Bacon & Day Sultana Silver Bell #1 3/4 5 String Resonator Banjo (1936)
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Item # 12465
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Bacon & Day Sultana Silver Bell #1 3/4 Model 5 String Resonator Banjo (1936), made in Groton CT, serial # 34591, shaded maple and pearloid finish, laminated maple neck and rim, original black chipboard case.
This beautiful jewel of a banjo is a true unicorn, an amazingly well preserved instrument in a configuration we have never seen or even heard of before. This B&D Sultana is a very rare 5-string version; practically all of these were tenors or Plectrums. It is also a 3/4 scale instrument, with all the dimensions scaled down proportionately. We would have to assume it was either custom made for a young (or very small) player or intended to be tuned up as a sort of "terz banjo"; nothing like this was ever mentioned in Bacon literature. This instrument was certainly a one-off custom order, which in 1936 the Bacon company was likely very happy to indulge, as banjo sales had slipped to a fraction of their pre-depression numbers.
The Sultana #1 style was offered in Tenor or Plectrum form at $150, which was a fairly stiff price in the mid-1930s if not exorbitant by 1920s "jazz age" banjo standards. It was one of the later B&D Silver Bell designs, introduced as the depression was looming so the model missed the "boom" period of the 1920s. The Sultana Silver Bell was generally similar to the earlier "Montana" in employing large swaths of engraved and painted pearloid as the primary decorative element, a B&D specialty. The main difference was the Sultana has a darker more shaded look "Designed to evoke the mysterious east" as Bacon once mooted. Sultana tenors are rarer than earlier Bacon styles but not exceptionally so.
This instrument is different; While Fred Bacon was originally a 5-string player by the 1920s the "classic" banjo made up only a tiny fraction of his company's sales; by the 1930s it was down to practically nil. This Sultana is built on a 10" rim, likely the pattern originally laid-out for a banjo-mandolin. The "Cloverleaf" flange and resonator are scaled proportionately, with standard B&D fittings like the curved armrest, Oettinger adjustable tailpiece and patented pedal mute all present. The rim is covered in amber shaded pearloid, as is the back of the resonator which is also engraved and painted with an elaborate ornamental design.
The 5-piece laminated maple neck has a very short 20 1/8" scale, with a fingerboard extension giving a 22 fret range. Both sides of the headstock, the fingerboard and heelcap are covered in the same shaded pearloid with particularly dark engraved and painted accents. The headstock is Bacon's larger more elaborate 1930s pattern, mounting original Planet tuners with beautiful amber Catalin buttons, continued on the 5th string peg. The back of the neck is finished in a sort of greenish shaded maple.
We don't know why this diminutive banjo exists but we're sure glad it does! There has to be a story there; someone had a real specific request, and Bacon came through with what amounts to a miniature 5-string masterpiece. It makes a dandy player in standard tuning, albeit happier with heavy strings and would be really happy tuned up a third or fourth, where it could really sparkle. This banjo recently surfaced in the Midwest, where it was bought decades ago for $150 on the condition it be set up as a tenor! It is now back in its original unique form, simply one of the rarest, coolest and (dare we say it?) cutest 5-string banjos we have ever seen.
Overall length is 30 1/4 in. (76.8 cm.), 10 in. (25.4 cm.) diameter head, and 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 20 1/8 in. (511 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/8 in. (29 mm.).
This extremely rare banjo remains in exceptionally fine condition overall, showing really not much wear for its 85+ years on earth. We can only assume whoever commissioned this unique piece simply did not play it very much for whatever reason. The chrome plating mostly shines like new and there is some darkening but very little loss to the engraved and painted accents on the resonator, headstock and fingerboard.
All hardware is original and this is a superb little player, with an older replaced skin head (as mentioned in the included sale note) and old Grover deluxe bridge. The original frets have been recently leveled and have plenty of meat left on them. This is simply a stunning find, a likely one-of-a-kind instrument in as fine condition as we could possibly wish. It resides in what appears to be the original case, a heavy chipboard tenor-size piece which is more worn than the instrument but still functional. Excellent + Condition.
