The sun., 1881-01-23
THE MAN VINO MAKES JEWsuARps
Some thing About an Instrument TINT the Gov.
ernuaent Calls n Toy.


ernn,ent Calls n Toy.
There Is small and aged two-story
building in Greenwich avenue whose unpaint-
ed clapboards are brown and weather beaten.
few feet above tho sidewalk is the picture Of
gigantic jewshnrp. and below 1t the name
" John Andrews" Going up n ricketty flight OF
stairs to the second story. u Sun reporter on
tered the small front room. ana there found
John Andrews. maker OF jewsharps. surround-
cd by the implements OF his art. For II is m
art to mako good harps. as Mr.. Andrews will
tell you. There are only two men in the United
States. II is said. that can make thom. and thcro
are those who say that Mr.. Andrews himself Is
the only man who can be called rightly an artist
in the business He is smooth-iaced. slender
man, with keen gray eyes and gray hair that
curls upon his head. not at all unlike the hair
in the portraits OF Lord Byron. He is n plain
spoken man and makes no pretence TO know
anything except his business. and that he pre-
tends to know ali about. al
harps. Yes, sir; know as much about them
as any man in America, and more. think. forT
there is a man in Thirty-sixth street that is
My grandfather md INV father were makers OF
,swsharps Jew % N belfast, i and and my two broth
shop. Ny two brothers as are Ts in !" Bsnst 3 noy
making harps. and my father Ia In Dublin;
!S SS' It, & %ihoash az Sa msSs Sas nna docs shot @
kit OF tools. found a clear held for my work.
the country. nor was there much demand for
harps; 1t was slow work for some time. /
by little hagnn to get work hitor time had
all that could do, md business continued good
ts OF I stayed IN ia sa Sn
iGSrs ;, now: proS1bly:a but but tSs building was vas
" What is the origin OF the jcwsharp 2"
esp Dsys sS SST 'r isd the 6srshp
My father had a small book on harps. but it
didn't give that information. All that know
land for many years. | remember long nlo to
have seen famous painting by Collins, repro
rnti srsnting an Irshman, PLAYING tho jewshurp.
Irshmen. In far, about the only special cus-
toners have are Irshmen. mean those who
What do you call expensive harps2 2"
AZ The most expensive ever made sold f9r
Tor u special customer, but they are worih i only
.sl the pair" Mr.. Andrews carefully unrolpd
sar%s H pasdd Y9e & o s 'YG ps 'Ts T o
tongues facing each other and. holding ono
with each hand. struck the tongues with his
the way they are played" said tns harpp)aker.
- Tho beat players want nar OF harps tuned in
II unison and can't play . iane to save ems me.
Either by bending the tongue or changing the
tips. You SEQ these little balls OF grass on the
0I sRs s m S se 9nS % bs sSe
whose tip he had filed was II quarter OF a tone
sharper than the other. Then he filed the other
hasy @D enough t % YOU % see" s he sail. In fac.
it's too easy 10 change the tone. Bending tho
little too hard he bends the tongue and thel
the unison ,is is destroyed He He bends it back.
only the other way. Then he bends it the he other
way and the first thing he knows the tongue is
6roxsn Whit are my regular b prices They
can't get gross any less than thar. The differ
ence in price is due to difference in size and
frames and gold.tippod tongues. That's all
tip is quite as good as bit OF gold. But If "a
man man ~, wants gold III giys i to him and charge
@ You probaby have mnd tss
concerns that you fnd In every toy store and
can buy for cent apiece: They are not made
ham turns them out by the barrelful. never
make such harps, Ny yeheapest harp is the 10;
them than OF any other kind"
How is II jewsharp made r.
we are talking. | buy ali my n frames. s. They
are cast OF malleabla iron In malleable iron
works in sppyten Duyyil. make my own pat-
forge my own frames. but that takes too long.
When havea special order sometimes forge
the best steel. The art consists in adjusting
the tongue to the frame. i requires considerr
carefully adjusted to the inner edges Of the
frame. Still 1t IL matter OF experience. after
s snS mo man %olt can mS6s
II have an order for pair of my best harps
make four or five, All OF them viii DO good
tone and quantity of sound. Out OF these l
pick ths ones want. It's like making violins,
will he until it is done. 1t may be lust what he
wants. II may bs a comparative failure"
Are there good jewsharp players in the
"Idontknowofanyw what you m light call really
good players There are men who, think they
are good. but they are not artists. No. | never
knew OF u public player Tue iswsharp ia not
an instrument exactly fitted for pu bic playing.
keep no accounts. When l deliver a pair OF
harps or gross. get my money or tho rua-
10 only two or three houses. / win not sell 10
Tom. Dick, and Harry. The result is THAI peo-
pie who want my harps know whore to get
j. Howard Foote OF 81 Maiden lane is one of
the !! {, men for whom Andrews makes hHrps,.
the common and cheap, iittlo jowsharps that
come in quantities from Germany, Andrews's
What he represents. Thomas u. P'scall Of 4O8
harp maker in this country that know of. He
makes very good harp. There was an inter-
esIing case IN tho courts whilGHgo. An i'm
porter sued to recover rom the Unit u states
for M excess Of duties paid on m invoice Of
jewsharps. He pretended they were musical
Instruments. The Government "Hmed that
they were toys. III duty on TOYS Is 80 per cont;
that on musIcai Instruments is muru less Tho
importer lost the case more from bad MANAGE
ment than on its merits ii" should have had
M EXPERT to play on q jewsharp TO the jury.
But | doubt. after all If aJewsh,Tp Is a must
cal instrument lnu can prOiure only one tOne
by II. All tho rest Il done with tho mouth and
breath. But play as YOU will, there is that ono
dominant tone al the time. We ship them all
over The country. 10 California and u Maine.
The best player | over heard was an IrlshmAp
that used TO como here 10 buy. | would always
Civ" him n lot. and he'd pcS ont the ones ho
wanted. i don't know OF good player IN tho
city"
san FrapcIsco'a Old Time Comm. aud Cndcr.