Circa 1890 Buckbee Artist Model Project Banjo

Description

The auctions ending on this day are the last ones we will be running this year. We'll be starting up again in January so bookmark our eBay store so you can see when we start listing again.
This mahogany Buckbee “Artist Banjo” neck has a 25 ¾” string scale, and is 1 9/32” wide at the nut. Both the fingerboard and headstock overlay are real ebony. Serial number on the 10 3/4” long dowel stick is “1551” The neck is reasonably straight with some relief but of course we can’t test it under tension. All 18 frets are firmly seated. Although the neck has some finish scars it appears to be the original finish and there are no cracks except for the two checks in the ebony headstock veneer (see photo).
We’re not claiming the wood shell is the original, but this neck and the shell were at one time used together as the finish scars on the shell match the outline of the Buckbee heel shape.  Four of the shoes and their mounting bolts are missing. This shell is 11 1/8” in diameter, appears to be 3-ply maple with a mahogany veneer on the inside and figured mahogany (?) veneer on the exterior. The dowel stick of the Buckbee neck fits the dowel stick hole in the shell.
This project banjo came from the estate of a confirmed banjo tinkerer. All its metal parts had been removed long before it landed at Gryphon and we have done no repairs. This was listed and sold in a recent eBay auction but the winning bidder never paid for it. It was NOT shipped and returned!
We ship on Wednesday following the Sunday close of the auction.