Bacon Tenor Banjo: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This banjo was made by the Bacon Banjo Company, Inc. of Groton, Connecticut, about 1932. It is a Four-String Tenor Banjo, “B&D Senorita” model, serial #31245 with 24 brackets and a pearloid covered resonator, fretboard, and peghead. “Senorita” models were the lower priced, medium grade, banjos made by the company. There is an inscribed metal plate on the back of the resonator and stamped on the dowel stick:

Fred J. Bacon started the company in 1920. Two years later, David L. Day left the Vega Company to join the Bacon Banjo Company. By 1940, the Bacon Banjo Company had been purchased by the Gretsch Company who continued to make Bacon and B&D banjos until the late 1960s.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1932
• date made: 1932
• maker: Bacon Banjo Co., Inc.
• Object Name: banjo
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (overall material)
• Physical Description: animal skin (overall material)
• Physical Description: plastic (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 33 1/2 in x 13 in x 3 1/2 in; 85.09 cm x 33.02 cm x 8.89 cm
• place made: United States: Connecticut, Groton
• ID Number: MI.71.15
• catalog number: 71.15
• accession number: 297495
• Credit Line: Gift of Ivan T. Lorenzen
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.