Zogbaum & Fairchild Guitar: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This guitar was made by Zogbaum & Fairchild of New York, New York around 1865-1875. This is a six course (6x1) guitar with a spruce top, rosewood back and sides, and a mahogany neck with machine head. It bears a medallion:

Wm. B. TILTONS IMPROVEMENT, NEW YORK Patented MARCH 4, 1856 ZOGBAUM & FAIRCHILD NEW YORK.

William Tilton, inventor and musical instrument maker, began manufacturing instruments in New York in 1853. Tilton made new guitars and retrofitted other guitars with his improvements including his two guitar patents (U.S. Patent #10380, January 3, 1854, and U.S. Patent #14378, March 4, 1856). Around 1865, Zogbaum & Fairchild acquired the rights to manufacture guitars using Tilton’s improvements.

Ferdinand Zogbaum and Rufus Fairchild established their manufacturing and importing company in Charleston, South Carolina in 1845. By 1853, Zogbaum & Fairchild had relocated to No. 10 Maiden Lane in New York City.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1865-1875
• maker: Zogbaum & Fairchild
• Object Name: guitar
• Measurements: overall: 36 1/4 in x 11 3/4 in x 4 in; 92.075 cm x 29.845 cm x 10.16 cm
• place made: United States: New York, New York City
• ID Number: MI.73.28
• accession number: 302691
• catalog number: 73.28
• Credit Line: Gift of Doris L. Low
• 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.