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May 7, 2016

The Australian Magic Flute - Part VI

This post is the sequel of The Australian Magic Flute - Part V

I found many (really! around 200!) advertisements for the Magic Flute in the Australian newspapers. Most of them are just a few lines mentioning its availability in this or that shop. But a good bunch of them show a drawing, and they will help us to sort out our lacunary knowledge... or create even more mess in our attempt of understanding.

1905-1923

The very first ad for the Magic Flute I found dates of 1905 (Jun. 30), and it was a real surprise for me. It was not sold By Albert & Son, but by Natty Wood's bazaar, Wollongong. Almost the same ad was published in August:

Was Albert & Son the wholesaler ? I'm not sure of that. Indeed, as we will, it was probably the American version of the Magic Flute, and it may have been imported by the Londonian shop Ellisdon's. Why ? because many of the first ads are published by Ellisdon, and it was a huge wholesaler, with its novelty catalog. Ellisdon's also used to sell a "Magic Flute" in the 1930-40s that was said to be "British make" and we don't know if the later aussie nose flute was this version, or a Humanatone... Anyway, in the 1900s, it really seems the Magic Flute is the American version, according to the graphics.

Ellisdon's (Sidney branch) ads from Nov. and Dec.1906, and 1907:

But at the same time (Nov. 1906), The Union Mfg & Agency Co. (Melbourne) sells a "Magic Flute" subtitled "Humanatone", with a Humanatone picture...('Houston, we have a problem!').

Union Mfg ads from Nov. 1906 and Jun. 1908:

Does it mean that Sidney/Ellisdon sells early (american) Magic Flutes and Melbourne/Union Mfg sells Magic Flutes/Humanatones? Just remember the trademark has not been registered at this time, and the name "Magic Flute" can be used by everybody...

At the same period of time, other Sidney shops sells the early Magic Flute, like in this cute announcement (same Nov. 1906 month):

That's only in 1907 (Dec. 14) that I found an ad from J. Albert & Son.

Albert's ads from 1907 and 1908:

In 1913, The Union Mfg still sells a "Magic Flute/Humanatone", and the Alberts an early Magic Flute. The last appearance of the early MF, dates of July 1916. It's an ad from Shaw and Sons, Brisbane:

In fact, "Mr. Henderson" will still be used as a illustration until 1923, playing the early Magic Flute, but no one could recognize it. Here is an ad by Ellis Smith & Co, Sydney (July 1923):

1924-1946

The trademark 'Magic Flute' was registered in December 1924, but in found no ad with an illustration at that time. But something happened then. In September 1929, the Union Mfg Co., Melbourne, publishes an ad for the Magic Flute, with the usual Humanatone engraving. But... but this time the subtitle "Humanatone" has disappeared, and more, compared to its 1906 and 1908 ads, the name 'Humanatone' has deliberately been erased (blackened) from the nose flute.

Union Mfg 1929 ad, and comparison with the 1908 illustration:

What does it mean? Albert registered the trademark at the end of 1924 and launched the new model (the stamped one). So, Frank Albert was the sole to be allowed to use the brand. It became impossible for other shops to continue to sell 'Magic Flutes' from other origin that the Albert's ones (maybe also, Frank Albert signed an exclusivity clause with the Humanatone Co). Anyway, since the new Magic Flutes were stamped 'Magic Flute', it would have been weird to show a nose flute stamped 'Humanatone' in an advertisement.

Some boring (no illustration) ads then, and until 1941. Then a gap until 1945. Here are the 1941 and 1945 ones (far less funny, besides the mention "always in tune" :)):

1947-1955

1947 seems to be a rebirth for the Magic Flute. It's rather surprising since after the WWII, Humanatone didn't restart a metallic nose flute production, but definitely turned the plastic model designed by Ernest W. Davis. In Australia, the Magic Flute is advertised again with illustration. A new illustration! Not the early MF, not a disguised metal Humanatone, no, a real Albert's stamped Magic Flute! The first I found dates of April 1947, J. Stanley Johnston ad.

1947, 1948 and 1949 advertisements:

Still more advertisements then, but less and less.

1950 and 1953 ads:

The very last mention I found dates of Dec. 31st, 1955, but sadly with no illustration, and at 6th position in a list of nine instruments:

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Well, this long series of articles about the Magic Flute is about to be complete, but we still have some documents to publish and will have to draw a conclusion. Stay tuned!

>> Access Part VII

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May 4, 2016

The Australian Magic Flute - Part III

This post is the sequel of The Australian Magic Flute - Part II

So, we were saying that the last of the four pages was very interesting... It is a full page advertisement for mouth organs by « The King of Mouth Organs ». On the harmonicas themselves, you can read « Albert's system », and a small boomerang logo for those boomerang mouth harps.

It was not difficult to find that « the King of mouth organs » was Mr. Jacques Albert, from Albert & Son, 118 King st., Sidney, Australia. As soon as 1899, one can find ads for Albert's mouth organs. Here in the Children's Newspaper (10-28-1899):

So, Albert & Son was at the origin of the Magic Flute.

