Scan 196
Catalogue of the Stearns collection of musical instruments, 1918
27 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. Printed page 166. See the scan on archive.org.
1CASE XI.
3CLASS IV.
5Section E. Continuation.
7In point of seniority the Monochord can easily maintain itself. Not to go too far back, we know that it was used by Greek theoreticians to demonstrate the ratios of intervals. It was used for the same purpose in the Middle Ages. By the addition of frets to indicate the fundamentals of the Guidonian hexachords its usefulness was greatly increased. Eventually more strings were added, and when keys usurped the function of the frets, the combination of clavis and chorda suggested the name "Clavichord" as the designation of the first direct descendant of the type. It is also related to the Zither.
9The Banjo can neither claim antiquity nor exalted musical value. Its origin is disputed; phonetic degeneration from banjore, or bandore, from the Javanese town Ban Joemas,¹ or from bania, a Senegambian lute,² being etymological surmises of the origin of the name. In its essentials it justifies the position assigned it, midway between the Guitar and Zither. In the present distribution, variants of the Lute, Guitar and Banjo are placed before the Monochord in order to emphasize the relationship of the latter to the Zither.
111134. LUTE-BANJO ……………………………………… Canada
12Pear-shaped body. The neck is removable allowing the use of either a lute or guitar neck. Five strings, of which the fifth runs from a peg set half-way up the neck on the bass side. This resembles the "chanterelle," or melody string of the banjo; hence its name.
13Length, 90 cm.; of body, 35.5 cm.; width, 29.5 cm.; depth, 8.5 cm.
14Signed—"J. L. Orme and Sons, Ottawa, Canada."
161135. GUITAR …………………………………………….. England
17Body with pointed shoulders. Five strings, the fifth placed as in No. 1134. It might be called a "Guitar-Banjo."
18Length, 87 cm. Width, 30 cm. Depth, 8.5 cm.
201136. BANJO-GUITAR ……………………………………. United States
21Unusual form, but otherwise similar to the two preceding instruments.
22Length, 89 cm. Width, 29 cm. Depth, 7.5 cm.
23Signed—"Hartmann Brothers and Reinhard, New York."
25¹ Morris, p. 185.
26² Engel, "Catalogue of Instruments in the South Kensington Museum," p. 151.
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