Harmonica owned by Big Mama Thornton: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A brass Hohner Old Standby harmonica owned and played by Big Mama Thornton.

This bright brass harmonica in the key of ‘E’ with several engravings on front and back and a brown wooden comb with ten chamber holes. On one side of the well-worn instrument, from left to right, is the Hohner company six-point star. Engraved across the top is [M. HOHNER’S OLD STANDBY] with a (raised engraving of) “Founder of the Factory” icon. On the bottom is [REGISTERED / MADE IN GERMANY] and [M.HOHNER]. The numbers one through ten are engraved below.

On the reverse side of the harmonica are several circular embossing’s and engravings representing the history of the manufacturer. From left to right is “D.VERDEIENSTE” (engraved vertically); two circular engraved embossing’s depicting family and a figurehead under “WIEN” (Vienna) with “1873” below them and “ULM / 1871” to their right. To the left of the middle raised engraving of “TRADE MARK” and a two handed “GESETZL./GESCH” logo, are circular engraved embossing’s which read “STUTT/GART / 1881” and “PHILAD / 1876” and “G.R.BRONCE”.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1950
• Created by: Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG, German, founded 1857
• Used by: Big Mama Thornton, American, 1926 - 1984
• Type: harmonicas
• Medium: brass (alloy) , wood , metal and plastic
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 1 × 3 15/16 × 11/16 in. (2.5 × 10 × 1.7 cm)
• Place made: Germany, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Blues (Music)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Object number: 2021.59.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.