This beautiful jewel of a banjo is a true unicorn, an amazingly well preserved instrument in a configuration we have never seen or even heard of before. This B&D Sultana is a very rare 5-string version; practically all of these were tenors or Plectrums. It is also a 3/4 scale instrument, with all the dimensions scaled down proportionately. We would have to assume it was either custom made for a young (or very small) player or intended to be tuned up as a sort of "terz banjo"; nothing like this was ever mentioned in Bacon literature. This instrument was certainly a one-off custom order, which in 1936 the Bacon company was likely very happy to indulge, as banjo sales had slipped to a fraction of their pre-depression numbers.
The Sultana #1 style was offered in Tenor or Plectrum form at $150, which was a fairly stiff price in the mid-1930s if not exorbitant by 1920s "jazz age" banjo standards. It was one of the later B&D Silver Bell designs, introduced as the depression was looming so the model missed the "boom" period of the 1920s. The Sultana Silver Bell was generally similar to the earlier "Montana" in employing large swaths of engraved and painted pearloid as the primary decorative element, a B&D specialty. The main difference was the Sultana has a darker more shaded look "Designed to evoke the mysterious east" as Bacon once mooted. Sultana tenors are rarer than earlier Bacon styles but not exceptionally so.
This instrument is different; While Fred Bacon was originally a 5-string player by the 1920s the "classic" banjo made up only a tiny fraction of his company's sales; by the 1930s it was down to practically nil. This Sultana is built on a 10" rim, likely the pattern originally laid-out for a banjo-mandolin. The "Cloverleaf" flange and resonator are scaled proportionately, with standard B&D fittings like the curved armrest, Oettinger adjustable tailpiece and patented pedal mute all present. The rim is covered in amber shaded pearloid, as is the back of the resonator which is also engraved and painted with an elaborate ornamental design.
The 5-piece laminated maple neck has a very short 20 1/8" scale, with a fingerboard extension giving a 22 fret range. Both sides of the headstock, the fingerboard and heelcap are covered in the same shaded pearloid with particularly dark engraved and painted accents. The headstock is Bacon's larger more elaborate 1930s pattern, mounting original Planet tuners with beautiful amber Catalin buttons, continued on the 5th string peg. The back of the neck is finished in a sort of greenish shaded maple.
We don't know why this diminutive banjo exists but we're sure glad it does! There has to be a story there; someone had a real specific request, and Bacon came through with what amounts to a miniature 5-string masterpiece. It makes a dandy player in standard tuning, albeit happier with heavy strings and would be really happy tuned up a third or fourth, where it could really sparkle. This banjo recently surfaced in the Midwest, where it was bought decades ago for $150 on the condition it be set up as a tenor! It is now back in its original unique form, simply one of the rarest, coolest and (dare we say it?) cutest 5-string banjos we have ever seen.
Overall length is 30 1/4 in. (76.8 cm.), 10 in. (25.4 cm.) diameter head, and 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 20 1/8 in. (511 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/8 in. (29 mm.).
This extremely rare banjo remains in exceptionally fine condition overall, showing really not much wear for its 85+ years on earth. We can only assume whoever commissioned this unique piece simply did not play it very much for whatever reason. The chrome plating mostly shines like new and there is some darkening but very little loss to the engraved and painted accents on the resonator, headstock and fingerboard.
All hardware is original and this is a superb little player, with an older replaced skin head (as mentioned in the included sale note) and old Grover deluxe bridge. The original frets have been recently leveled and have plenty of meat left on them. This is simply a stunning find, a likely one-of-a-kind instrument in as fine condition as we could possibly wish. It resides in what appears to be the original case, a heavy chipboard tenor-size piece which is more worn than the instrument but still functional. Excellent + Condition.