Banjo.
1
Photo by Dominic Ibbotson © The University of Edinburgh
InstrumentBanjo |
Instrument FamilyStrings |
MakerGeorge Paradice Matthew |
Place MadeEurope; England; Birmingham; United Kingdom |
Date MadeProbably 1st half of the 20th century |
DescriptionTechnical description: Open-backed banjo. Skin membrane. Metal (nickel plated?) body attached to a holly rim. 30 tension lugs. Metal arm-rest engraved with floral decoration, attached to the body with two screws and backing plate. Metal string support at the bottom, the loop ended strings attaching through slots cut at the bottom then passing under a bar over the membrane. Bridge of beech with six notches, the first and sixth damaged. The bridge is 67mm long but only the last 9mm at either end are against the membrane. Hardwood tension rod, tapering from 19mm square to 12mm square inside body, serial number stamped on bottom on tension rod. Heel, neck and head of hard fruitwood, possibly cherry. Heel cap of metal. The heel flows smoothly into the neck. The neck has a D-section shape, except between the nut and fret 5, where it has a V shape with a sharp ridge in the centre. The neck flows smoothly into the head. Ebony veneer on front of head. Five enclosed banjo tuners with ivory knobs on head, sixth tuner on side of neck for the high string. High string button on the body side of fret 5. Neck 38.1mm wide at nut, curve up in fret 5 for extra string, 47.8mm wide at fret 5, 52.6mm wide at body. 18 frets. Ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl inlay - dot and triangles at fret 1, dot at fret 2, 5 pointed star at fret 5, two dots at fret 7, 5 pointed star at fret 10, two dots at fret 12, one dot at fret 14, two dots at fret 17. Overall size: 874 Body diameter: 291 Body depth: 59 Number of tension points: 30 String length: 675 Engraved on the cap on the bottom of the heel "Geo. P. Matthew, / Maker.". Stamped "14164" on bottom of the tension rod. Very difficult to read pencil signature on back of membrane, appears to be "J Haullistin", probably the signature of an owner or player. |
NotesA. Macaulay, January 1992; D.P. Martin, 2003. |
Measurements874.Body diameter: 291. |
ProvenanceGift of R.W. Leckie. |
CollectionMIMEd |
Accession Number0273 |