5-string resonator banjo
Distributor
David Wexler & Co.
Date1970 ca.
Place DistributedChicago, Illinois, United States, North America
Place MadeJapan, Asia
ModelConrad Memphis
Serial No.none
SignedSilk-screened in gold ink on peghead: ConradBlack and gold sticker on back of peghead: MADE IN JAPAN
Markingsnone
DescriptionNeck: mahogany; neck heel made from separate piece of mahogany with rounded back end
Peghead: mahogany; gold five-pointed star silkscreened on peghead; 4-ply black and white laminated celluloid truss rod cover secured with blackened steel Philips head screws
Fingerboard: rosewood bound in white celluloid; twenty-two nickel-silver frets; imitation mother-of-pearl plastic blocks with rounded corners behind 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 15th, and 17th frets
Heel cap: none
Head: white matte plastic, attached white plastic flesh hoop
Tone ring: flat
Rim: aluminum
Bracket hooks: 30 chrome-plated steel
Tension hoop: chrome plated
Resonator: mahogany bound on upper and lower edges with white celluloid; inside painted black; no flange, four chrome-plated brackets glued to resonator and each screwed onto two bracket hooks; gold silk-screened spread eagle holding three arrow in left claw and olive branch in right claw, with three solid gold stars above its head and single outlined stars to right and left
Armrest: mahogany with chrome-plated steel mounts
Nut: white ivoroid
Tuners: four chrome-plated and blackened steel worm gear tuners with chrome-plated steel heads; fifth string peg with nickel-plated steel tension screw
Bridge: roswood
Tailpiece: chrome-plated steel
Finish: clear lacquer
DimensionsTotal instrument length: 970 mm (38-3/16″)
Vibrating string length: 667 mm (26-1/4″); 5th string: 499 mm (19-21/32″)
Fingerboard length: 490 mm (19-9/32″)
Fingerboard width at nut: 30 mm (1-3/16″)
Fingerboard width at body: 50 mm (2″)
Head diameter: 280 mm (11″)
Resonator diameter: 328 mm (12-15/16″)
Rim and resonator depth: 89 mm (3-1/2″)
ProvenanceAccording to Bill Willroth, he bought the banjo at Modern Electric in downtown Vermillion around 1970. He had visited the store to sell them advertising in The Broadcaster, a weekly advertising paper he owned at the time (along with the Vermillion Plain Talk, a weekly local paper). He ended up purchasing the banjo, intending to learn to play it. He never did. Willroth has been the photographer for the NMM since 2002. The Broadcaster Press, which Willroth formerly owned, has printed the NMM Newsletter since its inception. Willroth was a military photographer during the Korean War and has been taking pictures professionally since the 1940s.
Credit LineGift of Bill Willroth, Sr., 2004
Object number10793
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