Eden, New York (pop. 8,076) is home to The Original Kazoo Company, est. in 1916. The instrument's creation dates back to the 1840s when its inventor, Alabama Vest, a former slave from Macon, Ga., directed German clockmaker Thaddeus Von Clegg to make a wooden instrument to his specifications. The origin of the name kazoo, however, is unclear. But it was most definitely Emil Sorg, a traveling salesman, who brought the idea of manufacturing kazoos to western New York around 1912 when he teamed with Michael McIntyre, a tool and die maker. McIntyre later partnered with Harry Richardson, the owner of a metal forming plant, and added metal kazoos to the production line in 1916. McIntyre received a patent for the companys standard model No. D-19 kazoo in 1923.
Today, the factory is America's only metal kazoo manufacturer. Thanks to the industriousness of its 15 part-time employees, the company produces about 11,000 kazoos annually, using the very equipment installed by McIntyre and Richardson: 20 machines powered by a single 10-horsepower motor.
Source: AmericanProfile
2 comments:
I have friends who have visited the Eden NY factory. Well worth the trip. A little closer to you, England, they still make metal kazoos with 1930s equipment. A friend brought me one as a present. It is a fine instrument. You can find them at http://clarketinwhistle.com/products/kazoo.aspx
Tony
Hi Tony, We sell Clarke's Kazoo's in the store but i had no idea they were also made with old machines. Awesome! Thanks for the note. : )
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