I love this. The old images you added are lovely as well. Thank you Nigel!

Dear Robin -I agree -the mountain dulcime has been used in Englsh folk music for quite a long time.Tim Hart played dulcimer on Folk Songs of Olde England in 1968 - 45 years ago - and dulcimers were being made hee in the 1970s. People accept the Bouzouki as a common instrument in Irish music now, as is the Banjo. Playing at an event not long ago, a woman asked me about my dulcimer, saying "when were those played?" "Now!" was my answer.

I missed this when you first posted it Nigel. It has always surprised me that the fretted zither never made its way to the British Isles until I realised that it had - now!!!!

I don't see any differnce between today's musicians adopting the instrument in Britain or 19th Century musicians adopting the instrument - at some point in time it had to a 'new thing'. So I think we are quite justified in calling the fretted zither a future traditional instrument of the British Isles