Talbott Patented Violin: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This violin was patented by Sylvanus J. Talbott of Milford, New Hampshire in 1887, U.S. Patent #375,224. The patent application describes an instrument with “a number of strings,” fitted over a tapering cylindrical body with flat back. In Talbott’s Patent, he describes the instrument saying “I preferably use 15 strings,” although the patent model itself bears 16. The instrument is very similar in style to the Chinese la ch’in. There are two identical instruments in the collections of the Musical Division of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City and the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota. Catalog #4821 in the National Music Museum collections bears an oval stamp: "PATENTED / ALEXANDER / VIOLIN/ Dec. 20th 1887."

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1887 - 1890
• patentee: Talbott, Sylvanus J.
• Object Name: violin
• Physical Description: wood, pine (body material)
• Physical Description: metal, iron (tuning pins material)
• Physical Description: wood, maple (foot material)
• Measurements: overall: 23 1/4 in x 5 1/2 in x 3 in; 59.055 cm x 13.97 cm x 7.62 cm
• Measurements: body: 17 7/8 in; 45.4025 cm
• Place Made: United States: New Hampshire, Milford
• ID Number: MI.231114
• catalog number: 231114
• accession number: 42736
• patent number: 375,224
• Credit Line: Mrs. John Crosby Brown
• 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.