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American Five-String Fretless Piccolo Banjo

American History Museum

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    Object Details

    Description

    This banjo was made by an unknown maker in the United States around 1880-1882. It is a five-string piccolo banjo with a rosewood veneered hoop, sixteen brackets, rosewood veneered fingerboard, and friction pegs. There is a medallion on the bottom of the fingerboard.

    J.H.F.
    NY&C

    John Howard Foote (1833-1896) was a musical instrument dealer with shops in New York City and Chicago. This instrument was sold as a “Stage Banjo” (#6974).

    Location

    Currently not on view

    Credit Line

    Gift of J. Howard Foote

    date made

    1880 - 1882

    ID Number

    MI.055723

    catalog number

    55723

    accession number

    11535

    Object Name

    banjo

    Physical Description

    rosewood (overall material)
    metal, nickel (overall material)
    wood, walnut (neck material)
    brass (frets material)
    ebony (frets material)

    Measurements

    overall: 28 in x 8 1/2 in x 2 1/2 in; 71.12 cm x 21.59 cm x 6.35 cm

    place made

    United States

    Related Publication

    Densmore, Frances. Handbook of the Collection of Musical Instruments in the United States National Museum.

    See more items in

    Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
    Music & Musical Instruments
    Banjos

    Data Source

    National Museum of American History

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a4-4373-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

    Record ID

    nmah_605669

    Discover More

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    Instruments

    Five-Stringed Banjo

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    Playing the Banjo

    Five-Stringed Banjo

    Banjos

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