Dulcimer info, made in Gatlinburg, TN

John C
John C
@john-c
6 years ago
8 posts

Thanks Dan & John for the responses. I did get a little more info, you guys are correct it was made by Bill Davis, the person that has it is the original owner and it came with a "Fun With The Dulcimer" Book, and a pamphlet "Davis Dulcimers" That has his picture on the front. I am going to look at it tomorrow. Would you guys have any idea of its value? 

Dan
Dan
@dan
6 years ago
187 posts

William Barney Davis (1926-1995) was Navy veteran, plumber, folk musician and dulcimer luthier from Benton County, TN. He apparently started building dulcimers in the late 1950s. He was the proprietor of the Bill Davis Dulcimer Shop in Gatlinburg, TN, which opened in 1963. He ran the store with his fourth wife, Jean, a folk musician with a fascination for the dulcimer. Bill and Jean organized a number of dulcimer-related festivals in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and elsewhere in the Tennessee Smoky Mountains through the late 1960s and 1970s. These included the annual Southern Highland Handicraft Guild gathering, the Folk Festival of the Smokies and the Dulcimer and Harp Convention.

Dan
Dan
@dan
6 years ago
187 posts

Is the piece signed?

 

DAN

www.dulcimore.com

John C. Knopf
John C. Knopf
@john-c-knopf
6 years ago
417 posts

John, that would be Bill Davis of Davis Dulcimers, who was actively building in the 1960s and 1970s.  That is his trademark "violin" design, which was also used by Chet Hines of Ohio (he wrote a book about it) and has been perpetuated by Mike Clemmer in Townsend, TN.  The late Jean Schilling of Cosby, TN was married to Bill Davis at one point, and their photo appeared in a National Geographic magazine years ago.

John C
John C
@john-c
6 years ago
8 posts

Would anyone be familiar or possibly have any info on a maker in Gatlinburg that has since passed, with this dulcimer? File attached. Thanks