Plectrum banjo
Trade Name
May Bell
(trade name of Slingerland Banjo & Drum Company)
Date1927-1930 ca.
Place MadeChicago, Illinois, United States, North America
ModelMay Bell Queen
Serial No.none
SignedMother-of-pearl inlay on peghead, cursive text: May / Bell / [four-leaf clover] / QueenMarkingsStamped onto tailpiece: GROVER PATENT / Presto [in cursive]
DescriptionNeck: bird’s-eye maple with dark-stained maple stripe inlaid along length of neck
Peghead: laminated bird’s-eye maple with black-stained hardwood veneer; maple string inlay from neck continues along back of peghead to top; four tuners
Fingerboard: brown-stained hardwood; 22 German silver frets; mother-of-pearl single diamonds inlaid behind 3rd, 7th, 12th, and 15th frets; mother-of-pearl double diamonds inland behind 5th and 10th frets
Heel cap: 3-ply dark-stained hardwood/maple/dark-stained hardwood
Head: calf skin
Tone ring: steel
Rim: laminated bird’s-eye maple with dark-stained hardwood/green-stained hardwood/dark-stained hardwood stripe inlaid around center circumference; lower edge capped in walnut
Bracket hooks: 22 nickel-plated steel
Shoes: 22 nickel-plated brass
Tension hoop: nickel-plated brass
Armrest: nickel-plated brass
Dowel stick: maple
Resonator: nickel-plated brass flange attached with 12 nickel-plated brass screws, in four sections; diamond pattern cut out of flange, with each diamond shape falling between two brackets; brackets extend through flange via pentagonal cutouts; bird’s-eye maple plywood with mahogany veneer binding; dark-stained hardwood/green-stained hardwood/dark-stained hardwood stripe runs around circumference; floral decal on back in imitation of wood inlay; attached to rim with a brass screw through center
Nut: bone
Tuners: 4 nickel-plated brass tension tuners with ivoroid heads
Tailpiece: nickel-plated brass
Finish: clear lacquer
DimensionsTotal instrument length: 929 mm (36-9/16”)
Vibrating string length: 665 mm (26-3/16”)
Fingerboard length: 491 mm (19-11/32”)
Fingerboard width at nut: 30 mm (1-3/16”)
Fingerboard width at body: 39 mm (1-17/32”)
Head diameter: 275 mm (10-27/32”)
Resonator diameter: 340 mm (13-3/8”)
Rim and resonator depth: 91 mm (3-19/32”)
Fingerboard width at body joint: 4.0cm (1 9/16”)
Diameter of resonator back: 34cm (13 3/8”)
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.
Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Object number00620
On View
Not on view
1920-1930 ca.
