The Art of Work: Donald Graves - Walking Cane Dulcimer

Donald Graves still plays his great-grandfather's dulcimer as well as his own. Maw-Hee, also a fiddle maker, wrote his name and the year of completion inside each instrument. Graves continues that tradition today. Like many rural nineteenth- and early twentieth-century luthiers, Maw-Hee built instruments on request only, not as an occupation. Similarly, Graves makes dulcimers by request for family members and special friends.

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Missouri Folk Arts Program | Museum of Art and Archaeology | College of Arts and Science | University of Missouri