By Sarah Rahman
The four-, five-, six- stringed instrument that we call a “banjo” today has a fascinating history tracing back to as early as the 1600s, while precursors to the banjo appeared in West Africa long before it was in use in America. Explore these fun facts about the banjo through a journey back in time.
- The banjo was in use among West African slaves since as early as the 17th century.
- Recent research in West African music shows more than 60 plucked lute instruments, all of which, to a degree, show some resemblance to the banjo, and so are likely precursors to the banjo.
- The earliest evidence of plucked lutes comes from Mesopotamia around 6000 years ago.
- The first definitive description of an early banjo is from a 1687 journal entry by Sir Hans Sloane, an English physician visiting Jamaica, who called this Afro-Caribbean instrument a “strum strump”.
- The banjo had been referred to in 19 different spellings, from “banza” to “bonjoe” by the early 19th century.
- The earliest reference to the banjo in North America appeared in John Peter Zenger’s The New-York Weekly Journal in 1736.
- William Boucher (1822-1899) was the earliest commercial manufacturer of banjos. The Smithsonian Institution has three of his banjos from the years 1845-7. Boucher won several medals for his violins, drums, and banjos in the 1850s.
- Joel Walker Sweeney (1810-1860) was the first professional banjoist to learn directly from African Americans, and the first clearly documented white banjo player.
- After the 1850s, the banjo was increasingly used in the United States and England as a genteel parlor instrument for popular music performances.
- The “Jazz Age” created a new society craze for the four-string version of the banjo. Around the 1940s, the four-string banjo was being replaced by the guitar.
Sarah Rahman is a digital product marketing intern at Oxford University Press. She is currently a rising junior pursuing a degree in English literature at Hamilton College.
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Justyna Zajac, Publicity
In honor of National Library Week 2009, OUP will be posting everyday to demonstrate our immense love of libraries. Libraries don’t just house thousands of fascinating books, they are also stunning works of architecture, havens of creativity for communities and venues for free and engaging programs. So please, make sure to check back all this week and spread the library love.
As promised, here are the answers to our Library Love 2009: Scavenger Hunt so you can see how your library trivia stacks up, no pun intended.
1. Who was the founder of the Junto Club, predecessor to the Library Company of Philadelphia, created in 1731 and considered to be America’s first public library? (Benjamin Franklin)
2. What 18th century English poet said, “The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write: a man will turn over half a library to make one book?” (Samuel Johnson)
3. The library of the Supreme Court of the United States was created by a congressional act in what year? (1832)
4. Who was named the first librarian of Congress in 1802? (John Beckley)
5. In what city is the Newberry Library located? (Chicago)
6. The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America began at what academic institution? (Radcliffe College)
7. Under which pope was the Vatican Library established in 1450? (Nicholas V)
8. The largest research library in Ireland is located at what university? (University of Dublin, Trinity College)
9. The manuscript division of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C houses White House papers and documents of all Presidents from George Washington through which president? (Warren Harding)
10. Name two of the three individuals whose private collections formed the basis for the British Museum and Library, founded in 1753. (Cotton, Harley, Sloane)
Justyna Zajac, Publicity
In honor of National Library Week 2009, OUP will be posting everyday to demonstrate our immense love of libraries. Libraries don’t just house thousands of fascinating books, they are also stunning works of architecture, havens of creativity for communities and venues for free and engaging programs. So please, make sure to check back in all this week and spread the library love.
To kick off Library Week, OUP is providing everyone with free access to Oxford Reference Online (ORO) and to encourage you to check out we have provided the scavenger hunt below. Use ORO to find the answers. Let us know what you found out in the comments. Just go here and log in with user: nationallibraryweek and password: oxford. Let the games begin! Be sure to visit again this afternoon when we post the answers.
1. Who was the founder of the Junto Club, predecessor to the Library Company of Philadelphia, created in 1731 and considered to be America’s first public library?
2. What 18th century English poet said, “The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write: a man will turn over half a library to make one book?
3. The library of the Supreme Court of the United States was created by a congressional act in what year?
4. Who was named the first librarian of Congress in 1802?
5. In what city is the Newberry Library located?
6. The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America began at what academic institution?
7. Under which pope was the Vatican Library established in 1450?
8. The largest research library in Ireland is located at what university?
9. The manuscript division of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C houses White House papers and documents of all Presidents from George Washington through which president?
10. Name two of the three individuals whose private collections formed the basis for the British Museum and Library, founded in 1753.
