I think I’ll call this the Summer of (Joseph) Bohmann…

…as that’s how long it’ll likely take you to get through two brand new articles and four updated major articles related to the celebrated Chicago harp guitar maker. All can be accessed through this new page.

This all came about after the release of Sheri Mignano Crawford’s latest book, Italian Mandolin Heroes in America.

Lamenting to Sheri that there wasn’t anything specific on harp guitars this time around (there was a bunch in her last book), she commented that she had to stop somewhere, so didn’t include the Chicago scene, which would have brought in the Calamaras.

So I said, “Hey, what if you wrote that up here?” And she did!

So, first we have Sheri’s article on harp guitarist Emilio Calamara and his mandolin-playing, widow-feigning, pistol-packing wife Emily:

Emilio and Emily Calamara: A Tale of Two Musicians

Then my companion piece, a newly written analysis, The Harp Guitars
of Emilio Calamara
.

And since we were on the subject of Calamari, Bohmann’s biggest endorser, I realized I had to completely re-do my main “Bohmann Harp Guitars” article (adding a few new specimens along the way, like the stunning instrument below), tweak the “May Flower Harp Guitars” article, and add my recently-taken photographs of two stunning rare Bohmanns to “The Bohmann Monster” and “Bohmann’s Contra Bass Harp Guitars.”

A lot of work, but such fun!

Enjoy!