Windsor The New Windsor Patent #6 5 String Zither Banjo (1910s)
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Item # 10493
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Windsor The New Windsor Patent #6 Model 5 String Zither Banjo (1910s), made in London, England, natural finish, laminated walnut rim, rosewood neck with ebony fingerboard, original black leather case.
From 1887 until their Birmingham factory was destroyed in 1940 in a German air-raid, the Windsor company was the largest maker of fretted instruments in the UK. Arthur Octavius Windsor had started out with a small factory building Coffins and fabricating metal hardware. He developed a passion for banjos which led to opening a new specialist factory, building what became a celebrated line of banjos and other fretted instruments.
Windsor quickly adapted the unique Alfred Cammeyer design that became known as the Zither Banjo in England. This style of construction employs a metal rim, head and tension hoop assembly winch is mounted into an integral wooden body/neck assembly. While this design never caught on in the US it became the dominant style of banjo in the UK and commonwealth, with Windsor as its best known proponent. Windsor registered a number of patents, and by the 20th century his mane was synonymous with the Zither Banjo to most players.
Unlike most banjo makers, Windsor fabricated all of their own hardware and fittings. These were specific to their own instruments, thus insuring that customers would have to buy replacement parts only from A.O. Windsor! This is a very finely made instrument replete with distinctive Windsor touches. The rim/neck assembly is walnut, very neatly made and fitted. The metal rim parts are beautifully machined and fitted, with a nifty two-stage integral tailpiece.
The slim, V-profile neck has some nice shaped pearl inlay in the ebony fingerboard. There is a small "No. 6" stamp on the headstock face identifying the style; dating these is difficult as they were made the same way for generations but the tuners on this one are an early style. The heel has a "New Windsor Patent" plate affixed with an illustration of Windsor Castle.
One Windsor feature which never fails to baffle American banjoists is the 5th string tunnel in the neck which runs to the headstock, eliminating the extra tuner hanging off the neck on most banjos. Most Windsor banjos have a slotted headstock with six guitar-style tuners, three per side. Only 5 are used; technically the 6th can act as a spare but one suspects the design was most practical for simplifying parts procurement!
A.O. Windsor made very high quality instruments but was also skilled at promotion, not unlike his contemporary S.S. Stewart in the US. He campaigned actively for his instruments' popularity and even published a 50 page book "How a Zither-Banjo Is Made" in 1896. All this helped make Windsor a household name in the UK, all of which can hardly have sat well with Alfred Cammeyer, then making banjos of his own original design in competition with Windsor, who had basically poached it. That century-old drama aside, this is a very fine instrument of its type, an interesting player if very eccentric to the average Yankee picker.
Overall length is 37 in. (94 cm.), 8 11/16 in. (22.1 cm.) diameter head, and 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm.) in depth at side. Scale length is 27 1/4 in. (692 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/8 in. (35 mm.).
This banjo remains in largely original condition, well preserved for being now 100 or more years old. The body and neck were overfinished many decades ago, visible but not too heavily and showing little subsequent wear. The fingerboard and frets are original and also show only light wear. There is a tight laminate check in the rim by the treble side heel that looks to have been repaired decades ago, before the finish work.
All hardware appears original and the metal is very well preserved including the rim assembly, tailpiece, and geared tuners, which are very 19th century in style with original bone buttons. This banjo is set up with what appears top be a old hand-tucked thin plastic head, something we had not seen like this before. Like all these banjos it was designed to be strung with a mixture of silk, steel and gut strings specific to the Zither Banjo; as this totally baffles American players as well we have left it steel strung, which results in a bright and peppy sound. It can of course easily be re-strung "properly" if desired!
The walnut neck is relatively straight for one of these but does have some minor forward bow; the banjo is still quite playable. Taken as it is, this is a lovely original period piece, an interesting banjo with more depth to the sound than the small head would seem able to offer. It resides in the original heavy chipboard English case, as eccentric in its own way as the banjo itself. Excellent Condition.
From 1887 until their Birmingham factory was destroyed in 1940 in a German air-raid, the Windsor company was the largest maker of fretted instruments in the UK. Arthur Octavius Windsor had started out with a small factory building Coffins and fabricating metal hardware. He developed a passion for banjos which led to opening a new specialist factory, building what became a celebrated line of banjos and other fretted instruments.
Windsor quickly adapted the unique Alfred Cammeyer design that became known as the Zither Banjo in England. This style of construction employs a metal rim, head and tension hoop assembly winch is mounted into an integral wooden body/neck assembly. While this design never caught on in the US it became the dominant style of banjo in the UK and commonwealth, with Windsor as its best known proponent. Windsor registered a number of patents, and by the 20th century his mane was synonymous with the Zither Banjo to most players.
Unlike most banjo makers, Windsor fabricated all of their own hardware and fittings. These were specific to their own instruments, thus insuring that customers would have to buy replacement parts only from A.O. Windsor! This is a very finely made instrument replete with distinctive Windsor touches. The rim/neck assembly is walnut, very neatly made and fitted. The metal rim parts are beautifully machined and fitted, with a nifty two-stage integral tailpiece.
The slim, V-profile neck has some nice shaped pearl inlay in the ebony fingerboard. There is a small "No. 6" stamp on the headstock face identifying the style; dating these is difficult as they were made the same way for generations but the tuners on this one are an early style. The heel has a "New Windsor Patent" plate affixed with an illustration of Windsor Castle.
One Windsor feature which never fails to baffle American banjoists is the 5th string tunnel in the neck which runs to the headstock, eliminating the extra tuner hanging off the neck on most banjos. Most Windsor banjos have a slotted headstock with six guitar-style tuners, three per side. Only 5 are used; technically the 6th can act as a spare but one suspects the design was most practical for simplifying parts procurement!
A.O. Windsor made very high quality instruments but was also skilled at promotion, not unlike his contemporary S.S. Stewart in the US. He campaigned actively for his instruments' popularity and even published a 50 page book "How a Zither-Banjo Is Made" in 1896. All this helped make Windsor a household name in the UK, all of which can hardly have sat well with Alfred Cammeyer, then making banjos of his own original design in competition with Windsor, who had basically poached it. That century-old drama aside, this is a very fine instrument of its type, an interesting player if very eccentric to the average Yankee picker.
Overall length is 37 in. (94 cm.), 8 11/16 in. (22.1 cm.) diameter head, and 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm.) in depth at side. Scale length is 27 1/4 in. (692 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/8 in. (35 mm.).
This banjo remains in largely original condition, well preserved for being now 100 or more years old. The body and neck were overfinished many decades ago, visible but not too heavily and showing little subsequent wear. The fingerboard and frets are original and also show only light wear. There is a tight laminate check in the rim by the treble side heel that looks to have been repaired decades ago, before the finish work.
All hardware appears original and the metal is very well preserved including the rim assembly, tailpiece, and geared tuners, which are very 19th century in style with original bone buttons. This banjo is set up with what appears top be a old hand-tucked thin plastic head, something we had not seen like this before. Like all these banjos it was designed to be strung with a mixture of silk, steel and gut strings specific to the Zither Banjo; as this totally baffles American players as well we have left it steel strung, which results in a bright and peppy sound. It can of course easily be re-strung "properly" if desired!
The walnut neck is relatively straight for one of these but does have some minor forward bow; the banjo is still quite playable. Taken as it is, this is a lovely original period piece, an interesting banjo with more depth to the sound than the small head would seem able to offer. It resides in the original heavy chipboard English case, as eccentric in its own way as the banjo itself. Excellent Condition.