Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1993.05.01 |
Object Type |
Xylophone |
Creator |
Leedy Manufacturing Company |
Title |
Xylophone |
Description |
3.5 octave xylophone with rosewood bars (F-C). Finish is flaking on bars.Frame is painted gold, bars rest on green felt. Accidentals have rubber spacers between bars. Upper frame is primarily wood with metal end caps that attach to lower frame. Metal resonators are painted black. Frame is hinged to fold. |
Dimensions |
H-34.5 W-27.75 L-51.5 inches |
People |
Leedy Manufacturing Company Harr, Haskell Green, George Hamilton |
Date |
c. 1927 |
Additional Research |
PAS Hall of Fame member Haskell Harr may be best remembered as the author of the popular elementary drum methods, but he was also an active performer and educator throughout his long career. Harr began playing music at the age of thirteen and was soon working with local bands and combos. He formed The Haskell Novelty Trio with a saxophonist and pianist, and the group performed frequently on radio and in the theaters. A Chicago area reviewer described Harr as "a wizard on the xylophone," comparing his playing to "George Hamilton Green, Homer Chaffee, Frisco, Shutts, and all the leading exponents of this instrument." This xylophone is a "Green Brothers Special" model manufactured by the Leedy Drum Company. Harr purchased the instrument around 1927 and kept it for most of his professional career. In 1933 Harr played at the Chicago World's Fair, where he accompanied the famous Sally Rand during her "fan dance." At the end of each performance, Rand would wave to the audience from the stage curtain, where she would lean on Harr's xylophone. Harr had placed a small towel on this spot so the dancer wouldn't get chilled, and she responded with an autograph, "Hurrah for Mr. Harr, and my 'back-up' xylophone." Percussive Notes, August 1997. Haskell Harr's Leedy Xylophone Chicago 1927 Described by a Chicago reviewer as "a wizard on the xylophone," Haskell Harr (1894-1986) enjoyed an enviable reputation as both teacher and performer during his long career. He began his performance career as a teenager, appearing with local bands and combos in the Chicago area. He soon formed the Haskell Novelty Trio with a saxophonist and pianist, and the popular group appeared frequenly in vaudeville theatres and on the radio. Harr purchased this xylophone - a George Hamilton Green model manufactured by the Leedy Drum Company - around 1927 and kept it for most of his professional career. In 1933 he played at the Chicago World's Fair, where he accompanied the famous fan dancer, Sally Rand. Harr taped one of her notes, "Hurrah for Mr. Harr, and my 'back-up' xylophone," to the instrument's frame. Haskell Harr's popular elementary drum methods books were considered among the most important teaching tools of his era, and he was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 1972. Donated by James Cantley PAS Museum Exhibit Label |
Credit line |
Gift of James Cantley |