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Banjo-ukulele

Alternate name:Ukulele-banjo
Alternate name:Banjo uke
Alternate name:Banjolele
Date: 1920-1940 ca.
Place Made:Chicago, Illinois, United States, North America
Serial No: none
Signednone
DescriptionThis banjo-ukulele is attributed to either the Harmony Company or the Regal Musical Instrument Company.

Neck: maple
Peghead: maple, integral with neck
Fingerboard: maple, integral with neck; 17 brass frets; gold-and-black circle decals behind 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 10th frets
Heel cap: none
Head: calf-skin; decal of beach scene with three young people: a girl in the foreground dances in a grass skirt and is holding a banjo-uke in one hand, a young man [sailor?] plays a banjo-uke, and a girl in the background sits and plays a tambourine
Tone ring: none
Rim: maple
Bracket hooks: none – 8 nickel-plated steel screws attach tension hoop and calf-skin head to rim
Shoes: none/not visible
Tension hoop: black-lacquered [“Japanned”] metal
Resonator: none
Dowel stick: none
Nut: maple
Tuners: 4 nickel-plated steel tension tuners with white plastic heads
Tailpiece: nickel-plated steel
Finish: clear lacquer
DimensionsTotal instrument length: 531 mm (20-29/32”)
Vibrating string length: 313 mm (12-5/16”)
Fingerboard length: 214 mm (8-7/16”)
Fingerboard width at nut: 35 mm (1-3/8”)
Fingerboard width at body: 45 mm (1-25/32”)
Calf-skin head diameter: 143 mm (5-5/8”)
Back diameter: 79 mm (3-1/8”)
Rim depth: 44 mm (1-23/32”)
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.
Credit Line: Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Not on view
Object number: 04983