This banjo is a 'hybrid'. One of two, formerly owned by William D. Bowen ('Banjo Bill' Bowen).
Bill had two S.S.Stewart banjos to which Fred Van Eps made and fitted to each a 'Flush Fret'
neck of twenty seven and a half inch scale, to accommodate Bowen's smaller hands. Bill was
fairly small in stature, which accounts for the impression given in the B.M.G. photograph that
the banjo has a huge hoop diameter!
Bill also fitted his famous tin beer tray to this banjo. He did this by locating four metal brackets
held in place by the tension hook nuts, so the banjo wasn't effected in any way. He is shown
on the front cover of B.M.G. holding the banjo with the beer tray in place. It is also shown in the
photographs, having been removed to show the inside of the banjo and the S.S.Stewart paper
label. Bill also fitted a Remo head - this has been replaced with a top quality calfskin from William
Cowley.
The banjo has an eleven and a half inch hoop, metal spun over plain maple. The VE neck is maple,
spiced with ebony, with an ebony fingerboard, VE peg-head decoration and 'drum' type VE pegs.
Bowen made some outstanding recordings using this banjo, which is incredibly loud, even minus
the beer tray.
The banjo will be sold with some original manuscript, and a shellac disc of Bowen playing this banjo.
A large collection of unpublished manuscript by Bill Bowen, including letters and photographs is available
by separate negotiation.
↧