Music & Musical Instruments - Overview
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. Several of these rare instruments can be heard in performances of the Smithsonian Chamber Players and in other public programs. 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.
"Music & Musical Instruments - Overview" showing 3 items.
Friedrich Violin
- Description (Brief)
- This violin was made by John Friedrich in New York, New York in 1903. Friedrich was born in Kassel, Germany in 1858 and studied violin making from 1875-1883 in Kassel, Stuttgart, Leipzig. He later studied in Berlin with Otto Möckel, a well-known master and authority of his time. Friedrich immigrated to New York in 1883, establishing with his brother William the firm of John Friedrich & Bros. His work was highly regarded and he won the highest award for his exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and at the St. Louis World's Exposition in 1904. After a lifetime output of roughly 300 instruments, he died in 1943 at the age of 85. The violin is made of a two-piece table of spruce, one-piece back of maple with even medium-fine figure descending to the right, ribs of similar maple, complementary maple neck, pegbox and scroll, and orange-brown varnish shaded to imitate age and wear.
- Description
- The violin has an original label:
- John Friedrich fecit
- New York Anno 1903
- *3 handwritten
- and the ink number: #205 and a brand stamp logo in the inside center of the back. The instrument also bears a handwritten label: This instrument received highest award "THE GRAND PRIZE" at the St. Louis World's Exposition, 1904.
- John Friedrich was born in Kassel, Germany in 1858 and studied violin making from 1875-1883 in Kassel, Stuttgart, Leipzig and finally in Berlin with Otto Möckel, a well-known master and authority of his time. Friedrich immigrated to New York in 1883, establishing with his brother William the firm of John Friedrich & Bros. His work was highly regarded and he won the highest award for his exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and at the St. Louis World's Exposition in 1904. After a lifetime output of roughly 300 instruments, he died in 1943 at the age of 85.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1903
- maker
- Friedrich, John
- ID Number
- 1979.0647.01
- accession number
- 1979.0647
- catalog number
- 1979.0647.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
"Vocalin" Violin Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This “Vocalin” violin was patented (U.S. Patent number 824316) by Lewis Cass Smith in New York, New York in 1906. The instrument is original in all structural aspects, and retains the pegs, fingerboard, top-nut, soundpost, tailpiece, saddle, button and chinrest. In his patent application Lewis Smith claims: "This invention relates to stringed musical instruments: . . . and wherein the structure and proportions will be such that tones of high quality will be produced not withstanding the fact that the instruments may have been manufactured at a low cost and without the care to such details as are vital, especially in a violin, and which occasion much expense in the manufacture of violins . . . Tones of a high quality will be produced in such instruments (Vocalins) . . . immediately after they are finished, requiring not, as is common with violins, a certain age and years of practical use to produce tones of high qualities." While the original patent describes interior bars to produce sound amplification and improvement, this instrument has the interior construction of a traditional violin.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1905
- date made
- 1906
- patent date
- 1906-06-26
- patentee
- Smith, Lewis Cass
- ID Number
- 1987.0263.02
- catalog number
- 1987.0263.02
- accession number
- 1987.0263
- patent number
- 824316
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hammell Practice Violin
- Description (Brief)
- This practice violin was made by R.J. Hammel of Maquoketa, Iowa in 1904. It was designed as a teaching tool of normal violin length. The narrow solid body widening at the lower bout is attached to a commercial German neck, pegbox and scroll. R. J. Hammel in a letter of 1913 describes the instrument as a “Practice Violin . . . to assist in the correct technic of the left hand used mostly without the bow altho the bow can be used as there is enough tone produced to ascertain pitch . . .” This practice vioin is made of a narrow body of solid walnut, neck, pegbox and scroll of plain European maple, and a golden yellow varnish.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1904
- maker
- Hammel, R. J.
- ID Number
- MI*280752
- catalog number
- 280752
- accession number
- 56003
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center