Jacques Albert (1850-1914) was a Swiss horologist who immigrated in Australia in 1884 with his family (his wife Sophie [†1890] and their children Michel-François, later known as Frank, and Pauline). The next year, he established in Sidney a clock, watches and occasional violin repair business.

On the left side, at 118 King st., Albert & Son music shop :

Wikipedia details:

« Albert and his son Frank began importing and selling a wider range of musical instruments including a Boomerang mouth organ. The company trademarked the word 'boomerang' and stamped it on German manufactured mouth organs. The distinctive instruments were a run away success selling at a rate of 800 a week by 1897.

Oh-Oh! So, Jacques Albert was not the maker of the Boomerang harmonicas, but the founder of the trademark, while the instruments were manufactured in Germany.

Journalist James Cockington wrote , quoting Ray Grieve’s book, Boomerangs and Crackajacks:

« In 1896, J. Albert & Son of King Street, Sydney, introduced the first ‘home-brand’ mouth organs, the Woolloomooloo Warbler and the Kangaroo Charmer. These were made in Germany by Seydel & Son, but re-badged to suit a patriotic Australian market.»

And David Payne:
« Albert send the templates for the Boomerang to Germany by ship and he and SEYDEL management became close friends over the many years of their working relationship. (...) That relationship continued even after World War II, when SEYDEL was a nationalized company behind the Iron Curtain. Seydel continued creating Boomerang models until Albert's death in 1962. »

This is very interesting, because Seydel & Söhne was a company settled in Klingenthal, in the craddle of the German Nasenflöte (Klingenthal, Markneukirchen, Brunndöbra,...)[see here and there]. And in the early 1920s, when nose flutes began to be produced in Saxony, the Seydel may have told about the new instrument to Mr. Albert, and who nose, might have sold/send a bucket to Australia, as they did with the Boomerang harmonica during almost 70 years! There is another fact that fits with the German hypothesis, but it will be revealed in... Part V!

But there is a problem: the Magic Flute design doesn't match the German Nasenflöten templates, which were never closed by rivets, but by bent flaps:

So, the most reasonable (?) hypothesis is an American make. The Stivers may have dealt with Albert & Son, for an unstamped Humanatone-shaped nose flute, provided with a brand ("Magic Flute", owned by the Humanatone Co., after the Stivers probably bought it from Garrett J. Couchois) with the Magic Flute papers. This would explain, on one hand the drawings on the papers and the mention «… the Magic Flute which had just arrived from New York… », in the Hendersons' Magic Flute romance!

Another point on the credit of this hypothesis: « In 1919 [Frank Albert, the son] visited Europe and the United States of America…», according to this biography.

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As seen before, Jacques Albert passed away in 1914 (at 64 of age), and it is unlikely he was himself at the origin of the Australian nose flute. Indeed, the Magic Flute might have appeared in the 1910s at earliest, but much more probably did in the early 1920 (the brand 'Magic Flute' was registered Dec. 19th(?), 1924 for Australia).

His associate and successor was his son Frank Albert (1874-1962), and he was certainly the one who launched the Magic Flute in Australia and New Zealand.

Frank Albert:

At this time, Frank has developped a very lucrative music business and is a very wealthy man. In 1926, he built a villa named 'Boomerang', from the mouth organs brand which made his fortune.

In the same years, Frank, who's a yachting enthousiast since 1900, bought a beautiful schooner that he baptized... 'Boomerang'! It was certainly not his first boat, as you can read in this very interesting blog.

Voila! We know the face of the man who launched and spread nose fluting in Australia! An elegant and successful businessman and a yachting enthusiast... For sure, the story doesn't end here, but you will have to wait for Part IV...

>> Access Part IV

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May 3, 2016

The Australian Magic Flute - Part II

This post is the sequel of The Australian Magic Flute - Part I

So, the Magic Flute came with its papers, I was saying... Yes, two beautiful memories, almost one century old.

First sheet

Sheet 1 - Page 1

The front page has a beautiful header, showing joyful birds gathering before the Magic Flute. One of them has already landed on it and looks very curious: maybe could he use the nose flute as a nest box! (One thing bothers me on that image though: the drawing of the flute has been directly borrowed from the 1903 American Magic Flute advertisement... Is it a simple steal or does it mean a link between the two Magic Flutes?? Why to choose this image of a flute that is not shaped like the one in the box??)

On the left side of the nose flute, a Magic Flute trio live on stage, before an orchestra. And on its right, the info that the Magic Flute was available in three grades:

N(ICKE)L - (P)LATED	DE LUXE MODEL	CONCERT MODEL
B(right) finish	Copper oxidized	Silver oxidized
1/-	1/6	2/6

Wow! Already some surprises here! The first one is that my beautiful shiny nose flute was the cheapest and the most humble grade among the three available!
Then... there was a silver model! Silver plated, I assume, but silver! :)

I'm not very easy with Commonwealth currencies and prices, but I guess they were, respectively: 1 shilling, 1 shilling and 6 pence, and 2 shillings and 6 pence. I suppose my flute was from the 1920s, and at the time, the Australian currency was the Australian Pound.

