Music & Musical Instruments

This harmonica was made by Koestler in West Germany, 1950s. It is an Army and Navy Double Tremolo model in the key of C, with 16 double holes and 28 reeds. This harmonica has a red stained comb with metal cover plates attached to the sides. It is stamped:

DOUBLE
ARMYANDNAVY
HARMONICA
28 REEDS MADE BY KOESTLER IN WEST GERMANY

This clarinet was made by LeBlanc in Paris, France around 1940 to 1950. It is a Boehm System clarinet in B-flat, serial #13620, made of grenadilla with German silver keys and rings. This clarinet is stamped:

G
LEBLANC
PARIS

There is a metal plate attached to the bell that is engraved:

Woody Herman

Woodrow Charles “Woody” Herman (1913-1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader.

This clarinet was made by Henri Selmer in Paris, France around 1957 to 1958. It is a Boehm System clarinet in B-flay, “Centered Tone” model, serial #Q9851, made of grenadilla with silver keys and rings. This clarinet is stamped:

DEPOSE
HENRI
SELMER
FRANCE
Centered
Tone

Cuban-born jazz clarinetist, Paquito D’Rivera acquired this clarinet in the late 1950s and continued to use it until he donated the clarinet to the museum in 2005. D-Rivera has received several awards and honors, including twelve Grammys, NEA Jazz Masters, Kennedy Center Living Jazz Legend award, and a National Medal of the Arts in 2005.

This trumpet was made by Frank Ellsworth Olds & Son in Fullerton, California around 1955 to 1956. It is a B-flat trumpet, Ambassador model, serial #178587, made of brass with 3 piston valves. This trumpet was previously owned and used by American jazz trumpeter, Andrew Blakeney. This trumpet is engraved:

AMBASSADOR
MADE BY
F.E. OLDS & SON
FULLERTON
CALIF.

Andrew “Andy” Blakeney (1898-1992) began playing professionally in Chicago around 1925. He moved to California the next year and would perform and record with several bands including Sonny Clay and Lionel Hampton. In the late 1930s, Blakeney played with Monk McKay’s band in Hawaii and would return to the mainland to perform in California throughout the 1940s to the 1950s. Blakeney’s later years were spent playing with groups including the Young Men of New Orleans and the Eagle Brass Band.

This music box disc was made by Lloyd G. Kelley, successor to the Regina Music Box Company, in Hanover, Massachusetts, 1950s. It is Regina Disc #3031 – “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” This disc is playable in a Regina Disc Music Box that can accommodate a 15-1/2” diameter disc.

This disc features the following patents:

U. S. Patent #417649, dated December 17, 1889, by Oskar Paul Lochmann for a music plate for mechanical instruments.

U. S. Patent #500374, dated June 27, 1893, by Gustav A. Brachhausen and Paul Riessner for a note-plate for music boxes.

This Appalachian dulcimer was made by Marcus Martin in Swannanoa, North Carolina, in 1952. It is a single-bout dulcimer made of sumac wood, with a wood nut and bridge, 15 metal frets, two diamond-shaped sound holes, carved out pegbox with 3 wood friction tuning pegs, and a violin-like carved head. Martin modeled this dulcimer after one found in a barn near his home in Swannanoa.

Marcus was one of the Smokey Mountains’ best-known fiddlers and a traditional fiddle maker. His son, Wade, a professional baseball player, apprenticed with his father, also became a noted instrument maker. Collector Anne Grimes considered their instruments among the best.

Anne Grimes (1912-2004) was an American journalist, musician, and historian of American (particularly Midwestern) folklore. Grimes studied voice and piano at Ohio Wesleyan and initiated graduate studies at Ohio State University. Following her education, Grimes was a music teacher, music and dance critic, and radio host. After WWII, Grimes began collecting and documenting folk songs throughout Ohio, as well as collecting Appalachian dulcimers and zithers. She would continue this work, performing, recording, and lecturing on instruments from her collection throughout the rest of her career.