Instrument case for flute made for Blind Tom by William R. Meinell: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This case is the original instrument case for the flute 2014.138.1a-f, made for the performer "Blind Tom" by William R. Meinell of New York.. It is a wooden case with an exterior cover of brown leather and a lining of plush, plum colored velvet. The case has a metal clasp at the center front with a locking mechanism using a key (the key did not accompany the object). Stylized foliage designs are incised into the brown leather on the top corners of the case's exterior.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1879-1884
• Created by: William R. Meinell, American
• Used by: Thomas Greene Wiggins, American, 1849 - 1908
• Type: flutes (aerophones)
• Medium: leather, velvet, wood, and metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D (open): 1 7/8 × 21 1/16 × 7 1/16 in. (4.8 × 53.5 × 17.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (closed): 2 3/16 × 21 11/16 × 3 3/4 in. (5.6 × 55.1 × 9.5 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Child musicians
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Slavery
• Object number: 2014.138.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.