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Flute made for Blind Tom by William R. Meinell

African American Museum

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    Object Details

    Created by

    William R. Meinell, American

    Used by

    Thomas Greene Wiggins, American, 1849 - 1908

    Description

    This silver flute was made for the performer "Blind Tom" by William R. Meinell of New York and includes a body (a) modeled on the Boehm system with closed key holes, an offset G key, a closed G sharp key, and a Briccialdi B flat key; a foot joint (b) with a low B key; a silver head joint (c) with an embouchure plate with stylized floral detailing around each end and at the crown with a tuning cork; a silver head joint socket (d) used to cap the tenon of the sliver head joint when not in use; an ebony head joint (e) with a flush embouchure hole and a tuning cork, a metal ring separates the body from the crown and a metal tenon is attached to the ebony head joint for joining with the flute body; a silver head joint socket (f) used to cap the tenon of the ebony head joint when not in use.

    Credit Line

    Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

    Date

    1879-1884

    Object number

    2014.138.1a-f

    Restrictions & Rights

    No Known Copyright Restrictions
    Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

    Type

    flutes (aerophones)

    Medium

    silver, ebony, gold, and cork

    Dimensions

    H x W x D (a,b,c joined): 27 1/16 × 1 5/8 × 1 5/8 in. (68.7 × 4.1 × 4.1 cm)
    H x W x D (a,b,e joined): 27 5/8 × 1 5/8 × 1 5/8 in. (70.2 × 4.1 × 4.1 cm)
    H x W x D (a overall): 1 5/8 × 13 3/16 × 1 1/2 in. (4.1 × 33.5 × 3.8 cm)
    H x W x D (b overall): 1 5/16 × 6 5/8 × 1 5/8 in. (3.3 × 16.8 × 4.1 cm)
    H x W x D (c overall): 10 × 1 × 1 in. (25.4 × 2.5 × 2.5 cm)
    H x W x D (d overall): 1 9/16 × 13/16 × 13/16 in. (4 × 2.1 × 2.1 cm)
    H x W x D (e overall): 10 × 7/8 × 7/8 in. (25.4 × 2.2 × 2.2 cm)
    H x W x D (f overall): 9/16 × 13/16 × 13/16 in. (1.4 × 2.1 × 2.1 cm)

    Place made

    New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

    See more items in

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

    Classification

    Slavery and Freedom Objects
    Musical Instruments

    Exhibition

    Musical Crossroads

    On View

    NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 053

    Data Source

    National Museum of African American History and Culture

    Topic

    African American
    Child musicians
    Instrumentalists (Musicians)
    Music
    Slavery

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5cc1e79ec-5fae-4d36-8817-e654f7bcc6bd

    Record ID

    nmaahc_2014.138.1a-f

    Discover More

    Instruments Used by African American Musicians

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collections

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