Wow, MAV, ya got me...I'm not sure. My guess would be that they were playing straight harp (first position) rather than blues harp, which probably came later, I suspect. I think the term "Marine Band", however, had to do with the official band of the U.S. Marines...there was a picture of such a band on the label, as I recall. Haven't bought a marine band harmonica in some time, I prefer Big River.

Concertinas were definitely popular on the old ships, as were fiddles, pennywhistles, and other small instruments.

That's about all the help I can give. You ought to launch a thread on this question, I think.

- LH