The Magnus Harmonica Corporation (originally the International Plastic Harmonica Corporation) was founded in 1944 in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

by Danish immigrant Finn Magnus (1905–1976). First supplying American troops in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and later marketed to children and other beginners, the company's

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

s (as well as its

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...

s, and mechanical

reed organ The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

s) used a then-unique molded-plastic reed comb. The styrene-based plastic construction resulted in lower cost, greater durability, and a distinct sound compared to other

free reed aerophone A free reed aerophone is a musical instrument that produces sound as air flows past a vibrating reed in a frame. Air pressure is typically generated by breath or with a bellows. In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, it is number: 412.13 (a member o ...

s with metal reeds. In 1958, Magnus joined with television salesman Eugene Tracey, and their company went on to sell millions of inexpensive electric

chord organ Chord organ is a kind of home organ that has a single short keyboard and a set of chord buttons, enabling the musician to play a melody or lead with one hand and accompanying chords with the other, like the accordion with a set of chord button ...

s and

song book A song book is a book containing lyrics for songs. Song books may be simple composition books or spiral-bound notebooks. Music publishers also produced printed editions for group singing. Such volumes were used in the United States by piano manuf ...

s until the late 1970s under the name Magnus Organ Corporation. Early Magnus Chord Organs were either laptop or tabletop models, with some of the later models having integrated legs and a lighted music stand. At its peak, Magnus employed over 1,800 workers in

Linden, New Jersey Linden is a city in southeastern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area, located about southwest of Manhattan and bordering Staten Island, a borough of New York City, across the Arthur Kill ...

, including a " mother's shift" during school hours and a "

work release In prison systems, work release programs allow a prisoner who is sufficiently trusted or can be sufficiently monitored to go outside the prison and work at a place of employment, returning to prison when their shift is complete. Some work release ...

" program for non-violent inmates of the nearby

Rahway State Prison East Jersey State Prison (EJSP) is a medium-security prison operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections in Avenel, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. It was established in 1896 as Rahway State Prison, and was the first reformatory in Ne ...

. After Magnus and Tracey retired, the publishers of

World Book Encyclopedia The ''World Book Encyclopedia'' is an American encyclopedia. The encyclopedia is designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, historical and medical subjects. ''World Book'' wa ...

ultimately acquired the Magnus sheet music catalog and ceased production of Magnus instruments.

Magnus harmonica models

Magnus organ models

* 300: Tabletop Model, Two

Octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

, Six

Major chord In music theory, a major chord is a chord that has a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a major triad. For example, the major triad built on C, called a C major triad, has pitch ...

, Brown or Cream Plastic Case - c. 1960s * 302: Tabletop Model, Two Octave, Six Major chord, Brown Plastic Case with faux wood * 303: Free-Standing Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six

Minor chord In music theory, a minor chord is a chord that has a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a minor triad. For example, the minor triad built on C, called a C minor triad, has pit ...

, Brown Plastic Case - c. 1970s * 306: Free-Standing Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Brown Plastic Case * 350: Tabletop Model, Two Octave, Six Major chord, Brown Plastic Case * 360: Tabletop Model, Two Octave, Six Major chord, Cream Plastic Case - c. 1970s * 380: Tabletop Model, Two Octave, Six Major chord, Cream Plastic Case with faux wood - c. 1960s * 391: Tabletop Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Brown Plastic Case - c. 1970s * 400: Tabletop Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Brown Plastic Case - c. 1970s * 468: Tabletop Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Cream Plastic Case - c. 1970s * 481: Tabletop Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Brown Plastic Case - c. 1970s * 500: Tabletop Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Real Wood Case * 535: Free-Standing Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Real Wood Case - c. 1968/69 * 545: Free-Standing Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Real Wood Case * 549: Free-Standing Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Six Bass Notes - c. 1960s * 655: Tabletop Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Faux Wood Case * 657: Tabletop Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Brown Plastic Case with faux wood - c. 1970s * 660: Free-Standing Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Six

Seventh chord A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the chord's root. When not otherwise specified, a "seventh chord" usually means a dominant seventh chord: a major triad together with a minor ...

, Brown Plastic Case * 665: Tabletop Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Brown Plastic Case with faux wood - c. 1970s * 668: Tabletop Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Brown Plastic Case * 670: Free-Standing Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Brown Plastic Case - c. 1970s * 700: Tabletop Model, Three Octave, Eight Major chord, Eight Minor chord, Faux Wood Case * 890: Free-Standing Model, Three Octave, Eight Major chord, Eight Minor chord, Eight Bass Notes, Wood Case - c. 1960s * 1510: Laptop Model, Two Octave, No Chord buttons, Brown Bakelite Case - c. 1950s * 8100: Tabletop Model, Three Octave, Six Major chord, Six Minor chord, Brown Plastic Case - c. 1960s * Disney Edition: Same as Model 360 but has Orange Plastic Case - c. late 1970s

Notes

{{reflist Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States Harmonica manufacturers Free reed aerophones Keyboard instruments 1944 establishments in New Jersey Linden, New Jersey Companies based in Union County, New Jersey Defunct manufacturing companies based in New Jersey