The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1885-12-16
A CURIOUS LITTLE HARP,
UPON WHICH EXPERTS CAN PRO
DUCE ANY MELODY.
A Chat With n Jewsharp 1Hnker-
Long Experience Required 60
Make n True Instrument.

Make n True Instrument.
VI suppose that the majority of people
do not consider jewsharp as worthy of
being classified as a musical instrument.
But then their experience has probably
been limited, and the only instruments
they have ever heard are the penny Jews
harps that the boys on the street corners
twang for their amusement"
The speaker was John Andrews, who
has little shop over on the West side,
and is engaged exclusively in the manu-
facture of jewsharps.
81 only make harps of the best quail
! ty," he continued, "and have been en-
| gagged in the business for over forty
| years, thirty-five of which l have spent
| in this country. My father and brother
were in the business before me, and are
now at work at the old trade in Belfast,
Ireland. make every one of my instru-
ments by hand, and never have an as
sistant, because the art is one of which
only very few possess the secret. AS
know of only one other manufacturer
in this city who makes the same kind of
harps, you will see that the demand for
them is not enormous. / do most of my
work on orders from music and toy
/
busy most of the time.
"How many do l make q year? Well,
that's rather hard question to answer
for l never keep track of them, but just
work along till l get an order finished
and then tackle the next one. 1 suppose
| could finish on an average six or eight
! tirst-class instruments in day, and per-
haps twice or three times as many of the
less expensive ones. The lowest price
which charge for a harp is fifteen cents
and the highest 50. The latter are made
with German silver frames and the
| tongue is of finer steel. The frame, how
ever, does not have anything to do with
the musical tone of the instrument and
it is usually made of iron, which is after
ward ''tinned." 1 have all my frames
cast and ''tin9ed" at foundry and then
finish them upere."
"Then 1t is 1f6t so easy to make fine
toned jewsharpw
Certainly not. 1t requires great
deal of experience to be able to make a
harp that will produce a true musical
tone. The making and fitting of the
tongue are the hardest work. l have my
little portable forge here and manufac-
ture the steel tongues myself. The edge
of the tongue must be made perfectly
| straight and filed in particular manner,
so as to produce the smoothest vibra-
tions, and then the inner edges of the
frame must be made to correspond with
the edges of the tongue. The closer
| the frame is made to fit the tongue
without coming in contact with it. the
better will be the quality of tone that
can be produced. With one of the best
harps any melody can be reproduced ac-
! curately by the performer, and skillful
| player can get more music out of one of
these little instruments than you would
imagine. cannot play well myself, or
! i would show you some of the effects
which might be produced"
''Are the harps tuned to any particu-
lar pitch, so as to be used with other in
struments?"
"No, 1 do not take the trouble to
| pitch them unless they are ordered that
way. 1t is enough, however, to do this
by shortening or lengthening the stem at
the end of the tongue until the tone cor
responds with the note required. Some
people can play two harps at the same
time, and when pair is ordered for
that purpose always have to give them
the same pitch. Most of the instruments
of finer quality are made to order, and,
of course, | have to make them to suit
my customers. A very fine instrument
is made with a polished iron frame,
little heavier than the cheap grades,
which are usually only sold for toys. The
additional weight of the frame gives
more solidity to its tones. The penny
harps are made by unskilled workmen,
and are of very little value.as musical
instruments"
Mr.. Andrews said that most of his
harps were made for out-of-town trade,
and large number were sent West every
year. For the last two years business
had been very dull, and it seemed as if
jewsharp playing was waning in popular
ity. In Ireland and Scotland the instru-
nent was very popular, especially among
the Scotch, who took about two thirds
of all the jewsharps. made in Belfast,
where his father had the monopoly of
the business. At the present time he
was the only manufacturer of jewshaIps
in Ire and that he knew of. The finer
class of goods were usually made with
silver-tipped stems but this did not
make any difference with the tone, the
richness and volume of which depend
entirely on the workmanship and the
delicacy with which the tongue is adj
justed to the frame. The only trouble
about jewsharp is that it is not very
durable instrument, for after a years use
the tone usually becomes dull and loses
the clearness of its vibrations. 1t can
easily be retained, however, by reftting
the tongue, and Mr. Andrews said that
he received a large number of insrru-
ments every years to be repaired. -Ne1O
York Mail and Erpress.