Music & Musical Instruments

This harmonica was made by Nanco in Hong Kong, 1976. It is a Lobster Claw model, with 11 single holes and undetermined number of reeds. This harmonica is made of red plastic in the shape of a lobster claw. Accessioned with original packaging.

Nanco-Nancy Sales Co., Inc. was founded in 1937, in Boston Massachusetts. Nanco-Nancy Sales Co., Inc. supplies licensed plush products to amusement parks, carnival and fair game operators, family entertainment centers, and arcades. The company also offers gifts and souvenir products, such as custom-imprinted souvenirs, in-house short run imprint items, zoo and aquarium novelty products, gift and plush products, nautical-themed gift items, and trendy novelty and prize merchandise. In addition, it provides animals, outfits, and accessories to kiosk operators. The company also leverages alternate distribution channels through domestic and international distributors, as well as crane machine operators.

This horn was made by Conn in Elkhart, Indiana, in 1970. It is a baritone horn, Serial #N20953, made of silver-tone plated brass. Accessioned with original case. This instrument is engraved:

CONN
ELKHART
IND.
U.S.A.

This baritone horn was previously owned and used by William Russo (1928-2003), American composer, arranger, musician, teacher, and founder of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. Russo composed more than 200 pieces for jazz orchestra. Throughout his career, Russo work included collaborations with Duke Ellington, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Stan Kenton, Cannonball Adderley, Yehudi Menuhin, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Cleo Laine, and Billie Holiday.

This case for cymbals (1998.0075.05, 1998.0075.06, and 1998.0075.07) is made from fiberboard, with metal rivets and fittings, webbing, and a leather covered handle. It was used by the Ray McKinley band, 1970s-1980s. The case is stenciled:

RAY MCKINLEY

American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader Ray McKinley (1910-1995) made his first recordings with Red Nichols, where he worked with Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey, in 1931. McKinley continued to work mostly with Miller and the Dorsey Brothers (Jimmy and Tommy) through 1939. He then was a member of Will Bradley’s band through 1942. After enlisting in the Army in 1942, McKinley joined Glenn Miller’s American Band of The Allied Expeditionary Forces (AEF). After Miller’s disappearance in 1944, McKinley co-led the band with Jerry Gray.

After the war, McKinley formed his own band and worked as a freelance musician. In 1956 he was commissioned by the widow of Glenn Miller to organize a new band under Miller’s name using the original library and style. This band made a successful tour of Iron Curtain countries in 1957 and continued to tour the United States until 1966. McKinley played drums while Buddy DeFranco fronted the band from 1966-1974. McKinley continued to perform through the 1980s.

This harmonica was made by Peak in South Korea, around 1972. It is a Blue Grass model in the key of C, with 10 single holes and 20 reeds. This harmonica has a light brown stained wooden comb with metal cover plates attached to the top and bottom with nails. Accessioned with original plastic case. The harmonica is engraved:

PEAK
BLUE GRASS HARP

1978 Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar used by Sting. Serial number S908109. The guitar has a black body and a light wood neck. The guitar has 2 knobs for tone and one for volume. There is a patch where the paint has worn on the back from "buckle rash" aka Sting's belt buckle rubbing on the back of the guitar.

Sting (Gordon Sumner) purchased the guitar new at Manny's Music Shop in New York City in early 1979. It was his first professional-quality electric guitar, and it is the instrument with which he wrote the songs for the final four studio albums by his rock band, The Police. The guitar featured in his recordings and rock n roll performances in the United States, as well as when collaborating with some of the most significant jazz musicians of their day, including Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, and Darryl Jones. The guitar featured prominently on Sting's solo U.S. tours during the mid-late 1980s with this ensemble, and it features in "Bring on the Night," the 1985 documentary that probes his work with American jazz musicians.

Rock star Sting organizes and performs at benefit concerts for such causes as human rights and rainforest conservation. He joins many American celebrities in contributing their talent and star power for causes.

This harmonica was made by Hohner in Germany, 1976. It is a limited edition Bicentennial Hohner model in the key of C, with 10 single holes and 20 reeds. The harmonica has a red plastic comb with gold tone and enameled, curved metal cover plates riveted to the top and bottom. Accessioned with original plastic case. It is embossed:

BICENTENNIAL

Hohner made these harmonicas for the United States Bicentennial in 1976.

