1892 S.S. Stewart Orchestra #2 Fretless Banjo 13” Open Back
Serial# 10567
If you’ve made it this far, then you likely know what a rare and beautiful banjo this is. When I found this banjo, it had not been played in 50+ years and was in need of some minor restoration to get it to playing condition. It is not collector grade, but it is in fine shape and plays and sounds wonderful. The cherry neck and ebony fingerboard are in excellent condition and is dead straight and smooth as glass. The G-slot on the nut is a little banged up but holds the Nylgut string in place. The edge of the rim has lots of nicks from the hooks. The tuning pegs and calfskin head make it a challenge to keep in tune but that comes with the territory in my humid climate (YMMV). In the list below, you will see the original parts, and the replacement parts that I personally added to this banjo. I spared no expense. If I could not find original parts, I found great modern luthiers to supply the parts. Restoration was the fun part for me, now it’s time for someone else to enjoy owning and playing this beauty.
• Original 28” Scale, cherry neck with grape vine heel carving and original finish
• Original “professional frets” markings on side of neck
• Original 13” pot
• Original “Common sense” tailpiece, missing rosette
• Original S.S. Stewart Orchestra badge on dowel
• 1 replacement diamond inlay (made by Mark Kett), all others original
• New calfskin head and square stretcher band (made by Bill Rickard)
• Approximately 10 of the hooks and nuts are replacement (made by Bill Rickard and aged by me. They do not look exactly like the originals, so if you want to replace with originals it will be possible to determine which are replacements), all others appear to be original
• Original top 4 tuning pegs
• 5th string tuning peg is not original, but is correct type and from a S.S. Stewart of similar vintage (supplied by Bob Smakula)
• Replacement 2 foot bridge (1/2” height) by Bart Veerman
• Replacement ebony wedges (neck support) by Bart Veerman
• New Nylgut strings (includes 1 extra set)
• Hardshell gator-skin case, made in Costa Rica (designed for a bluegrass resonator banjo, but fits the 13” pot width perfectly with the added fleece blanket as support for the shallower pot)
It’s difficult for me to determine an accurate market value for this instrument given it’s rarity and restored status. I’ve listed what I believe to be a reasonable price, but if you can convince me that I’m asking too much, then I’m open to reasonable offers.
The banjo is located in New Brunswick, Canada. Shipping within Canada is $50 and within CONUS is $75. The buyer is responsible for any incurred customs/duties/taxes. I will only ship Canada Post (transferred to US Post at border) because I’ve had too many bad experiences with UPS. It will be packaged very, very securely and I will guarantee it’s safe arrival. Payment is by Paypal (confirmed address) only.
↧