Traditional Music

Peghead banjo handcrafted by a Black musician in southern WV

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Early 1930s 5-string peghead banjo handcrafted by a Black musician from southern WV. The instrument, constructed from carnation condensed milk cans glued to a wooden box, was acquired from the Gospel Hill section of Lewisburg by Jim Costa. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, Aug 1991, Summers County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1198.

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 with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Peghead banjo handcrafted by a Black musician from southern WV

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Early 1930s 5-string peghead banjo handcrafted by a Black musician from southern WV. The instrument, constructed from carnation condensed milk cans glued to a wooden box, was acquired from the Gospel Hill section of Lewisburg by Jim Costa. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, Aug 1991, Summers County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1199.

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 with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Peghead banjo handcrafted by a Black musician from southern WV

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Early 1930s 5-string peghead banjo handcrafted by a Black musician from southern WV. The instrument, constructed from carnation condensed milk cans glued to a wooden box, was acquired from the Gospel Hill section of Lewisburg by Jim Costa. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, Aug 1991, Summers County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1197.

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 with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Jim Costa’s fiddle

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Close up of Jim Costa’s fiddle in the grass. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, July 1991, Summers County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1196.

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 with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Jim Costa’s fretless banjo

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Close up photo showing the back side of Jim Costa’s fretless banjo on the grass. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, July 1991, Summers County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1189.

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 with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Dena Kniceley playing banjo

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Dena Kniceley playing banjo. According to a Goldenseal magazine article, “The Banjo in West Virginia” by Gerry Milnes, Dena Knicely learned banjo tunes from African American musicians in Greenbrier County and credits the song “Greenbrier River” to Black fiddle and banjo players. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, Aug 1990, Greenbrier County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1200

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 with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Fretless banjo

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A fretless banjo from Jim Costa’s extensive collection of Appalachian folklife artifacts. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, Nov 1996, Summers County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1204.

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 with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Banjo on display at General Lewis Inn

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Fretless banjo on a rug leaning against the wall, displayed at General Lewis Inn in Lewisburg. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, Nov 1993, Lewisburg, WV.

archive reference: GM S1194.

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 with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Jim Costa’s banjo

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Close up of the back of Jim Costa’s banjo, laid on the grass. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, Feb 1989, Summers County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1189.

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 with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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Jim Costa banjo

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J. Costa’s banjo close up laid against a chair on the porch. Photograph by Gerry Milnes, Feb 1989, Summers County, WV.

archive reference: GM S1190.

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 with earlier dates that others sent to him.

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