S. S. Stewart Special Thoroughbred Model 5 String Banjo (1899), made in Philadelphia, serial # 51388, natural finish, spunover rim, cherrywood neck with ebony fingerboard, black alligator chipboard case.
This is a nice player's example of an S.S. Stewart banjo marked "Special Thoroughbred" made around 1899 or so, not long after the company founder Samuel Swain Stewart's death in April '98. At the time the Philadelphia company was, by their own account at least, the world's greatest banjo maker, although both Fairbanks and Cole in Boston would have begged to differ! Originally the Stewart "Special Thoroughbred" models were built with higher grade materials but devoid of fancy fingerboard inlay; obviously by the time this one was made that distinction had been lost. This is a moderately fancy banjo by the standards of the day but not nearly as ornate as Stewart's higher end models.
The banjo is built around a 10 1/2"" spunover 28 bracket rim with a 26" scale cherry wood neck, both on the smaller side for the period; Stewarts came in various sizes. There is a lovely pearl and wire inlay pattern on the headstock; the fingerboard has shaped pearl inlay with some familiar Stewart moon-and-star pearl motifs. There are wood underlays on both the headstock and fingerboard. The heel is carved in a typical Stewart floral pattern.
The dowel stick carries an inlayed celluloid "S.S. Stewart, Phil'a PA" logo tag and an impressed "SSS" headstock-shaped logo. An ivoroid "Special Thoroughbred" tag is pinned to the rim near the serial number, the familiar "Horse Head' paper label is directly across on the opposite inside rim surface. The outside of the rim is nickel plated; The tailpiece is the original "Common Sense" style without the center decorative rosette. The tuners have been restored to correct period friction pegs with ivoroid buttons. Stewart's patented turnbuckle neck brace is intact and working; this was one of the earliest such systems.
Stewart was never at a loss promoting his wares; The "Special Thoroughbred" was described as "made of the choicest selected material, and possesses the quality of musical tone so desirable in a concert banjo". He added it was "made for BANJO PLAYERS exclusively and not novices". For a time the Thoroughbred models were not sold in music stores, but had to be special ordered directly from Stewart's Philadelphia factory. The later banjo shows some wear and tear but remains a nice survivor of the first golden era of the 5-string banjo, a true playable antique.
Overall length is 35 1/4 in. (89.5 cm.), 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm.) diameter head, and 2 3/8 in. (6 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 26 in. (660 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/16 in. (30 mm.).
This is a decently preserved banjo for its age; it shows wear overall but is largely original and an excellent player in the classical or minstrel style with a genuine calfskin skin head and NylGut strings. The dowel stick has several repaired cracks to the back end that are solidly sealed up but is visible; it is structurally sound and all the original markings are intact. The neck is in better condition than many, straighter than most period Stewarts with some wear to the spine and light fret and fingerboard wear.
The rim plating has a lot of scuffing and some playing loss; just over half the hooks and nuts are original with the other half period but slightly later; these are all mounted on the lower half of the rim. All other hardware appears original with some wear and plating loss. The tuners are the correct 19th century style but have been restored; old filled screw holes from guitar style tuners can be seen on the back of the headstock. A period style 5th string peg was reseated to the side of the beck as well with some fill to a larger rout. This 125 year old banjo is a nice sounding instrument, handy and an easy player with a brighter sound than some Stewarts and plenty of volume. It lives in a very old higher grade chipboard case. Overall Very Good + Condition.
