Harmonica played by DeFord Bailey: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A Hohner Marine Band Series Harmonica played by DeFord Bailey. The harmonica features stainless steel cover plates, a light brown wooden comb, ten holes, and a dark brown, wooden mouthpiece. The top cover plate is stamped with a profile portrait of Matthias Hohner depicted inside an oval shaped frame with a laurel wreath below. To the right of the portrait is stamped large, hatched text above script text that reads [MARINE BAND / M. Hohner]. Stamped on the far left edge of the top cover plate is the text [A440] and the letter [A] is stamped on the far right edge. Stamped along the bottom edge of the front cover plate and the hole numbers: [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10]. The bottom cover plate is heavily stamped with graphics and text of varying sizes and fonts. At the center of the plate is a graphic of a ring, gripped on either side by two hands. Text stamped inside the ring reads [GESETZL / GESCH]. Stamped above the left and right hands is the text [TRADE] and [MARK]. Stamped below in large text is [M. Hohner]. To the left of the center graphic are four rings: two overlapping smaller ones on the far left and two larger rings closer to the left hand graphic. Devices stamped inside the far left rings include one of a person standing between two winged figures and a man’s laurel wreath covered head shown in profile. The other two rings feature the text [ULM] and [1871] at the center of each ring. Text surrounding the far left rings read [D.VERDIENSTE] stamped vertically on the far left and [WEIN] and [1893] stamped above and below the rings. To the right of the center graphic are four rings: two overlapping smaller ones on the far right and two larger rings closer to the right hand graphic. Devices stamped inside the far left rings include one of a laurel wreath below three rows of triangles and the other of a seated toga-clad figure shown in profile with their arm extended. The other two rings feature the text [STUTT- / GART] and [1881] at the center of each ring. Text surrounding the far right rings read [GR.BRONCE] stamped vertically on the far right and [PHILAD.] and [1876] stamped above and below the rings. Stamped along the bottom edge is the text [MADE IN GERMANY] on the left and [FABRIQUÉ EN ALLEMANDE] on the right.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1976
• Manufactured by: Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG, German, founded 1857
• Used by: DeFord Bailey, American, 1899 - 1982
• Subject of: Matthias Hohner, German, 1833 - 1902
• Type: harmonicas
• Medium: stainless steel, metal and wood
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 11/16 × 3 15/16 × 1 in. (1.8 × 10 × 2.5 cm)
• Place made: Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Europe
• Place used: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Blues (Music)
• Topic: Country (Music)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Object number: 2022.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Christine Bailey Craig
• 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.