Skip to main content Skip to main navigation
heart-solid My Visit Donate
Home Smithsonian Institution IK development site for ODI
Press Enter to activate a submenu, down arrow to access the items and Escape to close the submenu.
    • Overview
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Entry and Guidelines
    • Museum Maps
    • Dine and Shop
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Group Visits
    • Overview
    • Exhibitions
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX & Planetarium
    • Overview
    • Topics
    • Collections
    • Research Resources
    • Stories
    • Podcasts
    • Overview
    • For Caregivers
    • For Educators
    • For Students
    • For Academics
    • For Lifelong Learners
    • Overview
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Membership
    • Make a Gift
    • Volunteer
    • Overview
    • Our Organization
    • Our Leadership
    • Reports and Plans
    • Newsdesk
heart-solid My Visit Donate

Josh White Model Guitar and case owned by Josh White

African American Museum

This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

    Object Details

    Manufactured by

    Ovation Guitar Company, American, founded 1965

    Owned by

    Josh White, American, 1914 - 1969

    Subject of

    James H. Rickard, American, died 1996

    Description

    2021.107ab: A Josh White Model Guitar (a) custom made by Ovation Instruments with an accompanying case (b) for Josh White.
    2021.107a: Josh White Model Guitar custom made by Ovation Instruments for Josh White. The acoustic guitar has light colored, spruce, top wood and a black, semi-parabolic body. Around the edges of the sound hole is a rosette: a black circular band inlaid with a tn, mother of pearl, foliate pattern. The front of the neck is dark wood with inlaid mother of pearl fret markers shaped like notched diamonds and dots. A handwritten signature in gold ink, [Josh White], is written across the center of the headstock. At the top of the headstock is a gold printed logo for Ovation Instruments: the text [Ovation] with the first letter [O] printed in relief inside a stylized graphic of a guitar. The sides of the headstock are engraved with an ornate spiral pattern. Attached to the nuts are six, carved, white tuning pegs. The back of the neck is medium toned wood with two, thin bands of light tone wood running vertically down the center. The guitar has six steel guitar strings. There are three vertical cracks extending from the base of the bridge to the bottom edge of the guitar and three brown striated marks to the left of the rosette, near the waist. The interior of the body is black. Inside the sound hole is a white paper adhesive manufacturer’s label form. At the top of the label is the logo for Ovation: [Ovation Instruments / BLOOMFIELD, CONN.] with the first letter [O] in Ovation printed in relief inside a stylized graphic of a guitar printed in black and red text. Below is a short form with three lines that reads [Model ____________ / Serial ____________ / Approval ____________]. Printed black script text next to [Model] reads [Josh White]. Printed red and black text next to [Serial] reads [291 custom for Josh]. Printed black script text next to [Model] reads [J.H. Rickard]. Printed black text at the bottom left corner of the label reads [PAT. APPLIED FOR]. At the bottom of the body is a strap button.
    2021.107b: An accompanying hard case for the Josh White Model Guitar made by Ovation Instruments for Josh White. The hard case is acoustic guitar shaped with a black exterior and soft-textured, yellow, wooly interior. The case has four brass latches and a black, leather texture carrying handle on one side. On the other side are three brass hinges. The far left and right sides also have round head tacks at the top and bottom to support the case when placed on the ground. The case has an interior support for the neck. Above the support is a storage compartment with a flap. Adhered to the inside of the flap are two white adhesive labels with black text that reads [OVATION #291 JOSH WHITE CUSTOM] and [OVATION 291].

    Credit Line

    Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gene C. Feldman

    Date

    ca. 1966

    Object number

    2021.107ab

    Restrictions & Rights

    No known copyright restrictions
    Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

    Type

    cases (containers)
    guitars

    Medium

    2021.107a: spruce with mahogany, rosewood, maple, German silver, bone, steel, silicone and fiberglass
    2021.107b: imitation leather on plywood with textile materials, brass (alloy) and metal

    Dimensions

    H x W x D (Guitar): 39 1/2 × 15 9/16 × 5 7/8 in. (100.4 × 39.5 × 15 cm)
    H x W x D (Case): 43 1/8 × 17 1/2 × 7 5/16 in. (109.5 × 44.5 × 18.5 cm)

    Place made

    Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, North and Central America

    See more items in

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

    Classification

    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
    Blues (Music)
    Instrumentalists (Musicians)
    Singers (Musicians)

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5e19a9670-2eb1-4a9d-a6d3-0d8d5721e637

    Record ID

    nmaahc_2021.107ab

    Discover More

    painted guitar used by Carlos Vives

    Guitars

    Instruments Used by African American Musicians

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collections

    arrow-up Back to top
    Home
    • Facebook facebook
    • Instagram instagram
    • LinkedIn linkedin
    • YouTube youtube

    • Contact Us
    • Get Involved
    • Shop Online
    • Job Opportunities
    • Equal Opportunity
    • Inspector General
    • Records Requests
    • Accessibility
    • Host Your Event
    • Press Room
    • Privacy
    • Terms of Use