Samuel Swaim Stewart

S. S. Stewart
Samuel Swaim Stewart portrait
Samuel Swaim Stewart in 1898
Background information
Also known asSamuel Swaim Stewart
Born(1855-01-08)January 8, 1855
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedApril 6, 1898(1898-04-06) (aged 43)[1]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genresparlor music, classic-banjo instrumentals
Occupation(s)musical instrument manufacturer, composer, performer
Instrument(s)5-string banjo,[2] violin,[2] piano, organ, flute
Years active1878-1898[3]

Samuel Swaim Stewart (January 8, 1855—April 6, 1898), also known as S. S. Stewart, was a musician, composer, publisher, and manufacturer of banjos.[3] He owned the S. S. Stewart Banjo Company, which was one of the largest banjo manufacturers in the 1890s, manufacturing tens-of-thousands of banjos annually.[4] He also published the S. S. Stewart Banjo and Guitar Journal from 1882 to 1902.[5] He is known today for his efforts to remake the banjo into an instrument of cultural sophistication[6] and for his high-quality banjos.[7] For Stewart, that sophistication included learning to properly sight-read music, so as to be able to play the "proper repertoire" for middle-class citizens.[8]

  1. ^ "S Swaim Stewart Vital • Pennsylvania Deaths and Burials, 1720-1999". familysearch.org.
  2. ^ a b Gura, p. 138
  3. ^ a b "The Late S. S. Stewart". S. S. Stewart's Banjo and Guitar Journal. June–July 1898.
  4. ^ Gura, p. 3
  5. ^ Gura, p. 7
  6. ^ Gura, p. 124, 138
  7. ^ Gura, p. 139
  8. ^ Gura, p. 140-141