Cowbell: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This cowbell was made in the United States, around 1900 to 1910. It is made of brass and attached to a metal mounting bar.

This cowbell was used by William T. Armstrong (1879-1965), orchestra leader and musician in vaudeville and silent film theaters. Armstrong grew up in South River, New Jersey and began playing drums at the age of 14. He continued his musical career through the mid-1910s, after which, Armstrong began work in banking and finance. This artifact is part of a collection of drums, sound effect instruments, and other percussion instruments used by Armstrong.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1900-1910
• Object Name: bell
• Physical Description: brass (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 7 1/4 in x 4 1/4 in x 5 7/16 in; 18.415 cm x 10.795 cm x 13.81125 cm
• place made: United States
• ID Number: 1984.0335.21
• catalog number: 1984.0335.21
• accession number: 1984.0335
• Credit Line: Gift of Pamela A. Carlin and Evelyn A. Mark in memory of William T. Armstrong
• 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.