Castor Folk Fiddle: Museum Object and Cultural History
Castor Folk Fiddle: date made: 1850. maker: Castor, John. Object Name: fiddle.
The object in the museum catalogue
This fiddle was made by John Castor of Piney Woods, Mississippi in 1850. This folk violin from traditional violin shape has “filled” center bouts, creating a “guitar-type” outline. The instrument bears a strengthening bar inside the body extending from bottom to top block. This fiddle is made of a one-piece table of pine, one-piece back of irregularly figured maple, ribs of similar maple, maple (?) neck, pegbox and plain “handle” in hammer shape. The back of the fiddle bears a label that reads: “Made by John Castor, “Piney Woods” near / Woodville, Miss. in 1850. He was left / handed, and the best jig fiddler in / the whole country. Castor heard Charles / Wyn(er) (?) (a pupil of de Beriot) play and / out of gratitude gave him this violin. / Wyn(er) (?) gave it to William Feltus, he to / Thomas M. Wetherill, my brother, and / my brother to me, Mayer Wetherill / in 1857.”
Materials, dates and provenance
- date made: 1850
- maker: Castor, John
- Object Name: fiddle
- Physical Description: pine (table material)
- Physical Description: maple (back material)
- Measurements: overall: 23 7/8 in x 8 1/8 in x 4 in; 60.6425 cm x 20.6375 cm x 10.16 cm
- Place Made: United States: Mississippi, Piney Woods
- ID Number: MI.69.14
- accession number: 282344
- catalog number: 69.14
- Credit Line: Gift of Louis Krasner
- Data Source: National Museum of American History
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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.
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