Tenor resonator banjo
Maker
Ludwig & Ludwig
Date1927-1929 ca.
Place MadeChicago, Illinois, United States, North America
ModelBig Chief
Serial No.7527
SignedStamped into tailpiece: [flower] / Ludwig / U.S.A / [flower]Carving on back of peghead: [eagle holding a ribbon in its mouth; text on the ribbon]: LUDWIG BIG CHIEF
MarkingsStamped onto synthetic-skin head: [inside a four-pointed crown] REMO / WEATHER KING / __BANJO__/ MADE IN U.S.A.
Stamped into tuner metal: [image of Saturn] · Planet · [image of Saturn] · PAT. PEND.
DescriptionTop-of-the-line instrument with Ludwig's patented Planet tuners with a four-to-one gear ratio and top tension hooks that players can adjust without removing the resonator. The instrument was made with highly engraved, gold-plated hardware, American Indian motifs of inlaid pearl and wood marquetry, ivoroid-bound neck with checkerboard trim and center strips down the back, and carved peace pipes at the heel of the neck. It sold new for $450.
The intrument has a bronze shell with double tone projector. Described in advertisements as “High Pressure bronze alloy metal.” According to Ludwig literature, the double tone projector is so named because sound is projected from both the side wall and the resonator. “Heavily plated with genuine gold, elaborately hand engraved, hand-embossed and hand chased."
Neck: walnut with maple center stripe with red-and-black wood inlay; this pattern also appears underneath either side of fingerboard; American Indian peace pipes carved into either side of neck at heel
Peghead: walnut with dark-stained hardwood inlay, integral with neck; center stripe continues up from neck; face decorated with American Indian chief in headdress, inlaid in multiple colors of maple, mahogany, rosewood, and other hardwoods, and three mother-of-pearl accents; eagle carving on back
Fingerboard: ebony; maple, rosewood, and mother-of-pearl inlay; ivoroid binding; 19 nickel-silver bar frets; arrowhead-shaped mother-of-pearl inlay behind first fret; American Indian motifs inlaid in maple, rosewood, and mother-of-pearl behind 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 15th, and 17th frets; black plastic side dots inlaid behind 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 15th, and 17th frets
Heel cap: 5-ply ebony / maple / green-stained maple / red-stained maple / rosewood; decorative mother-of-pearl and abalone inlay in ebony
Head: synthetic-skin [REMO]
Tone ring: bronze [probably; appears to be same material as tension hoop and flange but I have only viewed it through the synth-skin head]
Rim: Gold-plated bronze shell with double tone projector. Described in advertisements as “High Pressure bronze alloy metal.” “Heavily plated with genuine gold, elaborately hand engraved, hand-embossed and hand chased.” Engravings in floral designs.
Bracket hooks: 26 gold-plated steel tension screws
Shoes: none – tension screws attached to flange
Tension hoop: gold-plated bronze, engraved with geometric pattern
Armrest: gold-plated brass or bronze
Resonator: Gold-plated bronze flange with decoratively-shaped perforations. Rosewood binding on top edge. Mahogany inlay underneath rosewood binding. Orange-, pink-, gold-, and light-brown- [possibly originally blue-] stained maple inlays form a geometric pattern of stripes and triangles around rim; abalone arrowheads and mother-of-pearl crosses are inlaid into the orange and brown triangles, respectively. Ivoroid binding around lower edge. Dark-brown-stained maple back with large decoration of the head of an American Indian chief inlaid in multicolored maple, mahogany, rosewood, and other hardwoods. Dark hardwood veneer on inside.
Dowel stick: not visible
Nut: mother-of-pearl
Tuners: 4 gold-plated steel Planet gear pegs with mother-of-pearl heads
Tailpiece: gold-plated bronze or brass
Finish: clear lacquer
DimensionsTotal instrument length: 865 mm (34-1/16”)
Vibrating string length: 589 mm (23-3/16”)
Fingerboard length: 397 mm (15-5/8”)
Fingerboard width at nut: 31 mm (1-7/32”)
Fingerboard width at body: 42 mm (1-21/32”)
Head diameter: 272 mm (10-23/32”)
Resonator diameter: 342 mm (13-15/32”)
Rim and resonator depth: 84 mm (3-5/16”)
ProvenancePurchased in 2002 from Elderly Instruments, Inc., Lansing, Michigan.
Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 2002
Object number10156
On View
Not on view
