This piano was made by Blüthner in Leipzig, Germany, in 1900. It is a grand piano, Model 6, Serial #55501. Accessioned with bench (not-original).
Founded by Julius Blüthner in 1853 in Leipzig, Germany, Blüthner is one of the most respected German piano builders. Blüthner pianos rapidly acquired a sterling reputation, winning numerous prizes at international exhibits, including the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia.
>p>This Model 6 has a version of the ornate “Jubilee” cast-iron plates Blüthner produced from 1898 to 1907. It also has Blüthner’s Aliquot System. This patented system employs an additional fourth string for each of the keys in the instrument’s upper octaves. This string is not struck by the hammers, but vibrates through sympathetic resonance when the other three strings are struck, resulting in an enriched spectrum contributing to the distinctive “Blüthner sound.”
Otto Becker, whose name is inlaid in the piano’s lid flap, was a musical instrument dealer and music publisher in Santiago, Chile. The #55501 remained in Chile until 1986 when it was purchased by Fred Chaffee, a distinguished astronomer and amateur pianist whose career began in 1968 at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was donated to the Smithsonian in 2014 by Fred and Diana Chaffee “in loving memory of Roger G. Kennedy,” who served as Director of the National Museum of American History from 1979 to 1992.
This violoncello was made by made by George Jewett in Lebanon, Maine, between 1794-1795. It is a folk cello made of a two-piece table of slab-cut white pine, two-piece back of similar pine with paper glued along the center joint, ribs of laminated paper inlaid into the table and back; plain maple neck, pegbox and carved painted female head, and a forged 3-prong iron end-pin. This instrument has a carved inscription on the tailpiece:
J Jewett Fecit
(and an additional carved inscription within the “heart”
ornament of the tailpiece):
PAMELE 1794
(and a further ink inscription on the tailpiece back):
George Jewett AD 1795
An example of 18th-century folk craft, this cello was a labor of love. It was constructed of local materials and bears a charming naive carved and painted female head. The belly and back are made from white pine, the ribs are of laminated paper. The charming carved and painted head replaces the more usual scroll.
This trombone was made by Conn in Elkhart, Indiana, in 1969. It is a valve model trombone, serial #M76252. Accessioned with a soft canvas case. This trombone is inscribed:
CG CONN LTD Victor USA
This trombone was previously owned and used by William Russo (1928-2003), American composer, arranger, musician, teacher, and founder of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. Russo composed more than 200 pieces for jazz orchestra. Throughout his career, Russo work included collaborations with Duke Ellington, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Stan Kenton, Cannonball Adderley, Yehudi Menuhin, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Cleo Laine, and Billie Holiday.
This case was made by an unknown maker in the United States, in the 1950s. It is a conga drum case, made of fiberboard, with metal rivets and handle, black webbing, and foam lining. Accessioned with conga drum (Cat. #1998.0355.02). This conga drum case was used by Nick Reynolds (1933-2008) of The Kingston Trio.
This custom-built bandstand was made from a floor tom-tom drum “front.” It was used by the Ray McKinley band, 1950s.
American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader Ray McKinley (1910-1995) made his first recordings with Red Nichols, where he worked with Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey, in 1931. McKinley continued to work mostly with Miller and the Dorsey Brothers (Jimmy and Tommy) through 1939. He then was a member of Will Bradley’s band through 1942. After enlisting in the Army in 1942, McKinley joined Glenn Miller’s American Band of The Allied Expeditionary Forces (AEF). After Miller’s disappearance in 1944, McKinley co-led the band with Jerry Gray.
After the war, McKinley formed his own band and worked as a freelance musician. In 1956 he was commissioned by the widow of Glenn Miller to organize a new band under Miller’s name using the original library and style. This band made a successful tour of Iron Curtain countries in 1957 and continued to tour the United States until 1966. McKinley played drums while Buddy DeFranco fronted the band from 1966-1974. McKinley continued to perform through the 1980s.
This tiple was made by renowned Puerto Rican luthier and educator Rafael Avilés Vázquez. Tiples are the smallest members of the family of Puerto Rican stringed instruments, which also includes cuatros and bordonúas. This example is a five string tiple doliente, a style originating in the northern mountainous region around the town of Morovis. As the cuatro overshadowed the tiple’s popularity among Puerto Rican recording artists in the first half of the 20th century, much of the tiple’s regional variation in shape, number of strings, and tuning was lost. Three other tiples in the NMAH collection (1997.0097.1076, 1997.0097.1078, and 1997.0097.1081) showcase some of these styles. In response, cultural institutions, folklorists, and luthiers in the latter half of the century focused their efforts on making the tiple doliente the standard version of the instrument to facilitate its use and preservation.
