Frank Rice’s dulcimer
David Kettlewell told us that the dulcimer had been Frank Rice’s grandfather’s and he had owned it around 1910. Kettlewell noted the following design features:
- Decoration: embossed brass decor, two roses, and a royal arms, gold-painted chessmen and internal framing, sound holes decorated with black-and-brown inlaid compasses, and gold painted outside the soundboard .
- Special features: hinged extra foot, round corner feet, wrest and hitch blocks are bevelled, allowing the fingers to curve comfortably under when picking it up.
Remarkably, the intricate inlays in the soundholes are identical to those on another dulcimer owned and played by Harry Punt who lived about eight miles south of Newton Flotman, just outside Pulham Market.
See the page on soundhole design for a comparison of the two instruments.
Dimensions of Frank Rice’s dulcimer
Click on a thumbnail, then click again to see a full-size picture.
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