Signed guitar and case owned by James Brown: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An Epiphone guitar and a TKL Products Corp. case owned by James Brown. The six-string acoustic guitar is Epiphone model EJ-200NA and has a maple body and a spruce top and neck. The guitar also features gold colored metal hardware and a set maple neck with a crown inlay on a rosewood fingerboard. The serial number of the guitar is Y207183. The guitar is inscribed and signed by several famous individuals in black permanent marker on the front, sides and back of the body. All of the messages are to James Brown and offer praise and thanks. Two of the individuals who signed the guitar are Casey Kasem and Ozzy Osbourne.

The guitar case is black with a black cloth lined interior. The clasp and hinges are made of brass colored metal. The TKL Products Corp. logo is on the outside of the case next to the handle. A logo is also on the inside of the case next to the top hinge where the guitar’s neck would be placed.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2002
• Manufactured by: Epiphone Guitar Corp., American, founded 1873
• Manufactured by: TKL Products Corp., American, founded 1984
• Owned by: James Brown, American, 1933 - 2006
• Type: cases (containers)
• Type: musical instruments
• Type: guitars
• Medium: a: maple, spruce, rosewood, metal, plastic, paper, ink;
• Medium: b: plastic, metal, cloth
• Dimensions: guitar: 41 1/2 × 16 3/4 × 4 7/8 in. (105.4 × 42.5 × 12.4 cm)
• Dimensions: guitar case: 46 × 19 1/4 × 6 3/8 in. (116.8 × 48.9 × 16.2 cm)
• Place made: South Korea, Asia
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Funk (Music)
• Topic: Soul (Music)
• Object number: 2008.7.2ab
• 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.