Seydel have made various harmonicas over the years with names that were some variation on Master or Meister, including Altmeister, Concert Master, Kapellmeister, Liedermeister, Music Master, etc. However, their most successful range was their Bandmaster harmonicas and in the same way that Hohner trademarked variations on their name to prevent anyone else from cashing in on their popularity, Seydel did something similar with the name Bandmaster.
Seydel first trademarked the name Bandmaster in 1898:
Two decades later, they trademarked the name Der Brandmeister:
This is a German term roughly equivalent to Fire Chief, but I suspect that it was trademarked because of its similarity to Bandmaster. A few months later, they registered The Bandmaſter, with a long s:
The following month, they trademarked Bee=Master:
This is a term used to describe an especially experienced beekeeper, but again, I suspect it was registered because of its similarity to Bandmaster. The same goes for Bandsman, which they trademarked the same year:
A few weeks later, they trademarked Bandmast, a word which I don't believe exists in its own right:
Ballmaster has actually been trademarked several times for sports-related equipment (soccer boots, bowling ball cleaning machines, tennis ball collectors, etc), but I assume that Seydel were using the word ball to mean a dance:
However, the trademark description does not include its use for harmonicas, presumably because the Louis Meisel company had beaten them to it with this trademark from the previous year, covering harmonicas, accordions and related instruments:
The same year, Seydel registered Band and Master, Masterband and Master Band:
Headmaster is a British English term for what Americans would call the principal of a school, but once again, I suspect it was trademarked because of its similarity to Bandmaster:
Obviously, Band Conductor means essentially the same thing as Bandmaster:
In 1922, they trademarked Grand Master:
The following year they registered Director de la banda, presumably for the Portuguese or Spanish-speaking market:
In 1924, they bounced back again with The Ballmaster, this time also covering harmonicas and related instruments. Presumably, the Meisel trademark had lapsed:
In 1955, the state-owned company VEB (comprising Seydel and various other East German companies) registered The Bandmaster, almost 60 years after it was first trademarked:
To the best of my knowledge, few of these other names were ever used on commercial products by Seydel and, also to the best of my knowledge, Seydel have not made any harps under the Bandmaster name since the company was returned to private ownership in the late 1980s.
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