Russell Appalachian Dulcimer: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This Appalachian dulcimer was made by Roscoe Russell in Galax, Virginia, in 1970. It is a single-bout dulcimer, with four strings (two melody strings and two drone strings), light wood nut and bridge, 15 metal frets, 2 four-hole diamond pattern sound holes and 2 small hole sound holes, 4 dark wood friction pegs, carved through pegbox, and rectangular head. The tail is rounded with a hole in center. The instrument was accessioned with a wooden noter.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1970
• maker: Russell, Roscoe
• Object Name: dulcimer
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 4 3/16 in x 8 3/4 in x 38 1/4 in; 10.63625 cm x 22.225 cm x 97.155 cm
• place made: United States: Virginia, Galax
• ID Number: MI.71.14
• catalog number: 71.14
• accession number: 319055
• 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.