Banjo-ukulele
Alternate name(s)
- Banjo uke
- Banjolele
- Ukulele-banjo
Distributor
William Tonk & Brother Company
(also known as Tonk Brothers Company)
Trade Name
Sterling
(trade name of William Tonk & Brother Company)
Date1926-1940 ca.
Place MadeChicago, Illinois, United States, North America
ModelSterling No. 17-1/2
Serial No.none
SignedGold decal with black text on peghead face: T.B.Cọ / Sterling / TRADE MARKBranded into dowel stick: SLINGERLAND
MarkingsWritten head in black ink in block letters, inside a square: MAW
Written on treble side of calf-skin head: EAD [in red pencil] / E [in black pencil]
Written in black ink on square cream-colored cloth sticker on peghead face: 4
Stamped into tailpiece: BELL BRAND / PATENTED / N.M.S.Co.
Stamped into tuners: WAVERLY / PAT. PEND.
DescriptionNeck: maple
Peghead: maple; face painted black; gold decal with black detailing and text, woman’s head with flower in her hair at top
Fingerboard: rosewood; 17 nickel-silver frets; single dot mother-of-pearl inlays behind 5th, 7th, and 12th frets
Heel cap: rosewood
Head: calf-skin
Tone ring: none
Rim: bird’s-eye maple with bird’s-eye maple veneer
Bracket hooks: 12 nickel-plated steel
Shoes: 12 nickel-plated brass
Tension hoop: nickel-plated brass
Resonator: none
Dowel stick: maple
Nut: rosewood
Tuners: 4 brass and nickel-plated steel Waverly tension tuners with black plastic heads
Tailpiece: nickel-plated steel
Finish: clear lacquer
DimensionsTotal instrument length: 512 mm (20-5/32”)
Vibrating string length: 321 mm (12-5/8”)
Fingerboard length: 213 mm (8-3/8”)
Fingerboard width at nut: 35 mm (1-3/8”)
Fingerboard width at body: 44 mm (1-23/32”)
Calf-skin head diameter: 174 mm (6-27/32”)
Back diameter: 175 mm (6-7/8”)
Rim depth: 64 mm (2-17/32”)
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.
Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Object number04067
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