Browse Items (18 total)

  • Collection: The David Schnaufer Instrument Collection

Walter Miller Hourglass [Dulcimer], West Virginia

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This instrument was made by Walter Miller of Tioga, West Virginia, in 1992.

Transitional Scheitholt to Dulcimer

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David Schnaufer purchased this instrument from Terry Lewis of Kentucky, who in turn had obtained it from a woman in Kentucky in the 1970s. Schnaufer had placed a tag on the instrument with the following note: "Schnaufer/1820?/Trans/Indiana/Terry…

Teardrop-Shaped Dulcimer, WV/KY Border

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David Schnaufer described this 3-string teardrop-shaped instrument as a 20th century dulcimer of unknown provenance. It appears that this instrument could have been made in stages by more than one maker judging by the differences in quality of…

Teardrop with Floral Decal, Galax, Virginia

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This dulcimer is a well-crafted instrument with attention to detail. A mate to this instrument is in the Charles Faulkner Bryan dulcimer collection at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee.

Shenandoah Valley Teardrop Dulcimer

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David Schnaufer is believed to have purchased this instrument at Whiteway Antiques in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1992. He attributed the instrument's origin to the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, in the 18th or 19th century. The instrument was donated to…

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…

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…

Hex Dulcimer, KY/WV

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This instrument was purchased by David Schnaufer in 1994 from an unnamed woman who had purchased it in Ashland, Kentucky. The maker, date, and place are unknown, but a possible "mate" to this instrument is held at Davis & Elkins College in Elkins,…

German Scheitholt

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This scheitholt appears to be an early 19th-century instrument, and is an exemplar of the predecessor to the Appalachian dulcimer. The fretboard and the body are the same, with frets extending down only one side of the instrument, the remaining…

Fraley Plywood [Dulcimer], Eastern Kentucky

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David Schnaufer purchased this hourglass-shaped dulcimer from A. Fraley of Kentucky in 1989. It was most likely made in the early 20th century.