Object Details
maker
Thompson, Elmer
Description
This banjo was made by Elmer Thompson of Staten Island, New York around 1917-1919 while waiting to be discharged from the U.S. Army during World War I. It is a Four-String Banjo, with a body made from the base of a German Howitzer shell, the neck from the stock of a rifle, with 12 frets, and the tuning pegs from French machine-gun bullets.
After the War Thompson continued to play this banjo in Staten Island working as an electronics engineer with the Philco Corporation of America. Retiring in 1959, he played this banjo in a seven-piece dance orchestra in Debary, Florida known as the Dee Dee Beehive. He was an active inventor, with 30 patents to his credit recorded in the U.S. Patent Office.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of Eileen A. Achilles and John G. Anderson
date made
1917-1919
ID Number
1984.0975.01
accession number
1984.0975
catalog number
1984.0975.01
Object Name
banjo
Physical Description
wood (overall material)
metal (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 33 1/2 in x 9 1/4 in x 3 1/4 in; 85.09 cm x 23.495 cm x 8.255 cm
place made
United States: New York, Staten Island
See more items in
Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
Music & Musical Instruments
Banjos
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_606247