Just another mint NOS Hum-A-Tune

Just another mint and new old stock Hum-A-Tune (yellow, this time!). This one is so clean that even the stapples aren't rusty, and the pre-perforated hole for hanging on a display is not hollow.

Hum-A-Tune: Another Version!

The Hum-A-Tune was a Humanatone cheap copy made in Hong Kong in the mid to late 1960s. We already published here and here, about the two (packaging) versions we had. Plus the Bulwinkle branded version (see here).

We just found another version. The flute is the same, a low grade plastic Humanatone (not polystyrene like in the Gretsch original version), not "true tremolo" hole, and no stampings beside a reversed "Made in Hong Kong" on the inside of the mouth shield. But aslightly different version of the packaging.



In this version, the red color surrounds a yellow splash, much more flashy! The typo ink as turn from navy blue to black. And again, the whole text has been designed once more. On the back side, the text is now medium blue, while it was almost black in (what I suppose to be) the previous versions.



Let's make a little comparison between them all (1-2-3 or 1-3-2 ?):

Hong Kongese video

It's rather rare to find nose flute videos coming from China. Here is one by Armoredcorelok, a singer from Hong Kong. Humanatone at the beginning and at the end.

User manuals - Part 2: Asia - America - Africa

Sequel of the post User manuals - Part 1: Europe


Japan

Nihon Hanabue Kyokai Ise Tomo no Kai

These user manuals were published by the Japanese Nose Flute Ise Association for the nose flutes made by Mr. Takuma Ikeyama.



On-Lak nose flute:





China

No name Humanatone copy

Note how this user manual is a counterfeit of the official Humanatone user-manual (just below the chinese one), which itself remained (almost) the same since the origins! So, the text of the chinese copy is (almost) the same than the one that was published by J. Stivers in the 1900's !





United States of America

Hum-A-Tune

These Humanatone copies were were made in Hong-Kong, but sold in the USA under an american licence.
Note the spelling mistake "nostrile" appearing on the first Hum-A-Tune and on the 1969 Bullwinkle's Hum-A-Tune. The mistake was corrected afterwards, in the later Hum-A-Tune manual.
Note that the text was very probably "inspired" by the Humanatone text. It's not a plagiarism, but the same words were mixed in a different order.



Humanatone

This user manual was probably published in the 1920's by the Humanatone Company. The specific part explaining how to blow the nose flute was re-used by the Fred Gretsch Mfg Co. in the 40's and until the brand was sold to Grover-Trophy Music. Trophy Music re-used again the same text, just modified it a bit, and it is still printed on the individual small bags.

Metal Humanatone by the Humanatone Co.:



Plastic Humanatone by the Gretsch Co. in the 40's:

Here the text is different. It seems that Gretsch quickly went back to the original one, after this series of nose flute specially dedicated to be sent to the Boys fighting in the Pacific.



Metal Humanatone by the Gretsch Co. (made in Japan):



Plastic Humanatone by the Gretsch Co. in the 50's:



Plastic Humanatone by the Trophy Music Co., nowadays:



Dr B.B.Bumstead user manual

This user manual was provided with the Humanatones branded by the Dr. B.B.Bumstead, in the 1980's:





South Africa

Claritone (Bocarina)

Claritone was the first name of the Bocarina. Here is a detailed user manual distributed by Dr. Bruce Copley.

A Humanatone and clones chronology

In order to clarify my previous post, I attempted to depict a chronology of the Humanatone and its clones : old and modern shapes, that is, metal and plastic. The zones in plain color are "sure", and the ones filled with gradations represent uncertain dates.




