Castor Folk Fiddle
date: label: date made
content: 1850
name: label: maker
content: Castor, John
notes: label: Description
content: This fiddle was made by John Castor of Piney Woods, Mississippi in 1850. This folk violin from traditional violin shape has “filled” center bouts, creating a “guitar-type” outline. The instrument bears a strengthening bar inside the body extending from bottom to top block. This fiddle is made of a one-piece table of pine, one-piece back of irregularly figured maple, ribs of similar maple, maple (?) neck, pegbox and plain “handle” in hammer shape. The back of the fiddle bears a label that reads: “Made by John Castor, “Piney Woods” near / Woodville, Miss. in 1850. He was left / handed, and the best jig fiddler in / the whole country. Castor heard Charles / Wyn(er) (?) (a pupil of de Beriot) play and / out of gratitude gave him this violin. / Wyn(er) (?) gave it to William Feltus, he to / Thomas M. Wetherill, my brother, and / my brother to me, Mayer Wetherill / in 1857.”
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: Mississippi, Piney Woods
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: Violins
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Louis Krasner
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MI.69.14
label: accession number
content: 282344
label: catalog number
content: 69.14
objectType: label: Object Name
content: fiddle
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: pine (table material)
label: Physical Description
content: maple (back material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 23 7/8 in x 8 1/8 in x 4 in; 60.6425 cm x 20.6375 cm x 10.16 cm