Cigar-Box Banjo

Dateca. 1930

OriginAmerica, North Carolina or Virginia (possibly)

MediumWalnut, poplar, mahogany, tin-plated steel

Dimensionscase: length: 39 1/2", width: 7 1/8", height: 5 1/4" banjo: length: 36 5/8", width: 5 5/8", height: 4 1/4"

Credit LineGift of Charles and Kathleen Elliott

Object number2011.3000.1A&B

DescriptionCase - The rectangular poplar case is painted brown with yellow lettering. The outside corners are protected by metal covers; the case closes with two brass-plated clasps. Metal straps attach a leather handle to the top. Two brass hinges affix the lid. The interior is unpainted and unlined.

Banjo - An open-backed "cigar box" banjo with 5 steel strings. The mahogany cigar box resonator is painted dark brown, with an approximately 1 3/4" x 1 5/8" rectangle cut out of the back. The fingerboard is unfretted. The neck/fingerboard is of walnut and plated steel, the pegs are of fir, and the tailpiece is of plated steel.
InscribedCase: top painted "The SINGER / From the SUNNY SOUTH", alongside musical notes
Banjo: Handwritten paper label inside reads "Clyde Guy Whaley".

Also see "marks"
MarkingsBanjo: back of neck is carved "BR." Back of resonator is marked with cigar company name "LA FLOR DE LA [illeg] / ISLA DE LUZ / MADE UNDER THE AMERICAN FLAG."
ProvenanceGift of Charles and Kathleen Elliott, 2011