This is a 'Flush Fret' five string banjo made in 1951 by Fred Van Eps, one of three (an all wood hoop 11" raised fret, a 12" wood hoop with lighweight metal partial covering, all 5 string) he made for the late Ferdinand Wilcox of New Canaan. Wilcox wanted this banjo's hoop to be in the old style of complete outside metail covering over a maple wood hoop. Scale length is 28.5 inches from nut to bridge. A thin alloy plate (formerly the inner disc of a Pathe acoustic record), is held by a round nut to the securing bolt to which the neck tensioner is secured, This disc is usually a heat shield for when the lighting vellum heaters are fitted. This banjo was not fitted with those. The banjo has not been played very much over the years but still retains its typically loud Van Eps tone. Original aero-ply plush lined case. A photograph shows FVE's signature next to the year of manufacture 1951 (all in pencil) on the perch pole. No time wasters please.
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