I have been presented with an opportunity to purchase a mechanical
instrument that I have never seen mentioned here in the Digest, so I
wanted to ask a few questions before sinking some money into something
that might not be a good investment.

It is called a roll harmonica, and it uses a Bakelite-like casting to
house a roll and a take up spool.  A harmonica fits into a slide in the
front, so the roll is wound between it and your mouth.  It is played by
blowing through a mouth-piece that is small enough to fit in your mouth,
but opens up internally to be as wide as the harmonica, which is a ten
note model.

The rolls are about the same size as the now-discontinued Kodak 116 film,
somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 to 4 inches wide, (the spools look as
though they could be interchangeable with old camera spools) and have
holes punched as wide as a harmonica hole.  The boxes for the rolls have
a date of 1928 on them, but I don't know if that is a manufacturing date
or what.

Nothing is automatic, there are two cranks on the side, one for playing
and the other for rewind.  Both rotate only as fast as you turn them, so
there is nothing to go haywire in that regard.

The catch is that the person selling it has two housings, and some
duplicate rolls, but only one harmonica, which he intends to keep.  The
harmonica is different from your standard Hohner variety because blowing
and drawing through the holes produce the same notes, so replacing the
harmonica will be more difficult than just finding a current model that
will fit in the slide.

Has anyone ever seen such a harmonica available for sale separately?  Or
will I be searching for a proverbial fountain of youth?  He wants $50.00
for the housing and several duplicate rolls.  Is that a fair price in
light of the fact that the harmonica is missing, or would I be getting my
shorts taken?

Thanks for any information anybody may have about this instrument.  It
really is unique looking, and something that I would enjoy having, but
only if there is a real possibility of being able to use it someday.

Regards,

Troy Taylor¶
n9344027@cc.wwu.edu