~1890 Ajax Temlett Fretless 5-String Banjo

I LOVE this banjo! As charming and endearing as any open-back 5-string banjo can possibly be. Apparently made in Britain (news to me) for the American market in the late 1890s and so beautifully done. Its solid Brazilian rosewood neck with seductive mother-of-pearl pearl fingerboard inlay and seven-pointed-star peghead inlay cleverly made from seven slotted diamonds, solid ebony tuning pegs and three laminations beneath the fingerboard and peghead overlay, make it deceptively elegant. The all-metal 11-1/8” rim (oh, those Brits!) rings out like nobody’s business. And that hand-carved solid-bone tailpiece, dang! In remarkably fine condition, it is all the fretless 5-string banjo anyone would possibly ever want. Nylon strings in place of the original gut of course. Comes with an oddly-shaped but seemingly original hard shell case. $1195 w/ohsc