Appalachian Dulcimer, used by Richard Fariña: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This Appalachian dulcimer was made by Terry Hennessy in London, England, between 1961 and 1962. It is a single-bout dulcimer with a mahogany plywood back and Sapele mahogany sides, African walnut fretboard, Taiwanese spruce top, and a plastic pick guard. The dulcimer has 4 heart-shaped sound holes, 18 metal frets, 4 mechanical tuners, and a round head inlaid with an “H”.”

It was the played by folk singer Richard Fariña on his first album. A few original banjo strings placed by Fariña remain. It was accessioned with a custom case said to have been made by Paul Arnoldi. Hennessy made two reproductions of this instrument in between 1999 and 2001.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1961 - 1962
• user: Farina, Richard
• maker: Hennessy, Terry
• Object Name: dulcimer
• Physical Description: mahogany plywood (back material)
• Physical Description: saple mahogany (sides material)
• Physical Description: African walnut (fretboard material)
• Physical Description: Taiwanese spruce (top material)
• Physical Description: plastic (pick up guard material)
• Measurements: overall: 92 cm x 18 cm x 9 cm; 36 1/4 in x 7 1/16 in x 3 9/16 in
• Measurements: dulcimer: 3 3/4 in x 6 7/8 in x 36 3/4 in; 9.525 cm x 17.4625 cm x 93.345 cm
• place made: United Kingdom: England, London
• ID Number: 2001.0143.01
• accession number: 2001.0143
• catalog number: 2001.0143.01
• Credit Line: Gift of Mimi Fariña (through Lana Y. Severn)
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.