Fairbanks & Cole 5 String Banjo, c. 1881, made in Boston, Mass., natural finish, laminated maple rim with marquetry trim, mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, brown chipboard case.
Overall length is 37 1/2 in. (95.2 cm.), 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm.) diameter head, and 2 3/8 in. (6 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 28 in. (711 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/16 in. (33 mm.). This banjo remains in extremely fine condition for an instrument of this age, with some light wear and modification but largely intact. The tuners are later friction tuners and there are marks from guitar-style pegs fitted at some point. The tailpiece is a modern repro No-knot; the other rim hardware is original including the old-style square nuts and screw-activated dowel stick tension adjustor. The hoop is original but has had the area just below the fingerboard dressed away slightly for easier setup. The ebony fingerboard is fretted with very old narrow-tang frets, but may have been fretless originally-in the 1880's frets were a radical new addition to the traditional banjo! The fingerboard position markings are actually in the "wrong" places by modern standards, including stars at the 6th and 13th fret positions. This is a wonderful playing and beautiful sounding banjo for (VERY old-time) minstrel or classical styles, best suited to its current setup with Nylon (or gut) strings but stout enough to handle steel stringing if desired. A very rare find in this kind of condition, an extremely playable relic of the dawn of the age of the "modern" banjo. The perfect instrument to play on the porch at sunset, rockin' along with the old houn' dawg at your feet� Very Good + Condition.
