The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
THE MUSIC OF BOYHOOD
Old-Fashioned Toys That Delighted
the Juvenile Heart.

Not All Yet RcIesss~d to the shades
of obliyion-Moath Organs Made
From Comb and a Piece of Pm
per-The Jcwsharp and the Bones.
The old boy who always thinks OF
things that used to happen when he was
young and never happen now was In the
mood for fault finding. He had been
heard on the degeneration OF the mince
pie and the passing of the games OF
which prisoners base" snap the
whip and follow y'r MASTER were
good samples
The playing of hand organ turned his
thoughts in the direction of music
What has become of the accordions.
concertinas, harmonious, jewsharps. and
bones2 Once upon time these were
among the priced possessions of boy,
and there were few boys who aid not
carry mouth organ or a jewsharp or
both in the same pocket with marbles.
jackknife, pieces of string. and other
things that only boys know how TO APP
preciate. The comb with a piece Of
paper over the fiat surface was also n
favorite musical instrument in those
days, but the boy of the present time
knows no more about 1t than he does OF
the mouth organ. bones, or coneertina.'
Where you were raised, in the country.
up near SPEAKERS" said one of the party,
the musical instruments which you think
have gone out of existence are still as
popular as they were In the days when
you looked upon a canalboat as the great
est vessel afioat. Boys still twang the
jewsharp up there. and, while the canal
boats stop at the store to load up the
crew may possibly hear the local band
practicing funeral march in anticipation
of the passing away of the man who has
been given up by five doctors but they
will certainly hear some one about the
landing playing Home. Sweet Home on
a mouth organ. The city boys may not
be customers for the old style toy musical
instruments, but those who will be city
boys in few years still buy them, and
have as much fun with them as you had
in the good times of long ago..
But the purchasers of the old-fashioned
are not all In the country. ac-
cording to the testimony of a prominent
dealer in musical instruments. Great
quantities are sold in New York, and the
in that line is sharp.
The autoharp. Apollo harp, phonoharp.
and a number of other similar instru-
ments which may be played by people
who have no knowledge of music said
Carl Fischer. have displaced the accor-
dion to certain extent. but that instru-
meHt is still sold extensively among the
foreign population
A strange thing about the accordion Is
that it has found its way into pawnshops
to such an extent that people who wish
to buy one go to the pawnshops first. The
have become good custom
ers for all grades and styles of accordions
and concertinas. The bones on which
the old boy played when he vas at school
were the zeal article, sometimes procured
from the butcher. but more often from
the home table. They were cleaned and
scraped. and some boys went so far as to
POLISH them with pumiee stone or knife
brick taken from the kitchen But the
bones of today are bone in name only,
being made of ebony. rosewood, mahog-
any, and other woods. They sell at vari-
Gus prices. from 10 cents to 80 cents a set
-four pieces-and are sold to boys who
aspire to honOrs on the amateur minstrel
stage.
THE tambourine and bones.r said the
musical instrument dealer. were con-
spicuous features in the oid-fashioned
minstrel shows, and when the burnt cork
troupes travelled about the country they
created demand for these Instruments.
But the minstrel shows are not what they
were. bones are back numbers and boys
who go to the performances which have
taken the place of the minstrel show. pre-
fer to try other acts introduced by the
vaudeville people to spending their time
with old-fashioned bones. But STILL bones
are sold and tambourines are not dead
stock
The zobo. which is made in many styles
and shapes. has taken the place of the
,omb as musical instrument. and child
rem make just as much noise and as. good
music on this little instrument as their
father did on the comb. There may be n
falling off in the sale of jewSharps in New
ork. but still they are carried in stock
Dy nearly every notion establishment, and
in the little stores in the residence dis
.ricts, where school children are the larg-
EST customers, the jewsharp is consider
ed as staple an article as a top or glass
marbles JewsharpS cost the retailer
from 20 cents to 8. 80 dozen. the high
grade article being known as Irish jews
harps
The little stores where children buy
heir slate pencils, candy, pinwheels. and
paper dolls are also good places to VISIT
4 one wishes to be assured that the har-
monica. mouth organ. Is stin a popu-
ar article of trade. In these little places
he low grade article is kept for sale at
prices ranging from two cents to a dime.
But in the department stores and musical
establishments harmonious
With various attachments and Of peculiar
make are for sale at prices as high as 81
.ach. Great quantities of these instru-
nents are sent to the distant parts of the
and, where larger musical in
are scarce. the music produced
)y mouth organs, accordions and con-
,ertinas may be heard as frequently now
Is il was heard in the old boys home
orty years ago.
Tie ocarina an instrument made of
burnt clay and shaped like gourd, was
rot known in the days of the mouth or
yan's popularity in New York, but il has
become popular, and large numbers of
,rices ranging from 25 cents to s2.-New
FORK Tribune.