Brand: Bacon and Day
Instrument Categories: Banjos, SOLD, Tenor
It’s always interesting to see vintage pieces like this Bacon and Day Super Tenor banjo, built around 1927 at the Bacon Banjos shop in Boston, Massachusetts. The Super Tenor was built from 1920 to 1927.
From 1906 to 1920, noted musician Fredrick Bacon sold banjos under his own name. In 1921, he partnered with David Day and while the company name remained Bacon, many instruments were branded Bacon and Day. Bacon, and Bacon and Day, operated independently until 1940 when they were purchased by Gretsch; the line was discontinued in 1967.
The tenor banjo was invented by the Vega company and first appeared in 1908.
In the 1920’s, Tenor banjos were very popular and used in a number of genres, notably jazz and dixieland forms but in reality – anything that promoted dancing, particularly as the Victorian era faded. Banjos are able to provide a rhythm sound that cuts through the rest of the mix. However,
Though the Tenor Banjo is now mostly found in a Celtic or Irish Music context, it’s relatively new to the genre – it was not used in Ireland much before 1960.
Here, we’re looking at a fully playable Bacon and Day Super Tenor Banjo, which we are dating to 1927 – its last year of production – based on serial numbers and features. It appears to be in all original condition, including the Elton arm rest and Presto tailpiece. The skin head is original and bears stamps noting the skin brand and the Montreal music store where the banjo was purchased. The Super Tenor is built with Birdseye Maple, Ebony for the fingerboard, and fairly elaborate Mother of Pearl inlays. It has some fret wear, but plays without buzzing. Overall, for a 92 year old, this instrument is in great shape.
The original hard shell case is included.
- Model: Super Tenor
- Year: 1927 | Approximate year
- Finish Natural
- Class: Vintage
- Serial Number: 22076
- Country of Origin: USA
- Condition: Good
- Date Posted: 26/08/2019
- This instrument has been sold
- Consignment Item
- Including original Hard case
- Instrument Weight: 9.02lbs 4.1kg
- Scale Length: 23in 584mm
- Nut Width: 1.81in 30mm
