Tenor banjo
Maker
Harmony Company
Maker
Supertone
(trade name of Sears, Roebuck & Co.)
Date1922-1930 ca.
Place MadeChicago, Illinois, United States, North America
ModelSupertone; marketed as “The Student” Spring 1929-Spring 1930 [see file] / 12L441¼ [1923] / 12D441¼ [1925] / 12R530¼ [1929]
Serial No.none
SignednoneMarkingsStamped into tailpiece, in cursive text: Elite
DescriptionNeck: maple
Peghead: maple [flush with neck] with dark-stained maple veneer; ivory celluloid star inlay
Fingerboard: dark-stained maple; 17 nickel-silver frets; single mother-of-pearl dots inlaid behind 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, and 15th frets
Heel cap: none
Head: calf-skin
Tone ring: nickel-plated steel
Rim: full-spun maple with nickel-plated gray metal overlay
Bracket hooks: 16 nickel-plated steel
Shoes: 16 nickel-plated brass
Tension hoop: nickel-plated steel
Resonator: none
Dowel stick: maple
Nut: dark-stained maple
Tuners: 4 nickel-plated brass tension tuners with ivoroid heads
Tailpiece: nickel-plated brass
Finish: orange-brown lacquer
Tuning machines: metal
Pegs: n/a
Finger grips: white celluloid
Bridge pins: n/a
DimensionsTotal instrument length: 743 mm (29-1/4”)
Vibrating string length: 523 mm (20-19/32”)
Fingerboard length: 343 mm (13-1/2”)
Fingerboard width at nut: 33 mm (1-5/16”)
Fingerboard width at body: 42 mm (1-21/32”)
Head diameter: 270 mm (10-5/8”)
Rim depth: 57 mm (2-1/4”)
Fingerboard width at body joint: 4.0 cm. (1 9/16 inches)
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.
Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Object number03866
On View
Not on view
1930-1938 ca.
