WS22-3

Cole                        Eclipse “Man in the Moon” Model                  5 String

 

S/N- 2332                     1895                            11 x 27 “                     4 3/4 lb.

 

Fully original.

 

Condition: Near mint.

 

Background: After his split with Fairbanks, Wm. Cole opened a competing firm immediately next door. Although his company never developed a  tone ring to rival the sound and projection of the Electric, he did produce banjos second to none in craftsmanship. His finest were marketed using the “Eclipse” name which featured “a fine steel wire resting on steel pins driven into the wood, connecting with a steel wire concealed in the rim”. Because no Cole catalog has surfaced, we are not sure what designation Cole used for each of his models. A contemporary Ditson catalog advertised this as the “# 3000" with a price of $46.25. Of 5 different levels, this model was  next to the least elaborate but almost surely his best seller.

 

About this instrument:

1) Superbly shaped and engraved inlays for a banjo well below the top grade.

2) Ivory tuners.

 

Click to enlarge: 

 

                              

 

                             

 

                             

 

                               

 

                               

 

                                                                               

 

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