Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Sometime back, Pat ‘The Groovy Guru’ Missin had alerted HRR that Australia’s Boomerang Mouth Organs were sold in America 🇺🇸. He had unearthed a 1924 Pennsylvania advert from Landau’s Music House promoting their Boomerang mouth organs. Later he stumbled on a report that … Continue reading American Boomerangs
The latest inclusion to the Shep museum is this ripper specimen, the Boomerang Miniature Grand. Made by the oldest current mouth organ factory in the world Seydel in Klingenthal, Germany for Albert & Son in Sydney, Australia. This is possibly an antique (or close to) model. 1910 C. A. Seydel Söhne Trademark Trademarked in 1910, … Continue reading Grand Poobah
Two recent acquisitions for the Shep museum. Firstly this Hohner Echo Tremolo (pictured above), which has an interesting back story. The Hohner Echo brand dates back to the turn of the twentieth century. This ‘Made In England’ Echo to circa 1949 post WWII. Hohner had some harmonicas assembled in England using German made parts around … Continue reading England Echo or Don’t Mention The War
14 Double Holes (F A Rauner not identified on either plate) - Doesn’t appear in 1905 Cat Page from Feldheim, Gotthelf & Co 1905 Store Catalogue (Musical Instruments were located on their second floor) Box top inside label Left: Scorcher F A Rauner TM Right: 12 Double Holes (back plate identifies F A Rauner) - … Continue reading Firebrand
Look what I picked up from our local Bazaar. Although not in my wheelhouse, I thought why not. A harmonica made in Japan by Nippon Gakki (later Yamaha). It’s probably about as old as me - pretty old then, vintage, but not antique! They obviously made their way across the Pacific Ocean to our sunny … Continue reading Made In Japan
What in the heck is the name on this F A Rauner harmonica that’s being offered (no box) for sale in Box Hill? I know it’s manufactured by F A Rauner from the reverse plate, where his name and logo is prominent. Rauner was prolific in the Antipodes with several Australian monikered harmonicas - the … Continue reading Vorpostenboot Rosemarie
Ruffled Feathers - Ol’ Shep (with special guests Zach Grace & Lachlan - Young’un Shep) Stream/Buy here Ruffled Feathers How to follow up my first hit (well huge in Biddleonia) Locomotive Weave, which uses a train rhythm as its basis? Well why not another ol’ timey harmonica piece - a fox chase. Although only loosely … Continue reading Home To Roost
Charles Porter blowing his Crackajack upside down (Photograph- Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy ACP Magazines Ltd). The origins of this dissertation came about due to the discovery of this newspaper report from 1933 (see below) that expounded Charles Porter’s upside down technique in drinking beer and playing the harmonica. It … Continue reading Over Under Sideways Down Hey!
Started out seeking fortune and glory It's a short song, but it's a hell of a story, when you spend your lifetime trying to get Your hands on the Holy Grail Mark Seymour Eureka! Lucky strike! Location: Tamworth the heart of Country music and former venue of the now defunct Hohner Golden Harmonica Championship. The … Continue reading Barran (The Holy Grail)
I’m sure most of you have heard of The Great Train Robbery of 1963 when the Roy Mail train from Glasgow to London was brought to a halt and robbed. Some of you may even be familiar with The Great Bookie Robbery of 1976 when six men stole between fourteen and sixteen million from bookmakers … Continue reading The Great Mouth Organ Heist
