Bacon & Day Silver Bell No. 4 Plectrum Banjo SN20424, All Original and aka B&D

Description

Bacon & Day Silver Bell #4 Plectrum Banjo, All Original, All Solid Wood, Amazing Tone, Solid Craftsmanship.
This banjo has withstood the test of time, and is a solid player from the vintage era of Jazz Banjo’s … it shows wear and time … but, in my opinion, that is the reason this banjo sounds so good and has that unique vintage feel.  NOTE: The plastic head broke somehow in the case or when i was playing it recently ... it was over 30 years old, so i got a lot of use out of the head ... i will include your choice of a (i) new plastic head; OR (ii) the original calfskin head (which is likely from the 1940's +/- would be my guess) with your purchase.
I uploaded three little videos on You Tube ... please search for "B&D #4 SN 40242" and you should find three tunes there ... What A Wonderful World ... Back Home Again In Indiana ... and, of course ... The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise.  Hope that helps to understand the banjo for sale.
While I think the Buy-It-Now price is fair … I am interested in selling a few instruments … if there is a price you would buy this instrument at, please message me thru eBay and I will consider it … .
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Serial Number 20424, neck serial number matches the rim serial number … with the Original Knee Mute.
Circa 1920’s, In Beautiful Vintage Condition.
I have been told that the Bacon & Day Silver Bell #4 from this vintage is apparently rare, in that it is all wood (versus other materials that were used on certain parts of the #5 thru #9 banjos), and apparently it was priced very close to the top of the line banjos at the time (ie: there was a small gap in price from the #4 to #5 banjo vs. a larger gap between the #3 and #4).
If you have any questions, or want additional pictures, please eMail me thru the eBay eMail system.
This banjo includes it’s Original Hardshell Case, that I have put stickers on from some of the various festivals I have played in … and the case is well used and falling apart at the seams around the headstock and body of the banjo, which is why I have the purple belt on the case to hold it shut … with the belt on it, it still holds the banjo securely.
The handle on the case is not original, and was changed out by me years ago.
This banjo has been used over the last 90 years … I am the second owner of this banjo, and I purchased it in 1977, and played it exclusively until the early 1990’s, and thereafter I have not played it very much.
When I do play it (rarely) I love the tone and sound of this banjo.
There are scratches on the back of the resonator.
The gold has all been patina’d and what looks like some kind of oxidation, but that is how the metal has been for the last 40 years that I have owned it and is very vintage looking.
The gold has worn off the knee mute, and the arm rest has significant wear on it as you cannot see the initial letters on the armrest from where my arm rested on it as I used it over the years.
The hooks that hold the top rim on have definitely lost their gold as seen in the pictures.
The banjo has not been refinished ever, and is in the total original used condition.
There is some light wear on the neck, and you can see the scratches on the back of the resonator.
Where my finger points to is a scratch that was in the banjo when I purchased it … really a chip or dent in the finish … it is a pretty deep gouge … the other scratches are sadly from my jeans when I was playing it at gigs.
All this being said, this is why this banjo sounds so amazing.
It has been played for virtually it’s entire life (except only rarely over the last 25 years).
This banjo has an amazing and beautiful tone.
Every time I take it out and play it I am amazed.
The tuners have been changed out except for the second string … the original tuners are in the case, and a new tuner matching the other three are in the case as well.
The original resonator screws are in the case too (see picture) but I replaced them along the way so that they would hold the resonator better.
There is one screw holder for the resonator that is not welded to the rim (see pictures … it came loose somewhere along the way while I have owned it) but it holds the resonator just fine (I never wanted to have any work done on this banjo since it has such a cool sound and look to me).
As I mentioned, I have owned this banjo for approximately forty years.
I am the second owner of the instrument.
The first owner apparently lived in San Francisco in the 30’s and played this banjo in a professional dance band there … the story I heard from his widow was that the band bought this banjo for her husband … but I do not know if that is true … sometime between then and the 1970’s they relocated to the San Diego area.
It has been stored in a smoke free environment that has always been temperature controlled and the instrument is in great shape for its age.
The wood is beautiful.
I used to play this many years ago in various jazz festivals on the west coast.
I am no longer playing this beautiful plectrum banjo and would like this instrument to go to someone that appreciates its original beauty.
Banjo weighs 8 pounds 14.25 ounces ...
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PAYMENT and SHIPPING
Only PayPal accepted as payment in full for this item.
Only ships only to the address provided by eBay / PayPal at the time of payment … no exceptions.
If you want to do local pickup of this banjo at a local neutral location … please message me thru the eBay system before you purchase with when you would like to do the local pickup, and if agreeable, I will change the listing to local pick-up only before you purchase.
Instrument will be put into its case, and then into a cardboard box, and surrounded carefully with packing materials to protect the case from moving around inside the box during transport as much as practical, and shipped with care, as noted in the shipping section of this listing.
I prefer shipping very early in the week to minimize any time the package would be sitting in a truck over the weekend.
Ships only to address provided at time of payment as verified and sent by PayPay.
While I would prefer to sell this within the lower 48 United States, I will be happy to sell to anywhere where eBay can determine the shipping costs thru their shipping calculator.
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FURTHER THOUGHTS
Please look at pictures for actual item that is included.
If you have any questions, please email me.
Sold as is.
No returns.
Happy buying!!!
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