Description
Dating to approximately 1905, this A. A. Farland Concert Grand Open Back Banjo was built by Rettberg and Lange in New York and is in very good, fully playable condition.
This wonderful piece is designed for use with gut or nylon strings only; Farland was famously not in favour of steel strings. This banjo also includes as a 1920's retrofit, an Elton spun-aluminum 'pie-pan' tone reflector with single post mount.
Typical of higher end instruments of the time, the heel carries a Foliate carving on both sides.
These A. A. Farland banjos are rare, though there are no sources for production records. Farland developed key parts of the banjo design, particularly the beveled wooden tone ring, and held patents for several hardware items including the tailpiece, a reflector design (this banjo comes with a 1920's 3rd party reflector), and a mute system. He also specified the inlays used on these banjos. The actual work was executed under contract by companies including J. H. Buckbee and then Rettberg and Lange.
A company motto, seen in their catalogs, is "Louder than a Piano, Sweeter than a Harp"!
Sold with a new Crossrock tweed archtop case, containing information on the banjo and A A Farland.
This was a high-end banjo in 1905 and the Farland catalog listed the Concert Grand model at $50 - in current dollars $1,940 USD or 2,680 CAD - and at that time, an average skilled worker might earn $600 - $800 USD per year with a 54 to 60 hour week.
About A. A. Farland
A. A. Farland (Alfred Adolphus Farland) is best known as a premier classical style banjo virtuoso working from 1884 to 1939 and dying in 1954 at 90.
Born during 1864 in Lachine, Canada East (which became Lachine, Quebec after Confederation in 1867), he was the youngest of 9 children. In 1865 the family moved to Rhode Island for work in the fabric industry. He started taking banjo lessons at age 13, and at 14 he took work as a weaver in Westerly, Rhode Island. Within five years he became a professional musician, touring in concert groups and and teaching many students.
Materials and Construction
As the A. A. Farland Concert Grand open back banjo is made for gut or nylon strings, it uses just a few woods - primarily Maple and Ebony. The rim is Birdseye Maple, the neck has Curly figuring. There is no metal tone ring; instead, Farland specified a beveled edge on the maple rim to preserve a rich, warm classical banjo tone without the harsh brittleness of a metal tone ring. The rim cap, dowel stick key, fingerboard and head plate are Ebony. The Fleur-de-Lis inlays are Mother of Pearl with a small amount of Abalone.
The metal head bracket is held in place by 25 tension hooks. The tailpiece is stamped AAF, and is a Farland design. The tuners are Grover 'Champion' friction models with black Bakelite buttons.
The finish is the original light clear spirit varnish, turned amber with age and exposure to light but otherwise in very good condition. There is little fret wear except to the first fret. The fret wire used on this banjo is an early bead and tang type, distinct from the 'bar' style used on some models by Martin as late as 1938.
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |
DETAILS:
- Instrument Model: Concert Grand
- Instrument Manufacturer: A,. A. Farland by Rettberg and Lange
- Instrument year: c. 1905, precise dating impossible
- Instrument Finish: Varnish
- Instrument Class: 5-String Open Back Nylon String Banjos
- Instrument serial number: N/A, features date to approximately 1905. Built under contract to Farland by Rettberg & Lange in NYC.
- Country of Origin: USA
- Instrument Condition: Very Good
- Right-handed
- Instrument Weight Imperial: 5.016 lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: 2.28 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 26.22 in
- Scale Length Metric: 666 mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 1.288 in
- Nut Width Metric: 32.72 mm
- CITIES Documentation Required: No
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: No
- Items in Case: Info on A. A. Farland
- Case Type: New Hard Shell Arched Top Tweed Crossrock case
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 191030
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |