WS16-7

Fairbanks (by Vega)            Experimental Design                          5 String

 

S/N- 26715                 1910                            10 5/8 x 25 7/8 “                      5 lb.

 

Fully original

 

Condition: Near mint.

 

Background: This “model” is not described or pictured in any catalog. It was apparently made in the second half of the period when Vega was making the F. F. Professional line for Bacon and perhaps the year before the Style C (Refer to banjo S/N 27158 which is listed and described later in this group of banjos). Obviously this was an imaginative era. This torch peghead inlay had appeared on the Bacon No. 2 model since 1906 and shows up on later Vega banjos. The hardware matches that on my Bacon S/N- 533 made about the same time. These characteristics lead me to think of it as an experimental design. In common with the Style C this banjo has a plain wooden rim and the apparently identical brass tone ring. Jim Bollman does not recall seeing a similar instrument.
 

 

About this instrument:

1) Possibly a one-of-a-kind experimental design.

2) Very thin wood rim with a solid brass vertical rectangular tone ring like that on the Style C and not known to have been seen on other banjos.

3) Shares decorative traits with Vega-made Bacon F. F. Professional models.

4) Very attractive reddish-brown color.

 

Click to enlarge: