Browse Items (78 total)

[Lawrence County Dulcimer #4]

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David Schnaufer purchased this instrument from Carriage House Antiques in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, in the early 1990s. The instrument itself dates from the late 1800s, and although it is not signed, its likely builder is T. R. Goodman, as at least…

Jethro Amburgey Dulcimer, Hindman, KY

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This instrument was built in 1970 by Jethro Amburgey of Hindman, Kentucky. An inscription in cursive handwriting incised into the strum hollow of the fretboard reads: "Jethro Amburgey/Hindman, Key./10-20-70/#1165. Its hourglass shape is virtually…

[Decatur County Dulcimer #2]

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This instrument was manufactured by one J. W. Ashcraft, who called it a "harmonica".

[Gibson County Dulcimer #3]

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This instrument was built by Almus Crowe of Milan, Tennessee, likely in the 1960s. According to the builder, his instruments were modeled on 19th-century instruments from the West Tennessee region. The label inside reads as follows:

"No 9 A.…

[Coffee County Dulcimer #1]

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This dulcimer was purchased by Paul Pyle of Tullahoma, Tennessee in the early 1970s, and later sold by his wife to David Schnaufer in 2002. It

A label affixed to the side of the instrument reads as follows:

THE HARMONICA

Mfg. & sold…

Leonard Glenn [Dulcimer], Sugar Grove, NC

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David Schnaufer's handwritten tag attached to this dulcimer reads "Schnaufer/Leonard Glenn/1977/Sugar Grove/N.C. A piece of paper glued to the interior of the back inside the soundbox and undertneath the sound hole in the lower bout has a signature…

[Lawrence [Wayne] County Dulcimer #7]

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The current owner of this instrument reports that it belonged to her father, Joe Lee, of Waynesboro, Tennessee, who passed away in 1953 at the age of 83. He had grown up and lived in Wayne County, He was the only person she remembered playing it,…

Bowed Dulcimer, by Sylvan James, Gass[a]way, West Virginia

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This instrument was built in 1969 by Sylvan James of Gassaway, WV. In Gerald Milnes's 1999 book Play of a Fiddle, James is described as a "pre-Revival Braxton County dulcimer maker, Lower Mill Creek."

Big Tyler Mountain Dulcimer

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Schnaufer's notes for this instrument read as follows: "Big Tyler Mt., West Virginia/1911/Maker - Denis McCown for Helen Melton Saffel/Owner Schnaufer/Purchased from Wanda Parrish (Las Vegas, Nevada), great niece of Helen Saffel, 1987." Wanda Parrish…

[Lawrence County Dulcimer #8]

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This dulcimer was built by the accordionist Daniel McGee, who lived between West Point and Piney, Tennessee, probably in the late 1800s. His daughter, Beatrice McGee, was born in 1904, and had the box in later years, passing it on to its current…