This case for a bass drum (Cat. 1988.0075.03) is made from fiberboard, with metal rivets and fittings, webbing, and a plastic handle. It was used by the Ray McKinley band, 1970s-1980s. The case is stenciled:

RAY MCKINLEY

American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader Ray McKinley (1910-1995) made his first recordings with Red Nichols, where he worked with Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey, in 1931. McKinley continued to work mostly with Miller and the Dorsey Brothers (Jimmy and Tommy) through 1939. He then was a member of Will Bradley’s band through 1942. After enlisting in the Army in 1942, McKinley joined Glenn Miller’s American Band of The Allied Expeditionary Forces (AEF). After Miller’s disappearance in 1944, McKinley co-led the band with Jerry Gray.

After the war, McKinley formed his own band and worked as a freelance musician. In 1956 he was commissioned by the widow of Glenn Miller to organize a new band under Miller’s name using the original library and style. This band made a successful tour of Iron Curtain countries in 1957 and continued to tour the United States until 1966. McKinley played drums while Buddy DeFranco fronted the band from 1966-1974. McKinley continued to perform through the 1980s.

This metal container with metal lid contains hide glue pellets used in violin making. It is a repurposed tin for cigars. Accessioned with original Chicago Music Instrument Co. receipt.

This object was used by Albert Moglie (b. December 16, 1890, Rome; d. June 9, 1988, Washington DC), instrument maker and restorer, and proprietor of a violin shop in Washington DC for 65 years from 1922 until 1987. At the age of twelve he was apprenticed to Antonio Sgarbi and subsequently worked under Luigi Enbergher, Giuseppe Rossi and Rodolfo Fredi, all of Rome. Following these apprenticeships, Moglie was a student of Hippolyte Sylvestre in Paris and Leandro Bisiach in Milan.

Albert Moglie came to America at the age of 24 to work for the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, first in Cincinnati and then New York City in 1916. By 1917 he had established his own shop in New York at 1431 Broadway. He moved to Washington DC in 1922.

Moglie enjoyed a fine reputation in Washington as a violin restorer and is especially remembered as the caretaker of the Gertrude Clark Whittall Stradivari quartet of instruments at the Library of Congress, an association that began in the 1930s and lasted more than 50 years.

The Smithsonian, National Museum of American History, Archives Center houses additional materials on the life and career of Albert F. Moglie:

https://sova.si.edu/record/NMAH.AC.0283

This cymbal stand was made by an unknown maker in the United States, 1970s. It is a cymbal stand attachment for a bass drum. It is made of metal, with metal wingnuts.

This cymbal stand is from a drumset used by American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader Ray McKinley around 1969-1980. Ray McKinley (1910-1995) made his first recordings with Red Nichols, where he worked with Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey, in 1931. McKinley continued to work mostly with Miller and the Dorsey Brothers (Jimmy and Tommy) through 1939. He then was a member of Will Bradley’s band through 1942. After enlisting in the Army in 1942, McKinley joined Glenn Miller’s American Band of The Allied Expeditionary Forces (AEF). After Miller’s disappearance in 1944, McKinley co-led the band with Jerry Gray.

After the war, McKinley formed his own band and worked as a freelance musician. In 1956 he was commissioned by the widow of Glenn Miller to organize a new band under Miller’s name using the original library and style. This band made a successful tour of Iron Curtain countries in 1957 and continued to tour the United States until 1966. McKinley played drums while Buddy DeFranco fronted the band from 1966-1974. McKinley continued to perform through the 1980s.

This horseshoe-shaped 3-way clamp is made of aluminum with brass tightening screws. This clamp was previously used by American bow maker Arnold R. Bone.

Arnold R. Bone (July 26, 1913 - August 9, 2001) was an engineer, inventor, gunsmith, string instrument bowmaker. He grew up in South Ryegate, Vermont, and graduated from Wentworth Institute in 1935. After graduation, Bone worked at Irwin Auger Bit Company in Wilmington, Ohio before returning to Wentworth to teach Navy machinist mates during World War II until 1944. The final part of his career, Bone worked at Dennison Mfg. Company in Framingham (now Avery Dennison) when he retired in 2000.

Arnold R. Bone held numerous patents at Dennison, including several for the Swiftacher, the device for attaching tags to clothing with a nylon filament. His ubiquitous fasteners are still used today. Bone applied his engineering and master craftsman skills to making string instrument bows, and also became one of the world's most respected experts on repair and restoration of fine bows. His customers ranged from young students to members of professional ensembles such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and bows were shipped to him from all over the world.