Music & Musical Instruments

The Museum's music collections contain more than 5,000 instruments of American and European heritage. These include a quartet of 18th-century Stradivari stringed instruments, Tito Puente's autographed timbales, and the Yellow Cloud guitar that belonged to Prince, to name only a few. Music collections also include jukeboxes and synthesizers, square-dancing outfits and sheet music, archival materials, oral histories, and recordings of performances at the museum. The vast Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated Sheet Music is a remarkable window into the American past in words, music, and visual imagery. The Duke Ellington and Ruth Ellington Boatwright collections contain handwritten music compositions, sound recordings, business records, and other materials documenting the career of this renowned musician. In various ways, our collections find expression in performances of the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and in other public programs.

This guitar was made by John Preston of London, England around 1760-1770.
Description
This guitar was made by John Preston of London, England around 1760-1770. It is a six course (4x2, 2x1) guitar with a spruce top, figured maple back and sides, and tortoiseshell veneered oak fingerboard and four holes for the capotasto or “moving-bridge.” The guitar has a watch-key tuning device which was better suited to the guitar’s short metal strings. English guitars received great popularity with amateur musicians in Great Britain from about 1750 to 1810.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1760 - 1770
maker
Preston, John
ID Number
MI.095325
accession number
26512
catalog number
95325
This lyre guitar was made in the 19th century by an unknown maker. It is a six course (6x1) lyre-shaped guitar with a pine top, walnut back and sides, with two circular sound holes and a flat bottom.
Description
This lyre guitar was made in the 19th century by an unknown maker. It is a six course (6x1) lyre-shaped guitar with a pine top, walnut back and sides, with two circular sound holes and a flat bottom. This popular “parlor” instrument was also known in France as "lyre anacréontique" and in England as "Apollo lyre."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1800 - 1899
ID Number
MI.095326
accession number
26512
catalog number
95326
This guitar was made by Robert Benedetto in Homosassa Springs, Florida, in 1978.It is a 7 course (7x1) archtop model, serial #1678. Robert Benedetto was born in 1946 in The Bronx, New York into a family of artists, cabinet maker s and musicians.
Description

This guitar was made by Robert Benedetto in Homosassa Springs, Florida, in 1978.

It is a 7 course (7x1) archtop model, serial #1678.

Robert Benedetto was born in 1946 in The Bronx, New York into a family of artists, cabinet maker s and musicians. Benedetto made his first archtop guitar in 1968. His reputation grew as he crafted guitars for noted guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli, Chuck Wayne, Joe Diorio and Cal Collins. From 1999-2006, Benedetto had a licensing agreement with Fender Musical Instruments to produce his models in a small, controlled manufacturing environment. Following the agreement with Fender, Benedetto joined forces with jazz guitarist and corporate executive, Howard Paul, to manufacture a broad line of more affordable professional instruments without compromising the unparalleled Benedetto quality. In 1977 Benedetto met jazz guitarist, John “Bucky” Pizzarelli and made this 7-string archtop guitar, serial #1678, for him a year later. Pizzarelli played this guitar up until the time he donated it to the museum in 2005.