Description (Spanish)
Este tiple fue fabricado por el reconocido lutier y educador puertorriqueño Rafael Avilés Vázquez. Los tiples son los miembros más pequeños de la familia de instrumentos de cuerda puertorriqueños, la cual incluye también a los cuatros y las bordonúas. Este ejemplo es un tiple doliente, un estilo originario de la región montañosa norteña alrededor del pueblo de Morovis. A medida que el cuatro eclipsó al tiple en popularidad durante la primera mitad del siglo XX, se perdió gran parte de la variedad regional en forma, número de cuerdas, y afinación del tiple. Otros tres tiples en la colección del NMAH (1997.0097.1076, 1997.0097.1078 y 1997.0097.1081) muestran algunos de estos estilos regionales. Ante la situación, varias instituciones culturales, folkloristas, y lutieres en la segunda mitad del siglo se enfocaron en establecer al tiple doliente como la versión estándar del instrumento para facilitar su uso y preservación.
This custom-made bow holder is made of wood, with a leather covered channel, and metal pin. It was previously used by American bow maker Arnold R. Bone.
Arnold R. Bone (July 26, 1913 - August 9, 2001) was an engineer, inventor, gunsmith, string instrument bowmaker. He grew up in South Ryegate, Vermont, and graduated from Wentworth Institute in 1935. After graduation, Bone worked at Irwin Auger Bit Company in Wilmington, Ohio before returning to Wentworth to teach Navy machinist mates during World War II until 1944. The final part of his career, Bone worked at Dennison Mfg. Company in Framingham (now Avery Dennison) when he retired in 2000.
Arnold R. Bone held numerous patents at Dennison, including several for the Swiftacher, the device for attaching tags to clothing with a nylon filament. His ubiquitous fasteners are still used today. Bone applied his engineering and master craftsman skills to making string instrument bows, and also became one of the world's most respected experts on repair and restoration of fine bows. His customers ranged from young students to members of professional ensembles such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and bows were shipped to him from all over the world.
This guiro was made by Latin Percussion Inc. in Garfield, New Jersey, in 1999. It is a Super Guiro model, made of brown plastic, with rubber-lined holes, and a plastic scraper.
As indicated in an LP brochure from the period, “The LP Super Guiro was designed to eliminate the durability issues inherent with the natural version of this instrument. It is precision-molded from high-strength plastic and is designed to have the shape, feel, and sound quality of the natural gourd version. Special attention has been paid to the location of the rubber-lined finger holes to provide maximum comfort and control. It comes with two scrapers, a plastic model for bright loud sound and a wood model for warm dry sound.
This mute was made by an unknown maker, provence unknown, around 1970-1990. It is a plunger mute, made of a rubber red-colored plumber's plunger without handle.
This mute was previously owned and used by William Russo (1928-2003), American composer, arranger, musician, teacher, and founder of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. Russo composed more than 200 pieces for jazz orchestra. Throughout his career, Russo work included collaborations with Duke Ellington, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Stan Kenton, Cannonball Adderley, Yehudi Menuhin, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Cleo Laine, and Billie Holiday.
This synthesizer was made by Yamaha in Hamamatsu, Japan in 1986. It is a Digital Programmable Algorithm Synthesizer, Model DX-7 Serial #82395, with 61 keys. Tis synthesizer is fully programmable with 32 preset voice/paramater sounds. The keyboard has an LED and LCD display panel, mode select and editing control section , volume control, data entry section, pitch bend wheel, modulation wheel, headphone and breath controller jacks, and a voice cartridge socket for RAM and ROM cartridges. Accessioned with user’s manual, ROM and RAM cartridges.
This drum was made by Latin Percussion Inc. in Garfield, New Jersey, in 1999. It is a Patato Model drum, 11” diameter Quinto, made of fiberglass, with chrome fittings. This drum is from a matched set of three congas Quinto (2000.3030.13.01), Conga (2000.3030.13.02), and Tumbadora (2000.3030.13.03).
As indicated in an LP brochure from the period, “Played by professional congueros the world over, these fiberglass drums were developed in 1978 after a recording session with the legendary "Patato" at the studio in Martin Cohen's home. Patato's own design required tall drums with a wide belly and small bottom. Standing 30" tall, these drums project deep basstones and great volume without sacrificing crisp, high sounds.”
Carlos Valdés Galán (1926–2007), better known as “Patato,” was a Cuban conga player. In 1954, he emigrated to New York City where he continued his career as a musician for several jazz and Latin music ensembles, and sometimes as a bandleader.