1867 Dobson Minstrel Banjo Signed "Eddie Fox!"
Added 2019-04-15 22:08:58 +0000 UTChttps://patreon.com/cliftonhicks
This is an original 1867 patent Dobson banjo made in in New York. These were marketed both as stage and "parlor" instruments. The peg head is signed "Eddie Fox," a famous minstrel performer and composer who worked on the stage from the 1840s or '50s into the late 1890s. There's no telling if this banjo was ever actually played by Fox, but it's interesting.
"Its tension adjusted by screws on the top of the instrument, Dobson's 'Patent' banjo became a popular and well-regarded instrument, pronounced, as the maker boldly put it, 'the master banjo of the age' and, as even Dobson's competitor S. S. Stewart admitted, 'for a time' having 'a large sale.' Starting at a price of $20 for a polished rosewood model with '20 silver screws, 20 silver side pieces, silver tail piece, Italian [gut] strings and ebony pegs,' this banjo, 'with very fancy inlay work,' could cost as much as $100."
- Gura & Bollman, America's Instrument: The Banjo in the Nineteenth Century (University of North Carolina, 1999)
For a great look at the technical details of this model, follow this link:
http://savethebanjos.com/1867%20Dobson/HC%20Dobson%20banjo.htm
And thanks to Gamut Musical Strings for providing the gut strings used on this banjo: https://www.gamutmusic.com/ 1-888-724-8099
