Soldier, pipe, and banjo

[ForeverFree]

 

[Patrick H]

Nice image. We had one of these come up a few months ago with a similar thing going on: It's a fairly standard right-handed banjo of the era, but the soldier is playing it left-handed. It gets doubly confusing because the image is flip-flopped for starters. But notice the scalloped edge on the banjo fingerboard. That's the edge where the short fifth string runs. You can just see the tip of the tuning peg for that string poking through the fingerboard from behind. The fifth string on a right handed banjo is always on the upper (closest to the player's chin) edge. It's not impossible to play a right-handed instrument upside down, picking and strumming with the left hand. My dad did it all the time. But it requires a different technique.

 

[msimmons]

Edwin Chamberlain, 11th New Hampshire,Company G-from the Liljenquist family collection.

 

[Patrick H]

View attachment 53697 Edwin Chamberlain, 11th New Hampshire,Company G-from the Liljenquist family collection.

This is another real nice image. This doesn't appear to be a flopped image and the Sarge is playing his guitar right handed. It's a nice little parlor guitar, too. This guitar and the banjo would be highly collectible today. There is an entire sub-culture of instrument collectors out there who go nuts over these period instruments. You would hardly believe the effort that goes into repairing and conserving those that can be found today. I took the liberty of lightening the image of Sgt. Chamberlain, so we could see him and his instrument a little better.

 

[CWguy]

Nice images.

 

[Missouri Rebel]

1/6 plate tintype I recently picked up which I believe to be a Reb in hickory or checkered battle shirt playing a fiddle. There is a name and some writing scratched in to the brass frame I am trying to figure out.

 

[johnnydef47]

looking at his fingers on both hands it almost looks like he knows how to play it. wonder if it was a prop?

 

[reading48]

Nice Photos

 

[Rebforever]

The neck on the banjo is carved on the 'bottom' and is used for hand position. I have never seen one like that before.
That is a 4 string banjo which originate in Africa. The 5 string banjo is the only original musical instrument
to America.

 

[John Winn]

looking at his fingers on both hands it almost looks like he knows how to play it. wonder if it was a prop?

The grip is wrong, especially the thumb hooked over the top. If you think about it, he's just grabbing the thing like you would a broom handle. I'd say definitely a prop and that he wasn't a player.

 

[MRB1863]

Thanks to all for bringing these photos to us. This thread is uplifting and hit a high note!

 

[Patrick H]

With regard to our fiddler, it seems likely to me that he's not a player--or, if a player, he is self-taught. As John Winn observed, his left hand position isn't correct. It's also likely that a player would have the fiddle tucked under his jaw--but self-taught players don't always do that. Regardless, it's a fun picture.

 

[John Winn]

With regard to our fiddler, it seems likely to me that he's not a player--or, if a player, he is self-taught. As John Winn observed, his left hand position isn't correct. It's also likely that a player would have the fiddle tucked under his jaw--but self-taught players don't always do that. Regardless, it's a fun picture.

Yep. And if you look closely, you'll see the grip on the fiddle is the same as the guy is using on the banjo (just in a different plane). It's just the natural way the hand curls up if you grab something.

 

[James N.]

This is all merely another example of reversing things to compensate for the fact that hard images like this are reversed images! I seriously doubt an instrument like this would simply be "laying around" as a photographers prop, though it's always possible he's "borrowed" it from his Pard for the picture. ( But I doubt it. ) He probably knows how to play it, but not with it held like this in the wrong hands!

Note that the goings on with the banjo aren't the only things that have been "reversed": his waist or saber belt has also been reversed, and even turned UPSIDE DOWN so that the straps will appear to be on the left where they belong. You can also easily see that the small brass suspension hook ( which is attached to a D-ring ) is now on the TOP edge of the belt instead of the bottom.

 

[johnnydef47]

The grip is wrong, especially the thumb hooked over the top. If you think about it, he's just grabbing the thing like you would a broom handle. I'd say definitely a prop and that he wasn't a player.

i see what your saying about the top hand. I play the banjo a very little bit and I was more noticing the bottom hand and his fingers. but you could be right

 

[Patrick H]

On second thought, a player who just completed a song MIGHT assume this pose. Nevertheless, our player's right hand is not quite right. His wrist angle is okay, etc., but his forefinger is hovering a tiny bit above the actual hairs on his bow. His thumb might be touching hairs, too. A player might lapse into the left hand (fiddle) pose. But the bow hand is wrong.

Then we take into account that the image is reversed. Take a REAL good look at the bridge on that fiddle. See how one end (closest to the player's face) is ever so slightly higher than the other end? That's the bridge end with the lowest note string. See the tuning peg closest to our point of view? That's the highest note string. That string should be closest to the player's face. This is a left handed man holding a right handed fiddle--and we are seeing it backwards. But even that doesn't freak me, because my Dad played his mandolin left handed for his entire life--and he never re-strung it from its right handed configuration. Our fiddler might have been somewhat like my Dad in that regard.

 

[johnnydef47]

in regards to the fiddle I don't think its a prop it would appear there is a ton of rosin on that fret board. looks to have been played plenty

 

[Patrick H]

johnny,
You might be correct. Left handed player and all that... But, if the photographer said: "Hold very still", our player might have gripped his fiddle in this manner for the number of seconds required for the photo. Sadly, we will never know the truth of it.