Weymann Keystone State 5 String Banjo (1911)
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Item # 9965
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Weymann Keystone State Model 5 String Banjo (1911), made in Philadelphia, PA, serial # 10798, natural varnish finish, spunover rim, mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
Instruments made by the H.A. Weymann & Son company were always of very high quality, and this plain but lovely 5-string banjo is no exception. Like S.S. Stewart the Weymann company was based in Philadelphia, and came into their own building high-grade banjos once the Stewart operation faded after 1900.
This 5-string is of fairly simple but very solid construction with a spunover rim, slim soft V-profile neck with an ebony fingerboard and an interesting early screw-adjustable dowel stick attachment that owes something to Cole. The nearly 27" scale neck is mahogany with an ebony fingerboard, heelcap and headstock facing. The 11" rim is wood sheathed in metal in the Stewart pattern. The entire banjo is very Stewart-styled, albeit a bit more substantial feeling. The cosmetics are neat but plain, with a natural finish overall, pearl diamond position marks and a typically Weymann scrolled abalone headstock inlay.
The hardware includes straight friction pegs and an Elite tailpiece, both typical of the c. 1900 period with heavy professional grade hooks and hoop. The accepted Weymann serial number information suggests it was made around 1911, late in the heyday of this style of banjo. Weymann would go on to be a major player in the jazz-age banjo market, but this well-crafted and neat 5-string shows they already had a fine banjo-building operation going in the preceding decades.
Overall length is 37 in. (94 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 26 7/8 in. (683 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.).
This remains overall a nicely original unaltered instrument, appearing not too much used over the last 110+ years. The headstock and heelcap have been overfinished long ago, likely to stabilize chipping of the ebony veneer. The rest of the instrument appears original and undisturbed, with complete rim hardware including an original Elite tailpiece and a full set of hooks and nuts. The plating is relatively clean for its age still with a nice shine to it.
The neck is quite straight, unlike many Stewart banjos of the period and the friction tuners appear original as well. The original frets and fingerboard show hardly any wear. Set up with a recent skin head, NylGut Classical banjo strings and a later bridge this plays very well and has a sprightly old fashioned sound; it would likely hold with light steel strings but was not built for them, but gut as is typical of the period. Excellent Condition.
Instruments made by the H.A. Weymann & Son company were always of very high quality, and this plain but lovely 5-string banjo is no exception. Like S.S. Stewart the Weymann company was based in Philadelphia, and came into their own building high-grade banjos once the Stewart operation faded after 1900.
This 5-string is of fairly simple but very solid construction with a spunover rim, slim soft V-profile neck with an ebony fingerboard and an interesting early screw-adjustable dowel stick attachment that owes something to Cole. The nearly 27" scale neck is mahogany with an ebony fingerboard, heelcap and headstock facing. The 11" rim is wood sheathed in metal in the Stewart pattern. The entire banjo is very Stewart-styled, albeit a bit more substantial feeling. The cosmetics are neat but plain, with a natural finish overall, pearl diamond position marks and a typically Weymann scrolled abalone headstock inlay.
The hardware includes straight friction pegs and an Elite tailpiece, both typical of the c. 1900 period with heavy professional grade hooks and hoop. The accepted Weymann serial number information suggests it was made around 1911, late in the heyday of this style of banjo. Weymann would go on to be a major player in the jazz-age banjo market, but this well-crafted and neat 5-string shows they already had a fine banjo-building operation going in the preceding decades.
Overall length is 37 in. (94 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 26 7/8 in. (683 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.).
This remains overall a nicely original unaltered instrument, appearing not too much used over the last 110+ years. The headstock and heelcap have been overfinished long ago, likely to stabilize chipping of the ebony veneer. The rest of the instrument appears original and undisturbed, with complete rim hardware including an original Elite tailpiece and a full set of hooks and nuts. The plating is relatively clean for its age still with a nice shine to it.
The neck is quite straight, unlike many Stewart banjos of the period and the friction tuners appear original as well. The original frets and fingerboard show hardly any wear. Set up with a recent skin head, NylGut Classical banjo strings and a later bridge this plays very well and has a sprightly old fashioned sound; it would likely hold with light steel strings but was not built for them, but gut as is typical of the period. Excellent Condition.