Vintage Antique August Pollmann Walnut Five String Professional Banjo Open Back
Item History & Price
Vintage Antique August Pollmann Walnut Five String Professional Banjo Open Back. This banjo was relisted due to an error by a potential buyer- sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.This is a clean August Pollmann 5 string open back banjo. August Pollmann was a New York music merchandise entrepeneur and distributor in the late 1800's and early 1900's and the banjo has an ivoroid disk inset into the fingerboard next to the tension hoop which identifies th...is banjo as an "August Pollmann Royal Professional" model. The tailpiece is engraved "A.G. Wood pat. April 5, 1887." All of the shoes, hooks and nuts and the tension hoop appear to be complete and original. The original seller is identified by a stamp on the Walnut dowel stick to be "G.L. Wild and Bro., Washington, D.C." who sold pianos, banjos and other instruments and accessories from the mid to late 1800's. Every banjo player has setup preferences so the new owner may want to change something, but in a general sense this banjo is ready to play. The head is nice clean 10-3/4" calfskin, with an approx. 11/16" Maple bridge, a round wire flesh hoop and all nylgut strings. The banjo could be converted to use metal strings if the new owner desires. The headstock and Black Walnut neck have been overcoated with nitrocellulose lacquer and the headstock has 2 pearl inlays and some imperfections/scrapes in the ebony overlay. The ebony/dark rosewood fretboard has inlays at the frets 1, 5, 7, 9, 15, and the Pollmann label disk next to the pot. There is a thin brass shim at the end of the fretboard. The main nut is bone and appears to be the original at approx. 1-5/16" wide. Strings are about 3/32" above the 12th fret. The neck is straight and has a "v" shape with a longitudinal ridge running down to the hashmarked heel. The instrument is about 35" long and 2-1/2" deep overall with a scale length of about 25-1/4". The inside to the Maple pot is lacquered black and the outside is spun over with nickel-plated brass which has lost much of its plating. The fifth string nut appears to be the original bone "pip." One of the black ebony (or other wood?) tuning pegs is shinier /newer than the others and all of them work satisfactorily. There is no case, but I will take special care in packing. Shipping will be a flat rate of $50 to anywhere in the contiguous 48 states via FedEx or USPS and actual cost elsewhere; please send me your zip code if you want a shipping quote. Please ask any questions you have before bidding. Thanks for reading the entire description.
