North Carolina
Folk

Maple, Animal Hide, Metal, Plastic
ca. Late 1940s
Length: 35.5 in; Body Diameter: 9 in; Depth: 2.88 in
Lutes – Banjo

A five-string wooden banjo with a wide rim. The fretless neck and body of the banjo, made of carved and stained wood, hide and secure the steel bezel that supports a small animal skin resonator situated in the middle of the wooden body. The body is made of 3 rounded pieces of wood. The strings and tailpiece are both metal, and the 5 strings are situated over an unstained wooden bridge. The tuning pegs are mechanized metal with 4 opaque white plastic handles, and a 5th clear plastic tuning peg halfway down the neck. The back of the body has a small acoustic hole, and the whole body is secured with 12 metal flathead screws.

This old-style wide rim, fretless banjo is found in the Great Smoky Mountains, particularly in North Carolina.  The instrument is made of maple and most likely built in the late 1940s.

A picture of a similar banjo can be found in John Rice Irwin’s “Musical Instruments of The Southern Appalachian Mountains,” ISBN: 978-0-916838-80-5, pp. 36 & 41.