Date made
1978
user
Pizzarelli, John "Bucky"
maker
Benedetto, Robert
ID Number
2006.0004.01
accession number
2006.0004
catalog number
2006.0004.01
This guitar was made in Germany, around 1875-1880, and sold by the J. Howard Foote Company in New York and Chicago. It is a 6 course guitar (6x1), with a peghead with wooden tuning pegs. This guitar appears as item #6044 in J. Howard Foote' Catalogue from 1880: "Maple.
Description
This guitar was made in Germany, around 1875-1880, and sold by the J. Howard Foote Company in New York and Chicago. It is a 6 course guitar (6x1), with a peghead with wooden tuning pegs. This guitar appears as item #6044 in J. Howard Foote' Catalogue from 1880: "Maple. dark red color, finely inlaid with pearl, etc., Spanish model, finely finished $5.40" "..a line of cheap and handsome Guitars of German make, with peg heads."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875 - 1880
ID Number
MI.055689
accession number
11535
catalog number
55689
This guitar was made by an unknown maker in the United States around 1878-1882. It is a six course (6x1) guitar with a spruce top, rosewood back and sides, cedar neck, and a patented machine head with ivory pegs. This guitar appears as item #6073 in J.
Description
This guitar was made by an unknown maker in the United States around 1878-1882. It is a six course (6x1) guitar with a spruce top, rosewood back and sides, cedar neck, and a patented machine head with ivory pegs. This guitar appears as item #6073 in J. Howard Foote' Catalogue from 1880: "Solid Rosewood, neatly inlaid with wood inlaying front, stripe down back, plain rosewood edges, finely finished...$23.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1878 - 1882
ID Number
MI.055692
accession number
11535
catalog number
55692
This guitar was made probably in Germany, around 1875-1880, and sold by the J. Howard Foote Company in New York and Chicago. It is a 6 course (6x1) Spanish model. This guitar appears as item #6053 in J.
Description
This guitar was made probably in Germany, around 1875-1880, and sold by the J. Howard Foote Company in New York and Chicago. It is a 6 course (6x1) Spanish model. This guitar appears as item #6053 in J. Howard Foote' Catalogue from 1880: "Bird's-Eye Maple, mouse color, with fancy pearl and wood inlaying front and back, extra fine quality, with first quality patent head. $9.85" "...made after the Spanish Model, with patent, or machine heads."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875 - 1880
ID Number
MI.055690
accession number
11535
catalog number
55690
This guitar was made probably in Germany, around 1875-1880, and sold by the J. Howard Foote Company in New York and Chicago. It is a 6 course (6x1) Spanish model. This guitar is listed in the accession paperwork as J. Howard Foote item #6055.Currently not on view
Description
This guitar was made probably in Germany, around 1875-1880, and sold by the J. Howard Foote Company in New York and Chicago. It is a 6 course (6x1) Spanish model. This guitar is listed in the accession paperwork as J. Howard Foote item #6055.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875 - 1880
ID Number
MI.055691
accession number
11535
catalog number
55691
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2000
depicted (sitter)
King, B. B.
maker
Gibson Guitar Corp.
ID Number
2019.0144.11
accession number
2019.0144
catalog number
2019.0144.11
serial number
02560332
This guitar was made by Matheus Januário da Silva in Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal around 1890-1900. It is a six course (6x2) pear-shaped guitar with walnut back and sides and a very distinctive tuning mechanism.
Description
This guitar was made by Matheus Januário da Silva in Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal around 1890-1900. It is a six course (6x2) pear-shaped guitar with walnut back and sides and a very distinctive tuning mechanism. The guitar bears the printed label: “LOJA DE INSTRUMENTOS DE CORDA [/] E SEUS ACCESSORIOS, QUINQUILHERIAS, ETC. [/] DE [/] FARNCISCO GABRIEL CORREA [/] 43 – RUA DON TANUERIROS – 45 [/] [ ] officona onde fabricam toda a qua- [/] lidade de instrumentos de corde, garan- [/] findo a sua perfeicao e solidez, a cargo [/] do artista MATTHEUS J. DA SILVA, ex-offi [/] cial da 1a fabrica de LISBOA [/] Recebe quaesquer encommendas ou [/] concertos por precos convencianados. [/] FUNCHAL.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1890-1900
Associated Name
Correa, Francisco Gabriel
maker
da Silva, Matheus Januário
ID Number
MI.60.1375
accession number
227687
catalog number
60.1375
This harp guitar was made by C.F. Martin and Company of Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1905. Harp guitars were designed to provide a fuller bass response and more harmonic possibilities than standard guitars.
Description
This harp guitar was made by C.F. Martin and Company of Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1905. Harp guitars were designed to provide a fuller bass response and more harmonic possibilities than standard guitars. According to Martin company records, this harp guitar was shipped in 1906 to Lewis & Son, violin dealers, in Chicago. The donor’s father, Fred Norman Vanderwalker is believed to have been the first owner of this harp guitar. This 000-28 model guitar, serial #10163, is one of five known harp guitars made by C.F. Martin and Company, none of which were made to the same specifications. It is notable for its double mahogany neck arrangement, large body style, highly figured rosewood ribs and back, and a harp peghead in the Viennese style of Johann Stauffer. C.F. Martin apprenticed in Johann Stauffer's shop before emigrating to America in 1833.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1905
maker
C. F. Martin & Co.
ID Number
1992.0179.01
accession number
1992.0179
catalog number
1992.0179.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1900-1925
ID Number
MI.312902
accession number
64657
catalog number
312902
This guitar was made by Derazey in Mirecourt, France around 1838-1842. Honoré (Jean Joseph) Derazey worked in various workshops in Mirecourt and Paris and is best known as a maker of violins.
Description
This guitar was made by Derazey in Mirecourt, France around 1838-1842. Honoré (Jean Joseph) Derazey worked in various workshops in Mirecourt and Paris and is best known as a maker of violins. This six course (6x1) guitar bears the label: “Fabrique de Derazey, [/] A MIRECOURT” and has a spruce top, bird's-eye maple veneered spruce back, bird's-eye maple sides, and machine head.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1838-1842
maker
Derazey
ID Number
MI.380625
catalog number
380625
accession number
156180
This guitar was made by an unknown maker in France around 1835-1865.
Description
This guitar was made by an unknown maker in France around 1835-1865. It is a six course (6x1) guitar with spruce top, veneered bird's-eye maple back and sides, painted back of a fortune-telling scene, machine head, and a very unusual bridge comprised of individual adjustable metal screws.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1835-1865
ID Number
MI.326752
accession number
71810
catalog number
326752
This harp guitar was made by the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1919. It is a sixteen course (6x1,10x1) Style U harp guitar with a spruce top, birch back and sides. The guitar is serial #56064 and bears the label: Patented Feb.
Description
This harp guitar was made by the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1919. It is a sixteen course (6x1,10x1) Style U harp guitar with a spruce top, birch back and sides. The guitar is serial #56064 and bears the label: Patented Feb. 1 '98 [/] Patented March 30, '06 [/] Other Patents Pending [/] Gibson GUITAR Style U [/] Number 56064 is hereby [/] GUARANTEED [/] against faulty workmanship or material. Should [/] this instrument, with proper care and usage, go wrong, [/] we agree to repair it free of charge at our factory, or [/] to replace it with another of same style or value. [/] GIBSON MANDOLIN-GUITAR CO. [/] (MANUFACTURERS) [/] Kalamazoo, Mich., U.S.A.“ Gibson made four styles of harp guitars from about 1903 until the mid 1920s with the Style U being the most popular and the largest.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
maker
Gibson Co.
ID Number
MI.78.04
accession number
1978.0845
catalog number
78.04
This resonator guitar was made by Dobro in Los Angeles, California around 1933-1937. The name originated in 1928 when the Dopyera brothers formed the Dobro Manufacturing Company.
Description

