Dulcimer

Close-up on two lap dulcimers by Braxton County makers

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Close-up on head and pegs of two dulcimers made by Braxton County instrument makers. Top dulcimer made by Sylvan James, bottom by Jack Keith. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, June 1992, Braxton County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1434.

Project description:
The Milnes Collection contains audio-visual recordings made and collected by the Augusta Heritage Center’s former Folk Arts Coordinator, Gerald Milnes. Throughout his career with Augusta, Milnes conducted field work to amass a large collection of photographs, oral histories, music, and event recordings. He recorded the bulk of the collection from the early 1970s to 2013, but the collection also includes tapes and photographs with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Lap dulcimer made by Jack Keith

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Hourglass shaped lap dulcimer with wooden pegs and heart-shaped sound holes made by Jack Keith from Braxton County, WV. Photo on right is a close-up on the dulcimer head with red string. Jack Keith was a “stave mill man” who Milnes described as a pre-revival Braxton County dulcimer maker from Salt Lick. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, June 1992, Braxton County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1430 and GM S1431.

Project description: The Milnes Collection contains audio-visual recordings made and collected by the Augusta Heritage Center’s former Folk Arts Coordinator, Gerald Milnes. Throughout his career with Augusta, Milnes conducted field work to amass a large collection of photographs, oral histories, music, and event recordings. He recorded the bulk of the collection from the early 1970s to 2013, but the collection also includes tapes and photographs with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Lap dulcimer made by Sylvan James

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Hourglass lap dulcimer with wooden pegs and heart-shaped sound holes made by Sylvan James. James is described by Gerry Milnes as a pre-revival Braxton County dulcimer maker from Lower Mill Creek. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, June 1992, Braxton County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1432 and GM S1431.

Project description:
The Milnes Collection contains audio-visual recordings made and collected by the Augusta Heritage Center’s former Folk Arts Coordinator, Gerald Milnes. Throughout his career with Augusta, Milnes conducted field work to amass a large collection of photographs, oral histories, music, and event recordings. He recorded the bulk of the collection from the early 1970s to 2013, but the collection also includes tapes and photographs with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Lap dulcimer made by Basil Blake

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Lap dulcimer made by Basil Blake, found near the Oil Creek area of Braxton County, WV. Blake is described as a pre-revival dulcimer maker from Bragg Run in Braxton County. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, March 1990, Braxton County, WV (Oil Creek).

archive reference: GM S1342.

Project description: The Milnes Collection contains audio-visual recordings made and collected by the Augusta Heritage Center’s former Folk Arts Coordinator, Gerald Milnes. Throughout his career with Augusta, Milnes conducted field work to amass a large collection of photographs, oral histories, music, and event recordings. He recorded the bulk of the collection from the early 1970s to 2013, but the collection also includes tapes and photographs with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Transitional sheitholt/dulcimer

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Two nearly identical images of an instrument owned by Gerry Milnes, and currently on display at the WV Folklife Center in Fairmont, WV. According to Milnes, this is a “slightly transitioned crude two-string instrument in that it has a peg box instead of vertical tuning pins as in those above. However, the peg box is clearly a newer recent addition to this instrument, and not original. It has two strings and staple frets.” This instrument was found in Randolph County, West Virginia, but was almost surely made by an L. Pitman, who made a very similar instrument in Shenandoah County, Virginia in 1849. The instrument’s square sound holes suggest that it may be older than 1849, in that the sound holes are not as refined as the maker’s 1849 effort. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, Feb 1994.

archive reference: GM S1330 and GM S1336.

Project description: The Milnes Collection contains audio-visual recordings made and collected by the Augusta Heritage Center’s former Folk Arts Coordinator, Gerald Milnes. Throughout his career with Augusta, Milnes conducted field work to amass a large collection of photographs, oral histories, music, and event recordings. He recorded the bulk of the collection from the early 1970s to 2013, but the collection also includes tapes and photographs with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Paul McKinney’s dulcimer

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Paul McKinney’s hourglass-shaped lap dulcimer was made by Roy McKinney, Freeman McKinney’s father from Enoch in Clay County, WV. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, July 1991, Clay County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1243.

Project description: The Milnes Collection contains audio-visual recordings made and collected by the Augusta Heritage Center’s former Folk Arts Coordinator, Gerald Milnes. Throughout his career with Augusta, Milnes conducted field work to amass a large collection of photographs, oral histories, music, and event recordings. He recorded the bulk of the collection from the early 1970s to 2013, but the collection also includes tapes and photographs with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Eastern-European string instrument from Patty Looman’s collection

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Eastern European instrument (lute?) made at Barrackville in Marion County, WV. The instrument is from Patty Looman’s extensive instrument collection. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, July 1990, Marion County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1401.

Project description: The Milnes Collection contains audio-visual recordings made and collected by the Augusta Heritage Center’s former Folk Arts Coordinator, Gerald Milnes. Throughout his career with Augusta, Milnes conducted field work to amass a large collection of photographs, oral histories, music, and event recordings. He recorded the bulk of the collection from the early 1970s to 2013, but the collection also includes tapes and photographs with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Lap dulcimer made by Jack Keith

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Lap dulcimer with red string made by Jack Keith from Braxton County. Jack Keith was a “stave mill man” who Milnes described as a pre-revival Braxton County dulcimer maker from Salt Lick. The instrument features four small diamond sound holes, wire frets, and metal guitar tuners. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, Dec 1988, Nicholas County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1544.

Project description: The Milnes Collection contains audio-visual recordings made and collected by the Augusta Heritage Center’s former Folk Arts Coordinator, Gerald Milnes. Throughout his career with Augusta, Milnes conducted field work to amass a large collection of photographs, oral histories, music, and event recordings. He recorded the bulk of the collection from the early 1970s to 2013, but the collection also includes tapes and photographs with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Guitar-shaped dulcimer by Walter Miller

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Dulcimer with guitar shape and round sound hole made by Walter and Paul Miller. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, March 1992, Nicholas County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1541.

Project description: The Milnes Collection contains audio-visual recordings made and collected by the Augusta Heritage Center’s former Folk Arts Coordinator, Gerald Milnes. Throughout his career with Augusta, Milnes conducted field work to amass a large collection of photographs, oral histories, music, and event recordings. He recorded the bulk of the collection from the early 1970s to 2013, but the collection also includes tapes and photographs with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Guitar-shaped dulcimer by Walter Miller

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Dulcimer with guitar shape and round sound hole made by Walter and Paul Miller. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, March 1992, Nicholas County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1542.

Project description: The Milnes Collection contains audio-visual recordings made and collected by the Augusta Heritage Center’s former Folk Arts Coordinator, Gerald Milnes. Throughout his career with Augusta, Milnes conducted field work to amass a large collection of photographs, oral histories, music, and event recordings. He recorded the bulk of the collection from the early 1970s to 2013, but the collection also includes tapes and photographs with earlier dates that others sent to him.

Guitar-shaped dulcimer by Walter Miller Read More »

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