Ledford Appalachian Dulcimer: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This Appalachian dulcimer was made by Homer Ledford in Winchester, Kentucky, in 1973. It is a double-bout dulcimer with a yellow poplar top and walnut sides, fingerboard, and back. It has four strings (one melody string and three drone strings), wood nut and bridge, 14 metal frets, 4 heart-shaped sound holes, 4 dark wood friction pegs, carved out pegbox, and rounded head. Inside of the dulcimer there is a printed label:

HANDMADE BY HOMER C. LEDFORD WINCHESTER, KY Guaranteed No. 2297

YELLOW POPLAR TOP FROM BEREA COLLEGE HOWARD HALL DORMITORY (1867) MODEL YP-1900 Homer C. Ledford

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1973
• maker: Ledford, Homer
• maker: Ledford, Homer
• Object Name: dulcimer
• Physical Description: yellow poplar (top material)
• Physical Description: walnut (sides, fingerboard, back material)
• Measurements: overall: 33 1/2 in x 6 1/2 in x 3 in; 85.09 cm x 16.51 cm x 7.62 cm
• place made: United States: Kentucky, Winchester
• ID Number: MI.73.32
• catalog number: 73.32
• accession number: 304684
• 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.