This resonator guitar was made by Dobro in Los Angeles, California around 1933-1937. The name originated in 1928 when the Dopyera brothers formed the Dobro Manufacturing Company. "Dobro" is both a contraction of "Dopyera brothers" and a word meaning "goodness" in their native Slovak. This six course (6x1) guitar has a squared-off neck with raised strings for Hawaiian-style playing.

This guitar features U. S. Patent #1,896,484 dated February 7, 1933 by John Dopyera for a musical instrument with a conical metal resonator.

Frederick John Wright (1926-1985) was a classic amateur country music performer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan and a year later, his family moved to Toronto, Canada. In 1938, a door to door salesman offered a Dobro guitar with lessons for $5.00 per week, for thirteen weeks. Fred played this guitar and with his father entertained veterans in hospitals in the Toronto area. In 1947, Fred returned to the United States with his treasured guitar.

Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1933-1937
maker
Dobro
ID Number
1989.0660.01
catalog number
1989.0660.01
accession number
1989.0660
This guitar was designed by Mario Maccaferri and made by the French American Reeds Manufacturing Company of Mount Vernon, New York in 1954. Maccaferri (1900-1993) was born in Cento, Italy and at the age of eleven became an apprentice to guitarist and luthier Luigi Mozzani.
Description
This guitar was designed by Mario Maccaferri and made by the French American Reeds Manufacturing Company of Mount Vernon, New York in 1954. Maccaferri (1900-1993) was born in Cento, Italy and at the age of eleven became an apprentice to guitarist and luthier Luigi Mozzani. After an early career as a guitarist and instrument maker in Europe, Maccaferri immigrated to the United States in 1939. Mario Maccaferri developed a variety of plastic instruments including plastic woodwind reeds and a plastic ukulele. This six course (6x1) guitar, model G-40, was made of Dow Styron plastic. As indicated in the original brochure accompanying this guitar, it sold for $39.95.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1954
maker
Maccaferri, Mario
ID Number
1994.0136.01
accession number
1994.0136
catalog number
1994.0136.01
This electric guitar, serial #9 41200, was made by Made by Paul Reed Smith (PRS Guitars) in Annapolis, Maryland in 2000.
Description
This electric guitar, serial #9 41200, was made by Made by Paul Reed Smith (PRS Guitars) in Annapolis, Maryland in 2000. It is a Dragon 2000 model with a dragon inlay on the guitar body made of 242 pieces of mastodon ivory, rhodonite, agoya, coral, onyx, sugilite, chrysacola, red, green, and pink abalone and paua. This is from a limited production run of 50 guitars.
When he started building his instruments, Paul Reed Smith was steeped in the traditions of the classic electric guitars of the 1950s and 1960s. Ted McCarty, the past president of Gibson and designer of the Les Paul model, was his mentor. In 1994, Paul Reed Smith's company, PRS Guitars, launched the McCarty model as a tribute to this electric guitar pioneer.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1999
maker
Smith, Paul Reed
ID Number
2000.0074.01
accession number
2000.0074
catalog number
2000.0074.01
This guitar was made by an unknown maker in France during the 18th century. It was converted from a five course (5x2) to a six course (6x1) guitar and has undergone a number of repairs and restorations.
Description
This guitar was made by an unknown maker in France during the 18th century. It was converted from a five course (5x2) to a six course (6x1) guitar and has undergone a number of repairs and restorations. This guitar has a spruce or cedar top, ribbed and fluted fruitwood back, and ebony sides. It has a rounded back, with an inlaid chevron design on the back of the guitar’s neck. There is an intricate starred pattern around the guitar’s soundhole.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1700-1799
ID Number
MI.60.1368
accession number
227687
catalog number
60.1368
collector/donor number
1-1922-27
date made
1961
user
Cropper, Steve
maker
Fender
ID Number
2016.0358.01
accession number
2016.0358
catalog number
2016.0358.01
serial number
67551
This production prototype for the Adamas model of guitars was made by Ovation Instruments Inc., a subsidiary of Kaman Corporation in Bloomfield, Connecticut, around 1973-1974. The Kaman Corporation, founded by Charles Kaman, had great success in aerospace engineering.
Description
This production prototype for the Adamas model of guitars was made by Ovation Instruments Inc., a subsidiary of Kaman Corporation in Bloomfield, Connecticut, around 1973-1974. The Kaman Corporation, founded by Charles Kaman, had great success in aerospace engineering. Kaman, a dedicated guitar enthusiast, founded Ovation Instruments, Inc. and applied some of the engineering discoveries to manufacture an acoustic guitar that could be sonically improved by modifying its shape and construction. Patents granted to Kaman include, a sound board for stringed instruments #3,880,040, guitar construction #4,056,034, and a stringed musical instrument body #4,090,427.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1973-1974
maker
Ovation Instruments Inc.
ID Number
1979.0818.02
catalog number
1979.0818.02
accession number
1979.0818
This guitar was made by Charles A. Stromberg and Son of Boston, Massachusetts around 1939-1941.
Description

