This banjo was manufactured by John H. Buckbee for Charles P. Stinson, a renowned African American banjo player in the late 1800s. Known as Professor C.P. Stinson, Stinson was based in and near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and performed around the United States and in Europe. The banjo was donated by the Clark and Sarah Case Family and will be put on display today.
Banjo created for Charles P. Stinson
- Caption
- Charles P. Stinson’s minstrel credits include working with Callinder's Georgia Minstrels, the World's Minstrels, and Harvey and Frohman's Minstrel Companies as a banjo player, actor, and drum major. He made his name through banjo competitions though, notably in an 1888 competition in Kansas City when he beat eleven white competitors to become the first known African American to win such a competition in a southern state.
- After touring through the 1880s, Stinson returned to Pittsburgh and set up a studio teaching amateur musicians. He taught parlor music to his middle-class students eager to join banjo, mandolin, and guitar orchestras playing arrangements of popular songs. Through his role as a teacher, Stinson also sold student-level banjos to his students. This banjo likely made by J.H. Buckbee in New York was the result of a collaboration between Stinson and Buckbee to create banjos for Stinson to assemble and distribute to his students; a common arrangement in the late nineteenth century as the instrument became popular.
- Description
- An open-back five-string banjo created for Charles P. Stinson. Four tuning pegs made from molded resin are attached to the peghead. The tuning pegs are decorated with seven curving lines carved on each side and a decorative ridge. Another tuning peg appears halfway up banjo's neck. The frets on the neck are inlaid with mother of pearl. Several of the frets are missing as well as the bridge of the banjo. Some of these pieces can be found in the banjo’s case (2018.83.2). The bottom of the neck near the head of the banjo on the scoop is a mother of pearl inlay in the shape of a star. The banjo’s head is held to the round frame using twenty-nine shoes and nuts. A single metal string is attached to the peghead and head. Handwritten on the back of the banjo’s head near the heel of the neck is “Sliver.” It has a metal tension hoop and a wooden dowel stick. Engraved on the dowel stick is “C. P. STINSON PGH. PA.”
- Data Source
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Manufactured by
- John H. Buckbee, American, 1832 - 1897
- Subject of
- Charles P. Stinson, American, 1854 - 1911
- Date
- late19th century
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Clark and Sarah Case Family
- Medium
- wood, metal, calfskin, resin, mother of pearl
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 35 1/16 × 12 × 2 3/4 in. (89 × 30.5 × 7 cm)
- Type
- banjos
