Fairbanks Five-String Banjo: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This banjo was made by The A.C. Fairbanks Company of Boston, Massachusetts in 1899. It is a Five-String Banjo, Regent model, serial #18151, with a metal clad wood rim and maple neck, 28 brackets, ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl inlay, 22 frets, pearwood headstock with mother-of-pearl inlay, four ivory (one replacement) and one wood tuning peg. There is an engraved metal plate on the dowel stick:

Albert Conant Fairbanks began making banjos in 1868 with William A. Cole, a well-known Boston banjo player and teacher. Around 1888, the A.C. Fairbanks Co., Fairbanks was joined by David L. Day. Six years later, Fairbanks sold his interest in the company to businessmen Cummings & Dodge. In 1904, the Vega Co. acquired the business and continued to produce popular banjos made by Fairbanks.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1899
• maker: A. C. Fairbanks Co.
• Object Name: banjo
• Physical Description: wood (part material)
• Physical Description: ivory (part material)
• Physical Description: mother-of-pearl (part material)
• Measurements: overall: 36 1/4 in x 11 1/2 in x 2 3/4 in; 92.075 cm x 29.21 cm x 6.985 cm
• place made: United States: Massachusetts, Boston
• ID Number: 1999.0296.01
• serial number: 18151
• accession number: 1999.0296
• catalog number: 1999.0296.01
• Credit Line: Gift of James P. and Vada M. Hogan
• 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.