This guitar was made by Charles A. Stromberg and Son of Boston, Massachusetts around 1939-1941. Responding to requests from jazz guitarist for an instrument that could cut through and be heard over the horn section of jazz bands, Elmer Stromberg developed his giant, 19-inch wide Master 400 model. It is one of the loudest acoustic guitars ever made. Elmer Stromberg made about 600 guitars with his father, Charles, a Swedish immigrant.

Charles and Elmer Stromberg’s shop was a popular hang-out for local guitarists who would break in new instruments before they were sold to customers. One such local was Irving Ashby, a Boston native who went on to play with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and the Nat King Cole Trio. This six course (6x1) guitar, Master 400 model, and serial #507, was custom made for American jazz guitarist, Irving Ashby (1920-1987).

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1939-1941
user
Ashby, Irving
maker
Charles A. Stromberg and Son
ID Number
1988.0421.01
accession number
1988.0421
catalog number
1988.0421.01
Hascal Haile of Tompkinsville, Kentucky made this guitar in 1972. Hascal "Hack" Haile (1906-1986) began making guitars professionally after retiring from furniture making in the late 1960s.
Description
Hascal Haile of Tompkinsville, Kentucky made this guitar in 1972. Hascal "Hack" Haile (1906-1986) began making guitars professionally after retiring from furniture making in the late 1960s. He made guitars for many classical and country musicians and was considered to be among the world’s top makers of custom guitars. This six course (6x1) guitar has a top of Spanish pine, back and sides of Spanish cypress, and a maple neck. The guitar’s edge and soundhole is inlaid with abalone and ebony. Country musician, Chet Atkins previously owned and played this guitar and owned several Haile guitars throughout his career.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
user
Atkins, Chet
maker
Haile, Hascal B.
ID Number
1980.0681.01
accession number
1980.0681
catalog number
1980.0681.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1936
maker
Gibson Guitar Corp.
ID Number
2018.0164.01
accession number
2018.0164
catalog number
2018.0164.01
This guitar was made by Armin Zoerner of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1896-1898. It is a six course (6x1) guitar, serial #2110, with a rosewood back and sides, and a mahogany neck with a machine head.
Description
This guitar was made by Armin Zoerner of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1896-1898. It is a six course (6x1) guitar, serial #2110, with a rosewood back and sides, and a mahogany neck with a machine head. Zoerner is listed in the Philadelphia city directory as a musical instrument maker from 1896-1988 at 4314 Third Street. Around 1897, Zoerner joined M.J. Betz formed the Concord Zither Co. at the same address.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1896-1898
maker
Zoerner, Armin
ID Number
MI.312918
accession number
64657
catalog number
312918

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