The Instruments of Homer Ledford

Dulcimer Numbers 1 to 1000 (updated 5/29/2010)

(Listing Incomplete)

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Num Year Mo Day Model Customer Street Address City St Comments
                 
1 1946 Jul 10   Southern Highlanders Inc Guild Shop 5th Ave New York NY Old back
2 1946 Jul 10   Southern Highlanders Inc Guild Shop 5th Ave New York NY Old back
3 1946 Sep     Ritchie, Edna       [number starred] Repaired for her 2-14-04 - original owner?
4 1946 Nov     Tennessee, Univ of   Knoxville TN [Teardrop-shaped body, notch in head of peg box] Wood (top) yellow poplar from Indian Fields Hotel - Clark Co., Ky. Over 100 yr old.
5 1947       Nadel, Eddie   Chicago IL  
6 1947       Poden, Dean S   Atlanta GA  
7 1947       Stall, Martha Jean   Louisville KY Old back, 2-pc back matched (special). Lives in Ky
8 1947       Kanai, Lincoln     HI [Teardrop body], all black walnut, matched back joint inlaid - butternut top
9 1947       Hemphill, Jean   Far Rockaway NY [number circled] Exhibit dulcimer. [teardrop body, specialy curved pegbox], 2 piece inlaid back, all curly walnut except butternut top, 4 string. Do not duplicate!
51         Wray, Mrs Frank 116 Van Sickle Grove Berea KY  
170 1955       Hunt, Mrs Roberta 1529 Teakwood Ave Cincinnati OH Diamond-shaped sound holes. 7/22/75. Repaired (rebuilt) June 1975
249         Brock, Jane Marvin        
250         Caldwell, Mrs Joseph A   Blountville TN  
  1958       Bentley, Sylvia 2052 Manor Dr Lexington KY Resold May 1988 at Cincinnati, Ohio, to Maureen Griffin, 6448 Gracely Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45233
651                 11/17/2008 I have a Homer Ledford dulcimer    #651.   I purchased it in a musical instrument store in Mexico City about 1963.    The owner thought it was brought in by a diplomat (from an undisclosed country) who was given the instrument when he visited Kentucky.    The sound hole design is diamond....good condition but a small crack in the one edge side.
 
Randall Dinwiddie
Stehekin, Wa.
 
684         Schiller, Mrs J 7257 N Layman Ave Indianapolis IN  
690 1963               Shipped 6/7/71
700 1963 Jul 24           Heart-shaped sound holes. Shipped 6/18/71
734 1963 Dec     Wood, Sheila        
746                 1/26/2007 I am the original owner of Homer Ledford's dulcimer number 746. My parents bought it for me in the early 1960s at the "Traipsin' Woman" Festival at Jenny Wiley State Park. It is a three-stringed model with simple diamond sound holes and staple-type frets. The body appears to be butternut and the original friction pegs are of rosewood.
 
This instrument has traveled with me all over the US from Maine to California and barely survived a house fire about ten years ago that destroyed my Gibson banjo and mandolin and nearly got my Martin guitars.  Art Boebinger.
 
752                 From Denmark. Phone 593-3572. Sold at same time as #2056
813 1964 Sep             Sold at same time as #2055
817                 3/31/2009 Mr. Ledford's dulcimer #817 was purchased by Harold and Janet Kohn, who then lived in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. They bought it in Gatlinburg.
Harold has died; the instrument still belongs to Janet Kohn, now living in Columbus, Ohio.

Andrew Kohn (son)
 
840 1964 Dec              
846                 1/21/2009 I have a Homer Ledford dulcimer signed 'Homer C. Ledford #846, Winchester, KY'.  It was bought new by a fellow from a crafts sale in 1964.  I acquired it approximately 1970 and played it quite a bit.  It has 14 frets and no 6 1/2.  The two bottom strings are fretted.  The soundholes are diamond shaped.  It was damaged at some point and was repaired by Keith Davis, luthier from Hammond, LA in 2007.  He stated the top was butternut with the repairs being in walnut.  The tuning pegs are rosewood.  The back was thought to be curly black walnut.  It is an hour glass shape with  a curved peg head.  It has a one piece back.

I am Joe Polotzola from Amite, LA.

Thank you for adding this dulcimer to the list.
 
867         Richardson, Ken        
896 1965               Phone 299-4988
927         Strode, Mrs Billy   Winchester KY  
978 1965 Aug             Made at John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC. Sold to Bob Hart, Mgr. All black walnut except top - white pine, maple pegs, 3 strings. No affixed number inside.
979 1965 Aug 14   Fisher, Jennifer 3102 McMahan Louisville KY 9/3/2007 Hello! I wanted to update your listing of all the Ledford dulcimers. I have #979, written and signed by Mr. Ledford (in pencil) inside my dulcimer. My mother is from Kentucky, and I am in the process of finding out how she got it.

Thanks!
Sean Williams
Professor of Ethnomusicology
The Evergreen State College
Olympia, WA 98505
996 1965       Carter, Peggy   Houston TX 3/20/2008  Homer Ledford Mt. Dulcimer # 996, purchased by Peggy Carter of Houston TX in Oct. 1965 at the Southern Highlands Handicraft Guild Fair in Asheville, NC. 7/4/2007 Butternut top and walnut back and sides. Frets are under the 1st and middle strings, but 3rd fret is under all three strings.
997 1965       Coffee, Russ 4100 NW 15th Ave Fort Lauderdale FL Special, heart-shaped sound holes 5/15/2009  Dear Sir,
My name is Russell Coffey, I am the owner of one of Homer’s Dulcimer. Before Homer passed, I had been in contact with him over the phone. I sent him my dulcimer to verify its authenticity and to  “touch it up” which he did. I am the verified owner and the dulcimer is perfect. I am writing to you to help spread the word that I am interested in selling it. I am a guitar player and as such never have occasion to play the dulcimer. This is my first “reach out” to those in the community that may have an interest. I also have the original box that Homer used to mail with along with a hand signed typed, on a typewriter, paper on Hints from Homer on how to play the plucked dulcimer. Lastly, there is one more signed information sheet with all the specs on this particular dulcimer from the 2003 Touching Up that Home sent when he returned the dulcimer. All and all this is really an unbelievable collection for the true dulcimer aficionado or collector. There is no finer representation of Homers work than this particular instrument. On a scale of 1 to 10, it is clearly a 10.

Russ Coffey
 
1000 1965       Fisher, Barbara 317 Banbury Rd Winston Salem NC