Thompson Artillery Shell Banjo: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This banjo was made by Elmer Thompson of Staten Island, New York around 1917-1919 while waiting to be discharged from the U.S. Army during World War I. It is a Four-String Banjo, with a body made from the base of a German Howitzer shell, the neck from the stock of a rifle, with 12 frets, and the tuning pegs from French machine-gun bullets.

After the War Thompson continued to play this banjo in Staten Island working as an electronics engineer with the Philco Corporation of America. Retiring in 1959, he played this banjo in a seven-piece dance orchestra in Debary, Florida known as the Dee Dee Beehive. He was an active inventor, with 30 patents to his credit recorded in the U.S. Patent Office.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1917-1919
• maker: Thompson, Elmer
• Object Name: banjo
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 33 1/2 in x 9 1/4 in x 3 1/4 in; 85.09 cm x 23.495 cm x 8.255 cm
• place made: United States: New York, Staten Island
• ID Number: 1984.0975.01
• accession number: 1984.0975
• catalog number: 1984.0975.01
• Credit Line: Gift of Eileen A. Achilles and John G. Anderson
• 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.