Music & Musical Instruments

This snare drum was made by Clemens Kreher in Marienberg, Germany, in 1915. It has a brass shell, red and white painted metal hoops, 5 metal tensioning rods attached through metal loops in the hoops, skin heads, and a gut snare. There is a maker’s stamp on the shell:

Clemens Kreher
Tromelfabrik
Marienberg I.S.
1915

As indicated in the original U. S. National Museum accession card, this drum was “captured by American Expeditionary Forces in France during the World War, 1918.”

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.

These drum sticks were made in the United States around 1900 to 1910. There are made of wood.

This pair of drum sticks were used by William T. Armstrong (1879-1965), orchestra leader and musician in vaudeville and silent film theaters. Armstrong grew up in South River, New Jersey and began playing drums at the age of 14. He continued his musical career through the mid-1910s, after which, Armstrong began work in banking and finance. This artifact is part of a collection of drums, sound effect instruments, and other percussion instruments used by Armstrong.

This flute was made by Joseph L. Marcil in Detroit, Michigan around 1909 to 1911. It is Boehm System flute, serial #678, made of rosewood with silver ferrules and keys. It is stamped:

JOSEPH L. MARCIL
DETROIT
678

This sheet music is for the song “Joan of Arc – They Are Calling You,” with words by Alfred Bryan and Willie Weston and music by Jack Wells. It was published by Waterson, Berlin and Snyder Co. in New York, New York in 1917.

The cover art for this sheet music was made by American artist and designer Albert Wilfred Barbelle (1887-1957). With a prolific career spanning over forty years, Barbelle created numerous works of cover art for sheet music and albums.

This sheet music is for the song “There’s a Lump of Sugar Down in Dixie,” with lyrics by Alfred Bryan and Jack Yellen and music by Albert Gumble. It was published by Jerome H. Remick and Company of Detroit and New York, in 1918.

There's a Lump of Sugar Down in Dixie" was featured in the musical extravaganza Sinbad, which opened at the Winter Garden on February 14, 1918 and ran for 164 performances. The show re-opened and moved several times completing its run on March 29, 1919 for an additional 240 performances. The cover features an image of American singer, comedian, and actor Al Jolson (1886-1950) who performed this song in the show.