star is a good indication of ‘prewar’ for MB because turnover was high and there wouldn’t have been a lot of stock on hand withdrawn from use, especially since the star wouldn’t have been controversial in the intended market.

Another big-selling Hohner which interests me is the 270 “Super Chromonica”. I have heard reports of these with a star, purchased in the 50s and appearing to be 50s stock in other ways, especially re the windsavers used.

And of course there is the 10 hole Chromonica, of which I have a couple with stars. I believe mine really are pre war production because they are also ‘standard tuned’ rather than ‘solo tuned’.

One thing I suppose must be remembered is that the 1920s was a real high point for production and sales of harmonicas, and that the 1930s was a time of greatly reduced economic activity in much of the world. Germany however was bucking the trend (and in fact this ‘economic miracle’ was largely responsible for the ongoing political success of the third reich), so this may be part of the explanation for why there seem to be so many 1930s chromatics still in existence.
Apart from the Hohner star, with chromatic harps the internal spring is a good clue to time of production.
I believe chromatic harps began to be marketed just prior to WW1, and the internal spring was developed in the late 20s. From memory there is some speculation about this but it’s around 1929 that the Super Chromonica came out with an internal spring.
I think it’s interesting that I never have encountered one with an external spring but I see no shortage of them with combination of internal spring and star. If the star is a good indication of pre 1938, that places all these old 270s I turn up into a quite narrow period, which also coincides with the Great Depression.
I suppose one must bear in mind that I’m in Australia, and that harmonica was very popular here at that time, and maybe as musical instruments go it was relatively cheap at that time.
tmf714
3178 posts
Jun 08, 2020
5:37 PM
From Slidemaaster-

1. The Box or Container, Harmonica Materials:

The harmonica box or case may contain copyrights or patents that may help. The box or case illustrations
or box/case material (paper, cardboard, plastic, tin, wood, cloth-covered, vinyl, leather); the linings or no linings, box hinges or no hinges; all may help an expert identify the relative age of the harp container, but not necessarily the harmonica itself.

The harmonica's materials may also help in the estimate of it's vintage. Generally, the more primitive the harmonica looks, the older it is.The first Hohner harmonicas were made by hand, on a kitchen table, by 4 workers, in 1857 (as the story goes).

By 1880, Hohner used modern machines, ushering in mass production techniques. The first harmonicas (not Hohners) were made in 1822, and used lead reed plates or no reed plates.hand-hammered brass reeds, or other less expensive materials, and hand-carved wood combs. By 1830, harmonicas were being made in the USA and England. The English "Aeolion" had no comb, and was a reed plate and reeds only.

The experimental and unusual-looking harmonicas were made mostly between 1880 and 1940: tremolo sextets with handles for rotation, harmonicas with bells, with drums, with horns, etc., with compass, looking like a banana, a fish,
a zeppelin, looking like a piano, a harp, a boomerang, a boat, an airplane or car, etc.

Wood remained the most popular material for combs until the second half of the 20th century, when other comb materials became popular. Plastic, (1940s), acrylics and metal alloys (1970s?)then more expensive metals in the mid-1980s.

Reed covers also changed materials over the history of the harmonicas. Home-made wood covers (1830s to 1860s?); cheap metal covers (1850s?); to to nickel-plated brass, to brass, to other metals, to ivory(1880s Wm.Thie tremolos),
to plastic covers (1940s); Dupont Delrin (1960s);then stainless steel covers (1980s?); back to rare woods, bakelite, etc (1990s?).

Continued in the next post.
tmf714
3179 posts
Jun 08, 2020
5:37 PM
2. Catalogs, Brochures, Method Books, Song Books, Posters, Electronic and Other Media:

The printed page is a treasure of important harmonica technical details, note charts, illustrations, sheet music, practice tips and harmonica descriptions. The copyright of the publication may give an estimated manufacture date more precisely than a guess.

You'll know that the harmonica listed in the book was sold in the year of the book's copyright, and the published material often contains historical data about the harmonica, company, and photos of famous harmonica players at different stages of their careers.

