Harmonica, Glass

Object number72.3

MediumWood; Glass; Metal; Paper

Credit LineHeinz History Center Collection

DescriptionGlass Harmonica musical instrument. Instrument consists of a series of sixteen chromatically tuned glass bowls which produce their sound when rubbed on the rim with moistened fingers. The instrument emits an ethereal, haunting sound. Glasses are contained within a wooden box with paper label affixed to interior of lid.Label TextHave you ever tried to play music on your water glass? A popular musical instrument of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this GLASS HARMONICA is made up of a series of 16 chromatically tuned glass bowls which produce their sound when rubbed on the rim with moistened fingers. The instrument emits an ethereal, haunting sound; many outstanding composers (among them Mozart and Beethoven) wrote music specifically for the glass harmonica. This is one of the few remaining smaller sets constructed by Virginian Francis Hopkinson Smith (his Grand Harmonicon, patented in 1825, contained 25 glasses).

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On view