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Museum object · Slavery and Freedom Objects

Banjo made in the style of William Esperance Boucher, Jr.

ca. 1850s

Baltimore, Maryland, United States, North and Central America

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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

Banjo made in the style of William Esperance Boucher, Jr. (circa 1850s). The banjo has a circular head, with a tension head pulled tight across the front. There is a slightly tilted bridge on the head, with a tailpiece at the bottom holding the strings bottom in place along the rim. Both the tailpiece and the bridge are made of the same medium brown wood. There are metal brackets surrounding the rim of the banjo. This banjo is an early style of five-string banjos, which has four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. The neck and fingerboard of the banjo is made of the same medium glossy wood as the back of the head. There are four wooden turning keys and pegs on the top, with a 5th string turning peg, also made of wood, about halfway up the neck or fingerboard.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: 2014.311

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