For enthusiasts of early banjo

Carthage Reenactment

Playing jigs in camp. 1890-1910 Silver Nickle Pot minstrel banjo. No name...possibly a Sears or Montgomery Wards mail order banjo.

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Comment by Bell Banjos on November 11, 2012 at 9:45pm: I love period guitars. But I like not seeing guitars amongst old banjers.

Comment by plucknpick on November 11, 2012 at 10:14pm: Latest Acquisition, 1883, "Deeds of Daring...by the Blue and the Grey...etc," By D.M. Kelsey. A few stories about C.W. banjo players too!

Comment by plucknpick on November 11, 2012 at 10:21pm: Another great book for first person accounts is one I picked up at Gettysburg in 2004.

Writing and Fighting the Civil War, letters from the Battlefront from the posts by the Sunday Mercury. William Styple, 2004 Belle Grove Publishing. More than a few accounts on bands, and a few on banjos. My favorite rejoiner is about the broken head on a banjo....Where to get a new skin head? the Drummer of course! So the sly soldier pokes a hole in the head of the drum, and they take turns watching for the drummer to toss the head out- which they pilfer and repair the banjo with!

Comment by razyn on November 12, 2012 at 4:10pm: That particular mandolin design dates from 1923. Carved top (takes more work and starts with a much thicker piece of the tree, like a good violin), f-holes rather than an oval soundhole, three point "Florentine" body (and fancy peghead) introduced by Gibson at that time (after evolution of the separate design components).

There were flatback mandolins late in the 19th century, made by Weymann and others; but the back and top were actually flat, not carved. And the ladder bracing wouldn't allow for f-holes. As a popular instrument, the bowlback mandolin was introduced to North America by The Spanish Students, on tour. Late 1880s? I think.

There were a (very) few citterns made in America as early as the 18th century, but that's bordering on the arcane. I think there is one in a Moravian museum in Bethlehem, PA. And they were btw pacifists.

Comment by Rob Morrison on November 14, 2012 at 12:55pm: Joel--Re: "scoops" on minstrel-style banjos. I was actually referring to photos I've seen over the years of pre-Civil War instruments, made during the time before mass production and factory-built instruments, when the banjos were crafted by artisans such as luthiers, furniture makers and even blacksmiths. Quite a few of these instruments definitely had a good sized cut-out in the neck where the neck met the pot. I had always assumed the purpose back then to be the same as it is today, to rapping one's knuckles on the neck. I had never thought of doing it to make it easier to change the head. It may well be the function. I can't really argue with it, but on the other hand, having changed a head on a circa 1860 banjo without a scoop this weekend, it's not really that hard to loosen the neck from the pot either. In any case, as always, thanks for the feedback, Joel.--Rob

Comment by Strumelia on November 14, 2012 at 4:02pm: Rob I've wondered about that too. On some of those old banjos the 'scoop' seems incredibly large, why would it need to be so big just to facilitate changing the head??