Hello, My name is Tim, I am new to this site. I just bought this old hohner harp and I cannot find any info on it. It has 4 nails holding the back of the draw plate. I can tell there is a faded “H” on the left side of the top cover, it says “ MADE BY M.HOHNER” and it does have the hole numbers on the lower top cover. I would like to know what model this is, if possible. Does anyone have any info on this very cool old harp? Thanks
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Hi Tim
That’s quite a curiosity. Unfortunately it isn’t possible to date diatonic harmonicas exactly, they don’t have serial numbers. As you say, it’s clearly a Hohner, and it looks like it was carried in someone’s pocket for years, as the top cover is so worn. Although the model name is no longer legible, this basically appears to be a Marine Band or variant thereof. The six pointed star on the bottom cover indicates that it’s pretty old and some people believe this signifies a pre-WW2 instrument, though this is disputed.
But I’ve not seen these exact covers before, and the colour of the wood puzzles me, it doesn’t look like pear wood. From the style of the covers it might be a predecessor of the original Blues Harp model which was introduced in 1966, but the shape is slightly different. You don’t by any chance have the box?
In any case that’s an interesting instrument. Is it still playable? You may want to check out Pat Missin’s website or ask him directly if he can identify it: www.patmissin.com or pat@patmissin.com
Cheers
Steve
Hi Steve,
Thank you for your reply. The type of wood puzzles me as well. When I look with my flashlight the tines appear to be straight from what I can see, looking at the inside the comb has no cracks anywhere that I can see, and looks to be in overall pretty good shape, the wood is seems to be harder than pear wood indeed. The covers are nickel plated brass I believe.
Unfortunately it did not come with the box. I bought it off eBay, the person that I bought it from stated that they got it from Grandpa’s attic and it comes from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
They did state that it was playable, although I have not played it. I will follow your advice and contact Pat Missin. Thanks again Steve, have a great day.
Hi Tim,
The covers will definitely be nickel plated brass, they generally were until Hohner introduced stainless steel covers in the early 2000s and this is clearly much older than that. I’d be interested to hear what Pat has to say about this instrument, maybe you could post his response here,
cheers, SB
Hi Steve,
I just got a message off to Pat, I mentioned this post so hopefully he will respond here. If he contacts me directly I will post my findings here.
I have been in contact with Richard Sleigh and he says it’s not a marine band and he has not seen one like this either. He says his best guess at dating it is 1896 to 1900. I believe he is correct.
I was reading on Pats site and the marine bands had nickel plated brass covers until around 1923 when they changed to nickel plated mild steel covers for 80 years or so, then like you stated they changed to stainless steel covers around 2000. I have 2 prewar mid-1930 marine bands and they have nickel plated mild steel covers I believe. The brass covers on this mystery harp seem to be alittle thicker aswell.
Cheers, TB
Hi Steve,
Pat sent me this email and a catalog pic shedding light on this harp:
Hi Tim.
Despite the wear and tear on what was obviously a well travelled
instrument, I’m pretty sure that’s one of the many harmonicas Hohner
made under the name “Hohner Band”, specifically the later version of
their model number 132 (there was an earlier version with the same model
number, but a different cover design). As far as I can tell, these were
made from around 1929 up until the start of WWII. I’ve attached a page
from a mid '30s Hohner US catalog that features it.
Hope this helps,
– Pat.
Thank you very much Steve for leading me in the right direction, and for all the knowledge you provide to the harmonica community, you are an awesome resource for sure!
Also, Thank you Pat for your reply, and for your excellent website providing all the great information to the harmonica community.
And a Huge Thank you to Richard Sleigh, because of ALL you have taught about customizing and tuning, and much more. My harps play and sound absolutely awesome!
Cheers,
-Tim
Hi Tim,
Richard is an authority on such matters, so anything he says on the provenance of your harmonica is credible. But the original Marine Band was introduced in 1896/97, so it seems a little strange that Hohner would produce another similar model only a couple of years later. I await Pat’s response with interest.
Steve
Hi Steve,
I believe this variant “Hohner Band” No.132 was made from 1929-1939.
I carefully removed the top plate to look at the underside. I can see where it was stamped into the brass cover and it is indeed a Hohner Band model 132.
The reed plates are the same width as the MB, but 1/16 inch longer. The holes line up perfectly with the MB. There are no “top plate grooves” in the reed plates possibly indicating the harp was built closer to 1929.
It’s almost like this is part MB with some ideas of the Blues Harp thrown in.
Tim
You could well be right with those dates. I see from the incomplete list I have here that a Hohner Band model was manufactured in 1925, but this is a smaller Piccolo-size instrument. Yours certainly looks like a kind of early cross between a Marine Band and a Blues Harp. Sorry not to be more specific!
Steve
Hi!! I’m Valeria, and I’m new to this site. I’m currently in a design program, and for one of my first projects I was given three harmonicas. I’ve been trying to find their creation dates and models so I can take inspiration from the time periods they were released.
I’m also really curious about the meaning of the symbols on one of them—there are hands, coins, and the words “Grand Prix.” If anyone has information about this or any interesting facts, it would be so helpful.
Thanks!
omg i can only upload 1 pic
These look pretty old, according to my list the Hohner Band model was made in 1925 and the big double sided one could also be pre-war. What is the model name?
The medals etc. stamped on the bottom cover are standard on many Hohner models and are still in use today, they don’t convey any information about that particular instrument. You may want to look at the Harmonica Museum website: https://harmonika-museum.de/en/start_e/
Another possible source of information is www.patmissin.com - Main Index
Hope that helps!