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About metal Humanatones, check :

- Humanatone - part I : the metallic era
- New Humanatone ads
- The Two metal Humanatones
- Another metal Humanatone
- Humanatone boxes
- Another Humanatone box
- Humanatone: A very early user manual
- The Magic (Nose) Flute: only questions... .
- A Humanatone and clones chronology
- A Humanatone in 1892 ?
- Humanatone: Early promotional demos
- Another Humanatone archive
- Huma... something
- Rectification: Humanatone appearance date
- Great paper from 1903
- Nose Flute Pioneers: The Stivers - Part I
- Nose Flute Pioneers: The Stivers - Part II
- Nose Flute Pioneers: The Stivers - Part III
- Nose Flute Pioneers: The Stivers - Part IV
- Nose Flute Pioneers: The Stivers - Part V
- A Humanatone as a scientific tool
- Two other Humanatone Ads

And on later Humanatones :

- Humanatone - Part II : the Gretsch plastic era
- Humanatone - Part III : the Gretsch metal era

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Hum-a-Tune : different colors

We already presented the Hum-a-Tune in this blog. The basic version of this low-grade Humanatone copy first, here, and the branded Bullwinkle's version there.

Since, we found other representants of this Hong-Kong 1970's production. We discovered the range of colors proposed to the public, and also, that there had been at least 2 different versions of the packaging.

Some pictures of the babies :


And here is a comparison between the two different typos I noticed on the packaging, one printed in vermillion/dark blue, and the other carmine/black :


Which one was the first ? I don't know, but I assume that the blue typo was later than the black one, because the front design is more realized, more compact, and that the mispelling ("nostrile") has been corrected.

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On a similar topic :

- Hum-a-Tune : a vintage low grade copy
- Hum-a-Tune : different colors
- Bullwinkle's Hum-a-Tune and Humanatone
- Humanatone copy from 1997

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Bullwinkle's Hum-a-Tune and Humanatone

I found some vintage plastic nose flutes, dating to 1969. They were sold with the brand "Bullwinkle's Hum-a-Tune" for 29 cents, and made by Larami Corp.
The printed credits are : © P.A.T. WARD MCMLXIX (the Bullwinkle character creator) and ITEM NO 2820 LARAMI CORP .. PHILA. PA. 19107 PARTS MARKED WITH COUNTRY OF ORIGIN HONG KONG.

Bullwinkle J. Moose was a rather stupid moose, character of the 1959-1964 TV series Rocky and Bullwinkle, produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott. Many by-products were issued, including comics, plastic figurines and toys.

Larami Corp. was founded in 1947 and was a toy company whose products ranged from 39 to 99 cents. They were rack toys, doomed to convenience stores and grocery stores. Let's say cheap and crappy toys...

I already have a Hum-a-tune, with no particular branding, that I showed here. The regular Hum-a-Tune and the Bullwinkle's are strictly the same products.

The only exception, apart of the packaging, is the quality of plastics (the regular one is made in a softer and opaque plastic material). The Bullwinkle's is rather translucent.

Now, let's compare the Bullwinkle's to a modern Humanatone ...

First, the plastic material is absolutely not the same. On a blog, it is difficult to make feel the difference, but you can figure it with these little sound samples : the first sound is a Humanatone that I dropped on my desk, and the second the Bullwinkle's dropped the same way :



Next, as we already noticed in the Hum-a-Tune review, there is no true tremolo hole on the Bullwinkle's, nor padded strip at the bottom of the mouth cap.

More, contrarywise to the 1950 and the current Humanatone, no patent numbers appear inside the mouth cap. No "Humanatone" brand stamped, just "Made in Hong Kong".

And finally, the angle of the nose scoop is not the same :

This leads us to conclude that the Bullwinkle's and the Hum-a-Tune more generally, are not at all a different production of the « genuine » Humanatone. They are (low grade) copies, let's say forged Humanatones made in Hong Kong, but have nothing to do with the Gretsch or Trophy Music nose flutes, contrarywise - and this is said in a friendly way and with much respect - to what affirms and teaches Master Mosurin : There were no Humanatone made in China (nor in the Commonwealth's Hong Kong).

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On a similar topic :

- Hum-a-Tune : a vintage low grade copy
- Hum-a-Tune : different colors
- Bullwinkle's Hum-a-Tune and Humanatone
- Humanatone copy from 1997

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