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See attached photos. I don't have any provenance for it - it's from eBay. But honestly by the construction and size (33-1/2 in. long x 11 in. rim) this is totally in authentic character for the kind of fretless banjo a farm-boy turned soldier would have strapped to the supply wagon and played at campfire.
Interesting is that the construction indicates the maker knew what a factory banjo was, and copied it as best his workshed skills could. At any event, by the skin stain pattern it worked well because it was played quite a bit. Most exceptionally unique is to have a metal stretcher band pulled not by adjustable threaded hooks with nuts, but merely heavy wire bent over on both ends. From a distance it looks good but functionally not much better than simply tacking - which was common for a home-made, carpenter made, or cheap factory banjo at the time. Head had to be tightened over the heat of a campfire if it got damp and slack, just like a tack-head.
I admit this could have been made 20th century, maybe even 21st, but can you see anything that suggests newer than mid-19th origin? The hoop rivets?
Dan Wykes
Interesting is that the construction indicates the maker knew what a factory banjo was, and copied it as best his workshed skills could. At any event, by the skin stain pattern it worked well because it was played quite a bit. Most exceptionally unique is to have a metal stretcher band pulled not by adjustable threaded hooks with nuts, but merely heavy wire bent over on both ends. From a distance it looks good but functionally not much better than simply tacking - which was common for a home-made, carpenter made, or cheap factory banjo at the time. Head had to be tightened over the heat of a campfire if it got damp and slack, just like a tack-head.
I admit this could have been made 20th century, maybe even 21st, but can you see anything that suggests newer than mid-19th origin? The hoop rivets?
Dan Wykes
Attached Files