Banjo case for Charles P. Stinson banjo: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black banjo case for a Charles P. Stinson banjo (2018.83.1). The case has a lid and a leather handle. The lid connects to the body of the case by to metal hinges. The lid has three metal clasps and a metal lock. The bottom of the case has a metal plate attached to it to protect the banjo's resonator. The top of the case has two metal nobs on the side away from the clasps. The interior of the case has a green velvet lining. There is a small compartment in the middle of the body of the case, where the neck of the banjo rests. The compartment of the case contains fragments from the frets of the banjo (2018.83.1). It also contains coordinator rods and hex nuts, some of which appear to be stripped or otherwise broken. There are 11 hex nuts, 4 coordinator rods, 27 fret pieces and two bridge pieces.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: late 19th century
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Charles P. Stinson, American, 1854 - 1911
• Type: cases (containers)
• Medium: hardboard, leather, metal, velvet
• Dimensions: H x W x D (closed): 35 5/8 × 15 3/8 × 5 7/8 in. (90.5 × 39 × 15 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (open): 35 5/8 × 29 1/2 × 3 15/16 in. (90.5 × 75 × 10 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: Pittsburgh, Alleghany County, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Folk (Music)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Minstrel (Music)
• Topic: Popular music
• Topic: Vaudeville
• Object number: 2018.83.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Clark and Sarah Case Family
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.