WS19-5

Vega                            “Fairbanks” Whyte-Laydie No. 2                     5 String Piccolo Banjo

 

S/N: 28127                  1912                            7 5/8 x 15 “                              4 ½ lb.

 

Fully original

 

Condition: Near mint.

 

Background: As banjo popularity soared in the 1880s, musical arrangements were written in four parts and the piccolo banjo was made to play the soprano parts. Rims are usually around 7" in diameter with necks to scale. Like those by most makers, Fairbanks piccolos are quite rare and very few had Electric tone rings or any model designation. By the time Vega acquired the company and made this instrument, musical trends had changed and very few piccolo banjos were being produced. Less than 6 made by Vega have been seen and this is only the second known W. L. No. 2 piccolo.

 

Features of this model: Since piccolo banjos are small by definition and nearly always fairly plain, it is quite impressive to see and hold all the wonderful characteristics of a standard W. L. No. 2 packed into such a small bundle.

 

About this instrument:

1) Unusually tall pot and a matching heel that includes a sizeable maple veneer under the cap.

2) Notched tension hoop, which began in 1909.

3) Probably due to the small 5^th fret space, rather than a star, the inlay is an engraved elipse.

4) The dowel stick has a small decorative stick cover.

5) The tailpiece is a No Knot with cams.

6) The S/N on the rim could make a case for Attention Deficit Disorder “ starting” at least as early as 1912. Two of the numbers were transposed and then re-stamped to match the dowel stick.

 

Story: Because collectors enjoy such tales, I’ll share the circuitous route this banjo took to reach its N. C. home. A widow in Southern England ran an ad in a local newspaper to sell some of her husband’s belongings. A traveling businessman saw her ad and contacted an instrument dealer in London who negotiated the whole deal thinking all the while he was acquiring a standard size W. L. No. 2. It was then sold to a dealer in N. Y. who quickly placed it with a collector in Canada. He tantalized me with it for about 6 months before finally “sending it home”.

 

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