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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Sonny Terry Estate Items for Sale
Sonny Terry Estate Items for Sale
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florida-trader
1604 posts
Jun 09, 2025
10:07 AM
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Many of you who read this post are aware that I have been acting as an Authorized Agent for Sonny Terry Estate, LLC for about nine years. As such, I have assisted in the distribution of various items from Sonny’s personal collection. These items include the harmonicas Sonny performed and recorded with during his career, posters, original APA contracts, Performance Apparel, Harmonica Cases and Harmonica Belts. Working closely with Attorney Delores Boyd, Manager and General Partner of Sonny Terry Estate, LLC we have facilitated the establishment of a permanent Sonny Terry Exhibit at the German Harmonica and Accordion Museum in Trossingen, Germany. We have gifted several of Sonny’s harmonicas to various notable artists, teachers and authors who have helped keep Sonny’s music alive via their playing, teaching and books. We were directly involved with Hohner Harmonicas in the development of the Sonny Terry Heritage Edition Marine Band Harmonica. And we have offered Sonny’s worldwide legion of fans the opportunity to purchase items from Sonny’s estate for their own personal collection.
For the sake of brevity, I won’t elaborate further as all of this information is well chronicled on my website, which is www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com.
Until now, all items that were purchased by individual collectors were sold via my website. The purpose of this announcement is to advise you that moving forward, we will be offering Sonny’s collection on eBay. The auctions will start with reduced prices. Most of them will be no reserve listings and will be sold to the highest bidder. A few of the more valuable items will have a minimum reserve price.
Over the next couple of months, we will be listing items from the following categories:
• Estate Harmonicas that Sonny played during his performances and recording sessions. Each harmonica will include a shadowbox display case and a Certificate of Authenticity from the estate.
• Performance Posters from around the world
• Original Signed APA (Agency for the Performing Arts) Contracts. Almost all of the contracts bear Brownie’s original signature. Sonny’s signatures will be in the form of his famous SONNY TERRY stamp or will be signed by Sonny’s wife Emma on his behalf.
• Performance Apparel – a variety of shirts that were either owned by Sonny or worn by Sonny in his performances. Also included is a harmonica belt.
• Canes / Walking Sticks – some of Sonny’s personal walking sticks will be available. Each cane will come with a Certificate of Authenticty.
Some of the auctions will be bundles which may include various combinations such as a Poster and the Original APA Contract from that performance, or a T-Shirt with a Program, or a Poster with an LP record. There is a lot of stuff to sort through, and it will take some time to get everything organized. I will be listing a handful of items at a time spread out over several weeks. First, to ease the burden of shipping. I can only ship so many items in any given day. And second, it will create more buying opportunities for bidders who may miss out on an item they are interested in. Having all the auctions begin and end at the same time makes zero sense.
No other harmonica player had a greater influence on musicians of every genre than Sonny Terry. It is indeed rare that so many of his personal possessions have been preserved and that the Provenance is so well established. There was only one Sonny Terry. When these collectible items are gone, they are gone. If you are interested in owning a piece of history, now is the time to do it.
You will be able to find a complete listing of everything that I have listed by following this link: https://www.ebay.com/usr/bluemoonharmonicas
Thank you for your interest and your support.
Tom Halchak
Blue Moon Harmonicas LLC
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Tom Halchak
Blue Moon Harmonicas
Last Edited by florida-trader on Jun 09, 2025 10:30 AM
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florida-trader
1605 posts
Jul 03, 2025
4:50 AM
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For those of you who are interested, sales of the Sonny Terry Estate items on eBay are going well. We have sold a variety of pieces including harmonicas, posters and original APA contracts. I will be posting addtional items, a handful at a time, every week. Collectors and fans of Sonny Terry are getting some pretty cool stuff at good prices. You can see what we have to offer here:
https://www.ebay.com/usr/bluemoonharmonicas
Tom
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Tom Halchak
Blue Moon Harmonicas
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florida-trader
1607 posts
Jul 31, 2025
7:34 AM
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After taking a little break from the action, I am back at it working on Sonny Terry Estate eBay auctions. I just finished listing an even dozen harmonicas from Sonny’s personal collection. There six Golden Melodys, five Marine Bands and one Blues Harp.
You can find all of the eBay listings here:
https://www.ebay.com/usr/bluemoonharmonicas
A couple of thoughts regarding the estate harmonicas. I am not at liberty to disclose how many of them are left. I have lowered the prices, listed them on eBay in 7 or 10 day auctions, and things are going well. I am trying to list at least 8 or 10 per week and they are selling fast. Once they are gone, they are gone. The estate is very motivated to move things along. So, if you are thinking that you might be interested in owning a piece of history, now is the time to act.
In case you are not aware, here are some interesting bits of information about this project. I have been acting as an Authorized Agent for the Sonny Terry Estate LLC since 2016 – almost 10 years. A big Thank You to Adam Gussow for introducing me to Delores Boyd, General Partner and Manager of the estate.
The harmonicas themselves are in various states of condition. Sonny was the kind of guy who, when he liked a harmonica, simply played it to death. The covers are tarnished from being exposed to the oils on Sonny’s hands and the moisture from his lips and tongue. Often, the covers are bent or crushed because Sonny squeezed them so hard with his hands. The backs of the combs are frequently scratched up from rubbing up against a microphone grill or screen. A common sight is flakes of dried saliva inside the comb. To some, this would be the description of a disgusting harmonica. To others, it is gold. A harp that is really worn out and perhaps even dirty, is proof that it was one of Sonny’s favorite harmonicas.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have harmonicas that look to be brand new, with almost no evidence of being played. It is impossible to know for sure, but I have taken multiple photos of each harmonica and have described them as accurately as I can. I have had lots of conversations with Sonny Terry fans, many of whom have purchased estate harmonicas. Indeed, some are looking for a Sonny Terry harmonica that shows heavy wear. However, I have had several customers who expressed an interest in being able to play the harmonica they purchase. I have had a few ask me if I would do some reed work on the harmonica before sending it to them. Usually, I decline, but I do remember doing that on two harps for one customer. Speaking for myself, I would be more inclined to buy a harp with very little or no wear if I intended to play it.
The harmonicas are shipped in an attractive shadowbox display case. I have pasted a brief biography and photo of Sonny on the inside, and the harmonica is held in place by two strong magnets. The front of the display case has a hinged opening which provided easy access to the harp should you want to remove it from the case to show it off or play it. Each harmonica comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from the estate and while supplies, last, I am also including an 8X10 black and white photo of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, suitable for framing. These are photos produced by Hohner and made available for Sonny to give away at his live performances.
Every effort is being made to conduct our business professionally. We are also making documentation available which establishes the Chain of Custody and Provenance of the estate items. Where can you find something else that compares to this?
• One of the most influential and beloved harmonica players in history.
• A personal collection lovingly preserved by Sonny’s wife Emma Taylor Terry
• A Certificate of Authenticity an unimpeachable source. Emma’s niece, Delores Boyd, General Partner and Manager of Sonny Terry Estate LLC, is a retired attorney and Federal Magistrate and ius currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Alabama Department of Archives and History.
• Chain of Custody and Provenance
There are certain things that eBay will not allow you to do on a listing – namely include direct links to other websites. They don’t want you to use eBay to promote sales on other websites – which is understandable.
In the past nine + years, we have accumulated some interesting information that helps tell the story. In case you are interested, here is some pretty neat stuff.
It all started when Delores commissioned Adam Gussow to appraise Sonny’s collection of harmonicas. In 2015, Adam posted a video in which he features three of Sonny’s harps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDT4Xt70Omg&t=22s
It was this video that inspired me to reach out to Adam to see if he wanted any help dealing with this project. That led to an introduction to Delores and our agreement to work together, At the SPAH Convention in 2016, we managed to put together a Sonny Terry Tribute Performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ycKmefNKfg
My involvement with the estate has garnered some attention and in 2023, I spent some time chatting about it with Neil Warren, host of the very successful Harmonica Happy Hour Podcast.
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com/tom-halchak-blue-moon-harmonicas-interview/
In addition to Sonny’s harmonicas, I do have some very cool stuff that I will be listing in the upcoming days and weeks. We are kind of saving some of the most special stuff to the end. Stay tuned. It has been a fun project. We are working hard to bring things to a close. It will be a sad day when we are finished. We are much closer to the end than we are to the beginning.
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Tom Halchak
Blue Moon Harmonicas
Last Edited by florida-trader on Jul 31, 2025 7:40 AM
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