Tenor banjo
Maker
Vega Company
Date1923-1924 ca.
Place MadeBoston, Massachusetts, United States, North America
ModelStyle M, Tu-Ba-Phone
Serial No.56511
SignedOn peghead in mother-of-pearl: VegaStamped into side of dowel stick, set inside banner: TU-BA-PHONE
Stamped on outward facing side of dowel stick: [Vega logo within 5-point star] / MADE BY / THE VEGA COMPANY / BOSTON, MASS. USA. / [Vega logo within 5-point star] / STYLE M
MarkingsStamped on outward facing side of dowel stick: PAT. (written vertically on left-hand side) / DEC. 30, 1890 / JAN. 10, 1893 / JULY 27, 1903
Stamped into rim wall and dowel stick: 56511
DescriptionStrings: four steel strings
Neck: Three piece laminated maple neck.
Peghead: Maple with rosewood veneer on front face
Fingerboard: Rosewood with extension over head, twenty nickel-silver frets
Nut: Bone
Heel cap: Rosewood
Rim: Laminated maple with nickel-plated brass on outside
Tone ring: Tu-Ba-Phone Style
Head: Calf Skin with Slingerland trademark
Bridge: Maple
Tuning machines: Nickel-plated metal friction pegs with ivoroid plastic buttons
Tailpiece: Non-original, nickel-plated metal
Hardware: Bracket shoe band with 30 brackets with hooks and nuts
Tension hoop: Grooved tension hoop
Decorative Elements:
Elaborate mother-of-pearl inlay on peghead with Vega name inset inside. Mother-of-pearl position markers – leaf on fret 1, star of fret 5, single dot on frets 3 and 10, double dots on frets 7, 12 and 17. Cream-colored fingerboard binding with thin black binding underneath.
DimensionsOverall Length: 786 mm (30-15/16 inches)
Vibrating String Length: 584 mm (23-inches)
Fingerboard Length: 374 mm (14-23/32 inches)
Fingerboard Width at Nut: 30 mm (1-3/16 inches)
Fingerboard Width at Body: 49 mm (1-5/16 inches)
Head width: 302 mm (11-7/8 inches)
ProvenancePurchased by the donor's late husband, Taylor Frost, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in the early 1920s. Frost took lessons on the banjo for a time before lending it to his brother-in-law. Later, it was lent to Barbara Wedeking, who played it for several years.
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Taylor Frost, 1985
Object number03599
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