Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Instrument: banjo, gourd pot

items 4 of 4 items
  • wcu_craft_revival-1705.jpg
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  • This handmade banjo's origin is unknown, but it is typical of a 19th century Appalachian banjo constructed by African-Americans who had cultural ties to the West coast of Africa. The banjo's pot is created from a vegetable gourd. The tuning gears are wooden friction pegs as were typical on late 19th and early 20th century banjos. Even though this banjo has a peg along the side of the neck like a 5-string banjo, note that this instrument has only 4 strings total. This specific instrument has had two periods of total renovation. In 1992 Brasstown luthier Horger Knight sanded and stained the fret board of the instrument and spray-painted the back of the neck black. In 2007 Georgia luthier Jerry King installed a new tailpiece and bridge and a new calfskin head.
Object
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).