This article features a fantastic banjo illustration on a Henry Dobson advertising cover from 1889. The Dobson company was based in New York City and was one of the most prominent banjo manufacturers of the second half of the nineteenth century. Like other musical instrument manufacturers, Dobson took advantage of all types of advertising mechanisms. Of course, advertising on envelopes was a cheap and common way of advertising your brand. For example, you can read about other similar covers on this blog from the Chickering piano company and the Noble & Cooley drum company.
One of the most popular instruments in the United States in the late nineteenth century was the banjo. This post features a stunning cover from one of the biggest banjo companies of the era. I hope you enjoy
The Banjo in Nineteenth-Century America
The banjo was a creation of enslaved peoples in the Caribbean. Many Africans who had been forcibly migrated to the western hemisphere sought ways to make their traditional music. However, in most places, they were forbidden from playing drums or horns, as slave owners were afraid that these loud instruments could be used as signal devices for a revolt. Instead, stringed instruments thrived.
The banjo that first appeared in the Americas was similar to several stringed instruments of west Africa. Instruments such as the ngoni and akonting had gourd resonators, skin soundboards, and a neck. In some cases, these instruments also had a significantly shorter strings. The earliest banjos probably were first built in the Caribbean in the seventeenth century. There is evidence of the instrument in North America in the eighteenth century. It spread among Black communities of both enslaved and emancipated people.
From the Minstrel Stage to the Parlor
Joel Walker Sweeney, a white man from Appomattox Court House, Virginia, probably learned the instrument in the 1820s from a Black teacher. He was the first white man to play the banjo on stage. In addition, Sweeney was one of the first to perform on the banjo in blackface makeup, helping to start the minstrel show.
The banjo was an integral part of the horrible racial degradation and stereotypes that characterized the minstrel show. It was an important prop, as well as instrument, in the skits and musical entertainments. As a result, the instrument became immensely popular and many white people began to play the instrument. The first manufacturer of the instrument was William Esperance Boucher in Baltimore.
The popularity of the banjo transcended the minstrel stage. After the Civil War, the instrument was so popular that it became acceptable in middle and upper class parlors. However, in order for the instrument to become acceptable to more refined audiences, it underwent some transformation. It became more decorative, built from higher quality materials, and using new technologies such as metal brackets to tighten the head. Metal strings made the instrument louder, and frets made it easier to play. All of these changes helped to differentiate the new parlor banjos from the rustic minstrel banjo.
Henry C. Dobson Company
In the 1850s, several brothers from the Dobson family became the “go to” performers and teachers of the banjo in New York City. These brothers dominated the banjo scenes in New York, and to a lesser extent Boston, for the next half century. Though they made their fame as players, and caused a sensation when they all played together, they also had other side businesses. Several of them had businesses designing, building, endorsing, and selling banjos. They were often in direct competition with each other.
The oldest brother was Henry Clay Dobson (1832-1908). In 1853, he opened a studio teaching banjo to many members of the New York upper class. Dobson also began selling instruments, and was credited with inventing the so-called “silver bell” tone ring. The tone ring was mounted on the inside of the rim and was supposed to give the instrument brighter tone and a little more clarity to the notes.
This model was sold in the thousands both in the United States and in England. However, Dobson’s instruments were actually built by J. H. Buckbee at his factory in New York City. Buckbee did not sign his instruments, however, allowing those like the Dobson’s to sell them as their own. Dobson sold banjos in a variety of sizes as well as method books and other accessories. However, his business hit hard times at the end of the century and he went bankrupt in 1901. Henry C. Dobson died in 1908.
The Cover
The cover is striking. The first thing one notices is the wonderful illustration of the banjo that dominates the entire envelope, with the peghead in the lower left of the cover and the body of the banjo dominating the upper right corner. The instrument clearly shows all the “extras” including lighter (probably ivory) pegs, inlays on the fingerboard, and a large number of metal brackets around the rim. In the upper right corner is Henry C. Dobson’s name and address at 1270 Broadway. It also advertises his famous feature, the all-metal hoop, stating he is the “manufacturer” of the “Great Patent Silver Bell Banjo.” Along the bottom there is a warning to beware of imitators.
Due to the unusual design of the envelope, the stamp sits in the upper right corner on top of the banjo illustration. It is tied to the envelope with black cancellations, including one that says New York, April 16, and another with the date “89” for 1889. Finally, the addressee is H. B. Smith & Sons of Westchesterfield, Massachusetts. We will explore that below.
On the back of the envelope are several additional cancellations showing the receipt of the envelope in Massachusetts. One to the left says “Williamsburgh” April 17th, where the envelope passed through. Right in the center of the back is a cancel from West Chesterfield, MASS., with the date APR 17 and “Rec’d.”
A Letter . . .
Wonderfully, the cover comes with its original letter. It is a short note revealing that the correspondence is between the manufacturer and a supplier. The letter is on Henry C. Dobson letterhead and dated April 15, 1889. It reads:
“H. B. Smith & Sons, Westchesterfield, Mass.
Messrs.
Can’t you possibly ship me a part of my order at least. I shall need several thousand next Monday if possible so ship if you can.
Respectfully, L. S. Miller
The H. B. Smith & Son company of West Chesterfield, Massachusetts was a large manufacturer of wood components, and specifically made circular, wooden rims for banjo and drum manufacturers. On Dobson’s instruments, the metal “Silver Bell” tone ring was mounted inside a wooden hoop or rim. This letter seems to be a frantic attempt to get the Smith company to send more wooden hoops to the Dobson (Buckbee) factory in order to not hold up production. The need for “several thousand” rims by next Monday shows the volume of banjos being made at the time.
Dobson banjos from the 1880s and 1890s are still very popular instruments with banjo players, especially in the old time style. Check out this video to hear a Dobson Silver Bell instrument. The player also explains and shows the parts of the instrument – including showing the tone ring. Check it out:
