My father had a metal object that he called a nose organ.  It was made
of cheap metal and covered the nose and mouth.  There was a small
ledge inside, where the nose organ fitted the face, for the top teeth
to rest on and a hole at the mouth for air to escape.  Music was
produced by blowing through the nose and letting it escape from the
hole at the mouth.  I have only been able to find modern plastic
equivalents, called "Humanatones", on the Internet with nothing on
these older models.  My father had his in the 1940's.  I want to know
the history of such nose organs, where they were made and where they
originated.  My father also had a "Jew's Harp";  these appear on the
Internet, often re-named so as to avoid any cultural slights.

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 24 Jan 2005 06:24 PST

researcher225 --

Please look at this linked page and let me know if I am on the right
track. I am asking for your help because it appears that there may be
various types of "nose flutes" that meet your general descriptio. If
any of the illustrated examples look familiar, I will follow that lead
and try to find some more information for you:

http://www.ohek.co.uk/instruments/nosepics.htm


markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by researcher225-ga on 25 Jan 2005 05:42 PST

Your picture shows an instrument in the general shape of my father's
nose organ, but I presume it is a plastic one from the colour.  His
was made of plain metal - ?galvanized? - and the nose section was
larger.  The picture does resemble the general shape and placement on
the nose and mouth of his nose organ.

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 25 Jan 2005 05:54 PST

researcher225 --


Thanks for your clarification.  

I assume that the instrument pictured at the top of the linked page is
the one that looks familiar to you.  The text on the page says that
this and similar instruments had been sold by Humanatone since 1917. 
Presumably the earlier Humanatone examples were made of metal, like
the one owned by your father.  Other clues on the page indicate that
the instrument is "probably" of Indonesian origin.

I will follow up on these clues and see if I can find more information.

markj-ga

researcher 225 --

I have not been able to find any other useful information about the
instrument that interests you.  I do believe that the device you have
described is commonly called a "nose flute."  While I haven't found
evidence that the original American manufacturer is still in business,
the modern plastic devices are still called "Humanatones."

Since they apparently were manufactured by Humanatone Talking Machine
Co. as early as 1917 (see the linked page I provided earlier), it
seems likely that your father had an early model that was made of
metal.  There have been a couple of recent Ebay auctions of "vintage"
Humanatone nose flutes, but images of the product are no longer
available on the Ebay site.

Here is a link to a search of Google Images that includes small
pictures of what appear to be early-vintage nose flutes, but the sites
that contained them are no longer accessible:

http://answer.google.com/answers/threadview?id=462678


markj-ga