3. The Cover Plates: Hohner World's Fair Medallions and Other Awards Medallions:

The covers are embossed (earlier harmonicas), engraved (later harmonicas), enamel painted (most in the 1930s -the 1936 World's Fair, etc., but also later dates), and usually contain the Hohner brand name, harmonica model name, and other details.

Each award medallion (circle with a city and year listed inside the circle) tells the year of the award. By using the latest award date, you will know that your harmonica was made AFTER that date.

4. The Embossed Star, the 5-point Star, the Engraved Star, or No Star:

The star is located in the Hohner trademark, in a circle, between the two hands. It's usually located on the bottom cover, but in earlier models, it has been seen on the top cover.

According to Sissi Jones at Hohner USA, the fewer points on the star, the earlier the harmonica was made.
Also, if the small, embossed star had had 6 points and was raised from the surface of the covers, the harp
was probably made before 1902.

The 5-pointed star was also embossed (raised), smaller than the engraved star, and commemorated the 5
Hohners running the company after Mathais Hohner's death in 1902. He passed the company to Jacob,
Mathais, Jr., Andreas, Willy and Hans in 1900.

A larger, engraved (not raised) 6-point star was used later, until 1937, when the Nazis ordered the 6-pointed star removed from the Hohner trademark, claiming that it was a Star of David, the Jewish religious symbol. In fact, it was a commemoration of the 6 Hohners running the company before 1900, not a religious symbol.

From 1937-present day, there is no star inside the circle in the Hohner trademark, although a few models were re-issued with the star after World War 2, as pre-war saved covers on post-war harmonicas.

Continued in Part Three.
tmf714
3180 posts
Jun 08, 2020
5:38 PM
This is Part Three of an article on determining your Hohner harmonica's vintage, published by Harmonica
Collectors International in 2002. Please read Parts One and Two before this part.

5. The Arms or No Arms, Coat or No Coat, Long Sleeves, Jagged Sleeves, Short Sleeves (Cuffs):

The arms, coat, and/or sleeves are found in the Hohner trademark, surrounding the circle that contains
the star or no star.

According to Richard Smith, HCI, the type of arms around the center trademark circle may also date a
Hohner harmonica. If the arm's shirt sleeves are long and jagged, your harmonica was made before 1925.
If the sleeves are shorter, and have partial coat sleeves with shirt cuffs, your harp was made after 1924.
If the trademark has shirt sleeves with no coat, the harp was made after 1950.

6. Key Stamp, Major or Minor Key, Model & Number, In English, German, Spanish or French:

The same models of harmonica are often re-named and sold in several countries. The covers are changed, in the language of the country to which the harps are sent. The language on the covers is determined by the harp's area
of distribution. This may or may not help determine your harmonica's vintage.

In Germany, our key of Bb is stamped B, and our B is H. Also, in German, dur means major, and moll means minor key. Some harmonicas have the key stamped on the top cover, othes are engraved, embossed or painted on the comb or top cover. Genrally, embossed key stamps are older harmonicas, then engraved, then painted key stamps.

Expert harmonica collectors may also determine a harmonica's vintage in other ways, such as shape and/ or size of the rivets holding the reeds onto the reed plates, amount of tabs on the covers (for the cover screws or nails), and so on.

Generally, harmonicas that have 2 tabs on the right side and 2 on the left side of each cover are older harps (circa late 1880s through about 1937), than the harmonica covers with one tab on the right and one on the left. Also, the shape of the single tabs on the covers is also important for dating. The rounded tabs are earlier models from about 1910 to about 1940, and the square tabs are generally dated from 1940 to present day.

All of the statements in this article are subject to discussion and contradiction, but are based on experiences of reliable harmonica collectors, players and repair people. For more information on dating your Hohner harmonica, contact (2002 information):

Alan Bates, HCI, 426 Bayberry lane, West Grove, PA 19390 (USA).

America's Shrine to Music Museum (Alan Bates' collection of 3500 harmonicas donated to the musieum),
414E. Clarke St. Vermillion, SD 57069-2390 (USA)

Hohner, USA, Inc., Sissi Jones, Repair Dept.,1000 Technology Park, Glen Allen, VA 23060 (USA),
Phone: (804) 515-1900.

John Broecker
« Last Edit: May 31, 2008, 07:35:12 PM by John Broecker »
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