Mrs. Ballard's hammered dulcimer is dated from the early 19th century or earlier and is constructed with Tiger Maple wood. Individual turned bridges support twelve treble courses of our each and eleven bass courses of two each. The instrument has only a single round hole. (As described by Gerry Milnes in Paul Gifford's book The Hammered Dulcimer: A History.) Photograph by Gerry Milnes, March 1989, Monroe County, WV. archive reference: GM S1268. 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.
