Clifton Hicks

Relative Dating the "Mountain" Banjo

Added 2018-04-13 20:07:09 +0000 UTC

(photos by R. W. Gordon, 1924-25, Library of Congress)

"Mr. Cohen, et al.:

"As far as I know, banjos with internal tensioning systems (vaguely similar to the "mountain" banjos we are discussing) began there development right in the middle of the war with George Tweed's banjo design patent of April 1862. I do not mean to suggest that mountain banjos (sometimes called "can" banjos by actual mountaineers) trace their lineage to Tweed's design--I merely point this example out to demonstrate that the idea of an internalized tension system (involving a mounted head set into a mostly-enclosed wooden body) was already well established by the 1860s. The idea was so well established, in fact, that Dobson's simplified version (patented 1867) became one of the most popular banjo designs of the 1870s.

"Since the mountain/can banjo almost certainly did not exist prior to the appearance of cheap sheet metals in rural communities, it's obvious that its development occurred after the widespread appearance of cheap sheet metal. We know that this occurred during and, in Appalachia, mostly after the American Civil War (1861-1865). John Styles patented the first entirely sheet metal banjo in 1873!

"Rather than assume that my fellow humans are unimaginative and un-resourceful, I tend to assume that they are curious and inventive. Therefore, yes, I think it quite logical to assume an earliest possible date of 1870 for our ubiquitous and mysterious "mountain" banjo.

"Sincerely & Respectfully, Clifton Hicks"

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LINK: https://www.banjohangout.org/topic/337943/4/#4322426