Object Details
- Teed, George
- Description
This banjo was made by George Teed of New York, New York around 1862. It is a Six-String Banjo, with 17 frets, 8 brackets with a brass hoop, and resonator made from rosewood veneer with inlaid design. The brass hoop is etched:
George Teed
[ ] 8th 1862This banjo features U. S. Patent #34913 dated April 8, 1862, by George Teed for an improvement in banjos.
Teed is listed in the New York City directory from 1860-1861 as a turner with a home address of 497 E. Houston. Like many craftsmen in the woodworking trades, Teed may have made banjos as a secondary business.
This early commercial banjo has top-tensioning screws to adjust the tightness of the head and a closed back resonator body designed to project the sound outwards towards the audience. Like similar mid-century banjos patented by Henry Dobson, it may have been actually made by the Buckbee company of New York.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- GIft of Roger D. Abrahams
- 1862
- ID Number
- MI.68.06
- catalog number
- 68.06
- accession number
- 275703
- Object Name
- banjo
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- animal skin (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 35 1/4 in x 11 3/4 in x 2 1/2 in; 89.535 cm x 29.845 cm x 6.35 cm
- place made
- United States: New York, New York City
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
- Music & Musical Instruments
- Banjos
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_605685
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a4-31f9-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
