The Ellis Truett Jr. Collection
The Tennessee music box, or box dulcimer, is one of the most enigmatic musical instruments ever discovered. Little is known about its origins, but it is an ingenious folk instrument made of materials at hand in the counties of southwest and south middle Tennessee. The earliest music boxes date to the 1880s or possibly even the 1870s. Playing and construction techniques were passed from generation to generation, continuing through the 1940s.
Community scholars like Ellis Truett of Henderson County, Tennessee and Gerald Young of Giles County, Tennessee were perhaps the first to appreciate the cultural significance of these crude but beautifully resonant instruments. Scholars such as Dr. Richard Hulan, David Schnaufer, and Sandy Conatser provided valuable research and further insight into their history. An excellent article by Schnaufer and Conatser that first appeared in the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin can be accessed online here. The essay is reproduced with the permission of Tennessee Folklore Society. That issue as well as other back issues of the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin may be ordered here.
In 2015 Arts in McNairy purchased a collection of seven music boxes formerly owned by Ellis Truett (pictured below). Later acquisitions and music box documentation are also part of the collection, which is permanently housed at the McNairy County Historical Museum. The collection is available for scholarly research and inspection by request and is occasionally on display at the museum or Latta Visitor's and Cultural Center, both in downtown Selmer, Tennessee.
Community scholars like Ellis Truett of Henderson County, Tennessee and Gerald Young of Giles County, Tennessee were perhaps the first to appreciate the cultural significance of these crude but beautifully resonant instruments. Scholars such as Dr. Richard Hulan, David Schnaufer, and Sandy Conatser provided valuable research and further insight into their history. An excellent article by Schnaufer and Conatser that first appeared in the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin can be accessed online here. The essay is reproduced with the permission of Tennessee Folklore Society. That issue as well as other back issues of the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin may be ordered here.
In 2015 Arts in McNairy purchased a collection of seven music boxes formerly owned by Ellis Truett (pictured below). Later acquisitions and music box documentation are also part of the collection, which is permanently housed at the McNairy County Historical Museum. The collection is available for scholarly research and inspection by request and is occasionally on display at the museum or Latta Visitor's and Cultural Center, both in downtown Selmer, Tennessee.
Ellis Truett Jr.
Ocie Burns TMB
Ocher TMB
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Ellis Truett Jr.
Old Brown TMB
Hole in the Back TMB
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Buttermilk Blue TMB
Crump TMB
Casey Jones TMB
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