On the left side of the page, a series of drawings showing different possible uses of the Magic Flute, as explained in the text. In a concert hall, forming a nose flute orchestra, as a bird call at a hunting session, as a « shrill summons of alarm » (the image depicts a street demonstration!), or as a solo instrument.

Sheet 1 - Page 2

The back page of this first flyer has also a beautiful header. It shows a couple of noseflutists whistling, and separated by the title "A Magic Flute Romance". Hahaha! What a program! (It just makes me think of my personal case with the Incomparable Nosy Diva...). Well, take a moment to read the story of Mr. and Mrs Henderson.

This header is, one more time, a source of questions... If you take a look at the design of the nose flute played by Mr. Henderson, you'll be able to see the flat top on which he puts his finger. The model draught here is, with no doubt, the American Magic Flute... The text deals with a story happening in Omaha (Nebraska, US). More, the story is quoted from the Home Journal, Nov. 19th, 1899. Wait... The American Magic Flute was patented (filed) on Nov. 21st, 1899, just two short days later!!! Is it a coincidence? It looks like a communication campaign! I'm more and more inclined to believe this whole flyer borrowed drawings and texts from the original Magic Flute. But... but the shape of the Aussie model and the three different grades seem to belong only to the Australian instrument. What's the meaning of all of that?

The Howe catalogue ad, the US Magic Flute and Mr. Henderson:

At this time, any Noseflute.org reader not interested in history research has left for an aspirin and a nap. The other(s) should be very excited!

Second sheet

Sheet 2 - Page 1

The front page of the other flyer is a detailed user manual. At the top, the Howe catalogue illustration once again, but this time in a nice format and complete of the legends that were barely readable on the catalogue (nothing special, however):

Under it, Mrs. Henderson, and the user manual. It is probably the most complete « How To » sheet for nose fluting I ever saw, with detailed instructions to get low or high notes, how to blow, how to obtain a vibrato and so on. And once again, the price list.

Sheet 2 - Page 2

The last of the four pages is the only one which doesn't deals with the Magic Flute, and even more, with any nose flute at all. It is a full advertisement page for mouth organs! But contrarywise to what one may think at first, it is maybe the most interesting page of all four!! Why? Well... you'll have to wait for Part III!

>> Access Part III

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Oct 5, 2014

Humanatone in Heaney Magic catalog

Just another ad for the Humanatone, coming from the 1924 Heaney Magic catalog. It is very different from the advertisement this magic items company published the same year in Popular Mechanics (see here), and which was hand drawn.
This one gives more room for the text, directly copied from the Humanatone Co. user manual.

Sep 15, 2014

Other Humanatone Ads from Popular Mechanics

We previously posted an article about the advertisement campaign that the Johnson Smith Co. launched in Popular Mechanics (we were interested in the pages including a Magic (Nose) Flute or Humanatone).
But during those years, the Johnson Smith company was not the only novelty mail-order company to advertise for the Humanatone. Indeed, I found 3 other competitors selling the tin nose flute through Popular Mechanics.

Oaks Magical Co.

The Oaks Magical Co. was settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and was selling novelties, gadgets and magic tricks, exactly as Johnson Smith. It was founded (1913) and run by the magician John H. Oaks (1889-1918), known as "The Mighty Oaks, the Handcuff King", and by his family after his death.

In the following ad, note that the text is very similar (if not identical) to the Johnson Smith text: it was coming from the Humanatone Co. itself. The illustration is the "clogged" version, the ones without visible stampings, as it appears from Nov. 1928 in the Johnson Smith ads, meaning this modification probably came directly from the Humanatone Co.

October, November and December 1929 Oaks Magical Co. advertisement

Scientific Novelty Co.

The Scientific Novelty Co. was based in Greenwich, New York, and was specialized in optical and electric novelties and gadgets. Again, the text of their ad is a rewritten version of the "official" one. Here, the nose flute is called Humanatone (and not "Magic (Nose) Flute"). The engraving is different from J.S. and Oaks. I don't know where it came from (a music instrument catalog? which one?), but not from the Humanatone Co., as far as I know. Could it be possible it was original? (I doubt of it).

November 1929 Scientific Novelty Co. advertisement

Heaney Magic Co.

As Johnson Smith and Oaks Magical, the Heaney Magic Co. was base in Wisconsin (Berlin). As Oaks, it was specialized in magic tricks and novelties. It was founded by Gerald Heaney, a magician known as "Heaney the Great". It is very interesting that the catalog pages are hand written and the illustration drawn (see the full page below). The Humanatone advertisement illustration are reinterpretations of the engravings printed on the Humanatone user manual. The price, 20c. in 1924, is 5c lower than in Johnson Smith ads.

February 1924 Heaney Magic Co. advertisement

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Scientific Novelty Co. and Heaney Magic Co. pages in Popular Mechanics