Dobro Guitar
date: label: Date made
content: 1933-1937
name: label: maker
content: Dobro
notes: label: Description
content: <p>This resonator guitar was made by Dobro in Los Angeles, California around 1933-1937. The name originated in 1928 when the Dopyera brothers formed the Dobro Manufacturing Company. "Dobro" is both a contraction of "Dopyera brothers" and a word meaning "goodness" in their native Slovak. This six course (6x1) guitar has a squared-off neck with raised strings for Hawaiian-style playing.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>This guitar features U. S. Patent #1,896,484 dated February 7, 1933 by John Dopyera for a musical instrument with a conical metal resonator.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>Frederick John Wright (1926-1985) was a classic amateur country music performer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan and a year later, his family moved to Toronto, Canada. In 1938, a door to door salesman offered a Dobro guitar with lessons for $5.00 per week, for thirteen weeks. Fred played this guitar and with his father entertained veterans in hospitals in the Toronto area. In 1947, Fred returned to the United States with his treasured guitar.</p>
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: California, Los Angeles
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Music & Musical Instruments
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content: Guitars
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Betty R. Wright in memory of Frederick John Wright
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1989.0660.01
label: catalog number
content: 1989.0660.01
label: accession number
content: 1989.0660
objectType: label: Object Name
content: guitar
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 39 in x 14 1/2 in x 5 in; 99.06 cm x 36.83 cm x 12.7 cm