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.

Bind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos. side 1: Johm B. Sail; side 2: A Conch Ain't Got No Bone (Art Records 2), from the album, Blind Blake (Art Records AL 4).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Bind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos. side 1: Johm B. Sail; side 2: A Conch Ain't Got No Bone (Art Records 2), from the album, Blind Blake (Art Records AL 4).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
release date
1952
recording artist
Blind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos
manufacturer
Art Records
ID Number
1996.0320.05027
maker number
2
AL 4
catalog number
1996.0320.05027
accession number
1996.0320
Bind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos. side 1: Gin and Coconut Water; side 2: Sarah Jane (Art Records 3), from the album, Blind Blake (Art Records AL 4).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Bind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos. side 1: Gin and Coconut Water; side 2: Sarah Jane (Art Records 3), from the album, Blind Blake (Art Records AL 4).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
release date
1952
recording artist
Blind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos
manufacturer
Art Records
ID Number
1996.0320.05028
maker number
3
AL 4
accession number
1996.0320
catalog number
1996.0320.05028
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2003
ID Number
2016.0032.115
accession number
2016.0032
catalog number
2016.0032.115
Bind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos. side 1: Peas and Rice - Little Nassau; side 2: Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-One (Art Records 1), from the album, Blind Blake (Art Records AL 4).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Bind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos. side 1: Peas and Rice - Little Nassau; side 2: Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-One (Art Records 1), from the album, Blind Blake (Art Records AL 4).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
release date
1952
recording artist
Blind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos
manufacturer
Art Records
ID Number
1996.0320.05026
maker number
1
AL 4
catalog number
1996.0320.05026
accession number
1996.0320
Bind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos. side 1: Foolish Frog; side 2: Hold I'm Joe-Jump in the Line-Wheel and Turn Me (Art Records 4), from the album, Blind Blake (Art Records AL 4).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Bind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos. side 1: Foolish Frog; side 2: Hold I'm Joe-Jump in the Line-Wheel and Turn Me (Art Records 4), from the album, Blind Blake (Art Records AL 4).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
release date
1952
recording artist
Blind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos
manufacturer
Art Records
ID Number
1996.0320.05029
maker number
4
AL 4
accession number
1996.0320
catalog number
1996.0320.05029

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