arzajac
297 posts
Jul 23, 2010
10:10 AM
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So, I got this on Ebay for a few dollars. It's a C, and it has a star on the back.
But the coverplates are not bent back like a typical prewar harp. I know that there were a few coverplates left over from pre-war stock and many harp up into the 50s had a star on them. But I never heard of the coverplates on them not being bent back.
It's actually is fine condition. It plays so well and has a bright sound. It overblows well on 4, 5 and 6.
Does anyone have any other insight on the origins and era of this harp?
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
505 posts
Jul 23, 2010
10:37 AM
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Non bent coverplates are a signature of postwar models. Here is where it gets confusing, there were a lot of prewars without stars on them, made between 1937 and early WWII, before Hohner switched to making war materials. Historically, this harmonica is important, it and others like it offer a clue as to what happened to the star in the first place.
Can you show us a pic of the front coverplate? I would say this one is late 1940s.
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www.harrisonharmonicas.com
"There are only two things money can't buy - true love and homegrown tomatoes." - Lewis Grizzard
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arzajac
299 posts
Jul 23, 2010
2:12 PM
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Thanks for the information, Dave.
So the gold-standard for determining whether a harp is pre or post war is the bent coverplates?
Here is a better photo.
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jim
236 posts
Jul 23, 2010
2:49 PM
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Prewar.
This is 1938 -1940s.
Look at the portrait and how it's positioned close to hole #2 labeling.
Then, the coverplate profile is prewar (flatter)
MARINE BAND letters are bigger than modern.
About open/non open back - perhaps they forgot to do that?? Even now you can encounter marine band deluxes which back was forgotten to be opened...
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www.truechromatic.com
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