Harmotone Toy Sax

Harmotone toy sax with 8 keys

This is yet another vintage toy saxophone that most likely came from the 50s or 60s. The Harmotone toy sax was one of a series of toy instruments that reflected the fascination with popular musical instruments of the day. Like the Emenee Toy Sax, the Harmotone takes us back to a time when life was simpler, and parental advisories were not required on children’s toys.

Source: eBay.com

The seller of this particular item, described it like this:

Manufactured by Harmonic Reed Corp. Philadelphia, Pa. Made of sturdy plastic with clear tone reeds, the sax is in very good condition with the exception of some minor scuffing to the surface and one key pad will not reseat after depressing (very fixable I believe). The saxophone is in good working condition. Silver plastic body with eight keys.

 Source: eBay.com

In March 2012 another one of these Harmotone toy saxes appeared on eBay, which also came with its original box. This one however, came with its original instruction manual.

Source: rons_online_treasures

 Source: rons_online_treasures

25th anniversary edition

Harmotone was around for quite some time. This 25th anniversary edition—note that the packaging was not as nice as the original cardboard case it was issued in—appeared on eBay. It does appear to have never been taken out of its packaging.

Harmotone toy sax with 4 keys, AKA Harmotone Jr. Sax

While the previous examples of the Harmotone toy saxophones shown above have 8 keys, the Harmonic Reed Corp also made 4 key versions. According to the original packaging, these were marketed as the Harmotone Jr. Sax. 

Here is another silver Harmotone Jr. Sax.

Source: merlynsauctions

 Source: merlynsauctions

Harmotone also apparently made a gold coloured version of their Jr. Sax. The seller of this little toy noted the following specs about it on eBay:

Harmotone Musical Toy

Harmonic Reed Corp., Rosemont, PA

U.S. Pat. 2.373.129

8″ tall, 2″ at widest point

Source: Bid&Bought

Here is another gold coloured Harmotone Jr. Sax. This one has pale blue keys. The seller took fantastic photos of the stamping on the body.

With their silver and gold finishes, it strikes me that Harmotone took their inspiration from real saxophone makers. Just like real saxophone manufacturers, they offered their toys with a variety of finish options.

I am not actively searching for more examples of either of the Harmotone toy saxophone models, but when they do pop up on my eBay searches, I will update this page accordingly.