Pond & Co. Fife: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This fife was made by Pond & Co. in New York, New York, about 1863. It is a fife in C, made of rosewood with German silver ferrules, and a pewter mouthpiece. The brand stamp is barely legible. According to the accession paperwork, this fife was used by the donor’s grandfather during the Civil War.

The United States National Park Service Civil War Database lists James Thomas Barnhart (1844-1914) as a private and musician in Company D, of the 139th Indiana Infantry. He was mustered in May 15, 1864, and mustered out October 7, 1864.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: ca 1863
• maker: William A. Pond & Co.
• maker: William A. Pond & Co.
• Object Name: fife
• Physical Description: pewter (overall material)
• Physical Description: rosewood (overall material)
• Physical Description: German silver (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 15 3/8 in x 1 7/8 in; 39.0525 cm x 4.7625 cm
• place made: United States: New York, New York
• ID Number: MI.70.23
• accession number: 290483
• catalog number: 70.23
• Credit Line: Gift of Ruth B. Kennedy
• 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.