Tenor Banjo (Epiphone Professional Model)
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InstrumentBanjo/Guitars/Strings/Musical Instrument ; Banjo |
Instrument FamilyStrings |
MakerEpiphone |
Place MadeNorth America ; United States of America |
Date MadeCirca 1925 |
DescriptionThe headstock is decorated with the Epiphone Professional logo alongside decorative details, all in abalone inlay. The fret board and head plate are made of a dark wood – possibly walnut. There are four ivoriod tuning pegs with ‘Grover’ engraved on the metal peg head. The fretboard contains 20 frets with inlaid abalone position markers on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 15th and 17th. The neck is made from maple and is in a small D-shape. There are two copper bound strings and two steel strings. The body is made up of the birds-eye maple resonator attached to the skin head by the nickel plated metal rim and 24 nickel plated tension hooks. There are two thin small bands of decorative inlay around the edges of the resonator. The bridge is wooden and the nut is bone. The tailpiece is also made from nickel plated metal and engraved with ‘Grover patent / Presto’ (‘presto’ is in a cursive font). Measurements: Length: 845mm String length: 665mm Depth: 80mm Diameter of tone ring: 285mm Diameter of resonator: 327mm Signature: Inlaid in abalone on the headstock: Epiphone / [Floral design] / Professional / [Floral design]. Transfer on the back of the headstock: ‘The House of Stathopoulo inc makers / Reg. U.S, P.A.T. Off / Epiphone / The Worlds Finest Instruments / New York’ Accessories: case Cultural/Historical importance: Prior to the late Nineteenth Century, the banjo was associated with cheap entertainment through its use in blackface minstrel shows, tent shows and vaudeville. However, efforts were made by musicians such as William Huntley to improve its reputation. As themes of ‘raucous plantation life’ were gradually phased out of minstrel shows, the banjo became an instrument of fashionable society. In the 1880s the banjo became popular among middle and upper class women due to its smaller size. Around this period banjo technique was switched from the stroke style to the guitar playing style and banjo players dabbled in both classical and popular music. In the 1920s new designs of banjos, including tenor banjos such as this one, were created in order to keep up with changing music tastes, particularly the popularisation of jazz. They also became increasingly decorative in order to be visually appealing to theatre audiences. The Epiphone Company, though not called this at the time, was founded in 1873 in Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkey) by Greek Anastasios Stathopoulos. He moved to the USA in 1903 where he continued to make his original instruments including mandolins, fiddles and lutes. In 1915 Anastasios died and the company passed to his son Epaminondas (the ‘epi’ in Epiphone). Having gradually introduced banjos into the production line from the end of WW1, in 1924 the Company produced its recording line of banjos and rebranded as the ‘Epiphone Banjo Company’. |
Signature2016.3.1 |
CollectionMIMEd |
Accession Number6250 |