Bacon & Day Silver Bell #1 Tenor Banjo (1925)
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Bacon & Day Silver Bell #1 Model Tenor Banjo (1925), made in Groton CT, serial # 18423, shaded maple finish, laminated maple neck, rim and resonator; ebony fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This tenor banjo is the classic 19-fret Silver Bell #1, the most familiar iteration of the Bacon Banjo Company's celebrated high-end professional B&D line. The upper-end Silver Bells were swathed in glitz, the fanciest and most expensive (at least for the period) banjos ever built. The #1 model was comparatively plain, the basic professional model but still a fairly flashy and very high quality instrument, retailing originally at $140.00. The Silver Bell banjos were quite popular in the 1920s and beyond, especially among vaudeville and variety players.
The most distinctive feature is the unique low-mounted Silver Bell flange, which has f-hole shaped cuts for sound holes. The resonator back is dark-finished burl maple, bound in black celluloid with inlaid concentric contrasting wood rings. The heavy Silver Bell tone ring is the later non-perforated style, although this fairly early model does not mount the company's patented mute pedal. The tailpiece is the original adjustable Oettinger in excellent condition and the armrest is intact as well.
The multi-laminate maple neck has delicate shaped pearl inlays in the bound ebony fingerboard. The laminate headstock (both front and back) has elaborate floral pearl inlay around the "B&D Silver Bell" logo. The Silver Bell series were among the finest banjos ever built, and this #1 is a lovely example. It plays and sounds great 99 years along with another century ahead of it!
Overall length is 33 1/2 in. (85.1 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 4 in. (10.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 23 in. (584 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/16 in. (30 mm.).
This is a nice clean example of this classic Silverbell model overall, showing only minimal signs of nearly a century of use. The finish shows very little wear; the back of the neck was lightly oversprayed long ago likely when the tuners were swapped out, as the signs of this are pretty well masked. The finish on the resonator back and rim appear original and show only very light scratches and scuffs.
All hardware is original except for the tuners, which are 1970s or '80s Planet style; the banjo was originally equipped with early "spike" Grover pegs which were notoriously unreliable. The plating shows some fairly light wear (mostly on the armrest) but is actually quite well-preserved for an instrument of this age. The neck is excellent, the frets show only very minor wear and this is a fine sounding and playing Silverbell, with the powerful "snap" these are known for. It is set up "modern style" with a frosted plastic head and ebony capped maple bridge, and resides in a more recent HSC. Overall Excellent - Condition.
This tenor banjo is the classic 19-fret Silver Bell #1, the most familiar iteration of the Bacon Banjo Company's celebrated high-end professional B&D line. The upper-end Silver Bells were swathed in glitz, the fanciest and most expensive (at least for the period) banjos ever built. The #1 model was comparatively plain, the basic professional model but still a fairly flashy and very high quality instrument, retailing originally at $140.00. The Silver Bell banjos were quite popular in the 1920s and beyond, especially among vaudeville and variety players.
The most distinctive feature is the unique low-mounted Silver Bell flange, which has f-hole shaped cuts for sound holes. The resonator back is dark-finished burl maple, bound in black celluloid with inlaid concentric contrasting wood rings. The heavy Silver Bell tone ring is the later non-perforated style, although this fairly early model does not mount the company's patented mute pedal. The tailpiece is the original adjustable Oettinger in excellent condition and the armrest is intact as well.
The multi-laminate maple neck has delicate shaped pearl inlays in the bound ebony fingerboard. The laminate headstock (both front and back) has elaborate floral pearl inlay around the "B&D Silver Bell" logo. The Silver Bell series were among the finest banjos ever built, and this #1 is a lovely example. It plays and sounds great 99 years along with another century ahead of it!
Overall length is 33 1/2 in. (85.1 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 4 in. (10.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 23 in. (584 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/16 in. (30 mm.).
This is a nice clean example of this classic Silverbell model overall, showing only minimal signs of nearly a century of use. The finish shows very little wear; the back of the neck was lightly oversprayed long ago likely when the tuners were swapped out, as the signs of this are pretty well masked. The finish on the resonator back and rim appear original and show only very light scratches and scuffs.
All hardware is original except for the tuners, which are 1970s or '80s Planet style; the banjo was originally equipped with early "spike" Grover pegs which were notoriously unreliable. The plating shows some fairly light wear (mostly on the armrest) but is actually quite well-preserved for an instrument of this age. The neck is excellent, the frets show only very minor wear and this is a fine sounding and playing Silverbell, with the powerful "snap" these are known for. It is set up "modern style" with a frosted plastic head and ebony capped maple bridge, and resides in a more recent HSC. Overall Excellent - Condition.