A. A. Farland Artists Grand Model 5 String Banjo, c. 1900, made in Plainfield , New Jersey, natural lacquer finish, maple neck and rim.
A.A. Farland, a banjo virtuoso of the late nineteenth century, didn't care for those new-fangled tone rings everyone was using on their fancy instruments -- he thought they sounded too "tinny!" He also didn't like spun-over metal rims, like those on S.S. Stewart's banjos, for the same reason.
So he designed this exquisite 5-string with no tone ring whatsoever -- just a wood rim sloped away from the edge. He called it the "A.A. Farland Beveled Top Wood Rim Banjo", putting a label inside to that effect with his picture in the center. This example was almost certainly built by New York makers Rettberg and Lange, and shares many family traits with their top line Orpheum banjos.
The neck is fancy burl maple, with ebony center-strip and a carved heel. The headstock is ebony veneered front and back with multiple colored wood underlays. The ebonized fingerboard is wood bound with elaborate shaped pearl inlays and an ebony nut. The headstock has extensive vine inlaying and "Farland Artists Grand" on pearl banners, while a large pearl fleur-de-lys adorns the back of the head. The friction tuners are gold plated with pearl buttons.
The rim is laminated birdseye maple with an ebony cap, which has a marquetry center. The dowel is similarly appointed, and bears a label marked with Farland's signature and claiming manufacture in Plainfield, New Jersey. There is an elaborate and fascinating mute assembly mounted on the dowel with a string-and-turnbuckle connection to a small lever on the rim -- this is fully intact and functional but not currently adjusted to actually mute the banjo!
This very fancy Farland banjo is not only a beautiful example of turn-of-the-century craftsmanship but a distinctive sounding instrument -- the wooden rim results in a deeper mellow tone prized by John Hartford, among others.
Overall length is 35 3/4 in. (90.8 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter of rim, and 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 26 5/8 in. (676 mm.).
Excellent overall condition. 100% original with some light playing and plating wear, most noticeable on the ball ends of the closed nuts. The words "Artist's Grand" which were only painted (not engraved) onto pearl blocks in the headstock have faded -- this can be restored if desired. Set up with steel strings and a skin head, plays perfectly.
