Other Minstrel Style Woods
Minstrel-style bones measure around 1" wide, by 3/8" thick, by 7" long. They are characterized by oval ends, and curve at the standard 28 degree arc.
Ebony was the wood of choice for Mister Bones on the professional minstrel stage. Rosewood was prominent too. You could buy a set of four 7" ebony bones for thirty-five cents in the 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog. Rosewood cost just twenty.
But domestic woods were also popular, especially among folks who made their own instruments. "I have two pairs of walnut and oak bones carved and played by my great, great-grandfather during the Civil War," says four-time Grammy Award winner (and life-long bones player), David Holt. A set of four 5-1/2" "hardwood" bones went for 12 cents in the 1897 Sears catalog.
This ain't the Sears Catalog. But below is a selection of minstrel-style bones in more hardwoods than you are likely to find most any place else.
Can't Decide Which Bones to Choose?Check out this handy guide: Bone FAQs
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