kazootwo2 - Posted - 03/21/2026:  12:43:39

Hi All,

Any help identifying this unknown and unnamed banjo would be much appreciated.

Bought for just £40 over here in the UK. It looks American to me, the distinctive metal plate at the base of the neck might help with the ID, or maybe the peg head, or fingerboard
markings will be pointers to the maker?

There seems to be initials in the metal plate, perhaps W M or something similar? (I have a Lyon & Healy Mystic that has a plate quite like it).

Any advice or pointers would be much appreciated, thanks.

Bob.

Texasbanjo - Posted - 03/21/2026:  14:12:29

Looks very similar to an entry level banjo I have had for years. Mine has a resonator. Mine also has that star on the headstock. It's a beginner or entry level and not worth much as far as I'm concerned. You can learn on it if that's what you're wanting it for.

Zachary Hoyt - Posted - 03/21/2026:  18:47:43

I don't know the maker of yours, but I had a banjo with a similarly large number of hooks (38 on mine) that I bought for $20 at an auction, missing a lot of the hardware, and with some damage where a rodent had gnawed off part of the neck heel. I fixed it up and sold it to someone in (I think) a Scandinavian country some 10 years or so ago. Yours looks complete, so it could be a good player with a bit of work. You certainly got it for a good price. The one I had was pretty lightweight, and quite loud with nylgut strings.

Andy FitzGibbon - Posted - 03/21/2026:  18:55:40

Of the "New York school". Buckbee was probably the most prominent maker, but there were others in the same mold.

kazootwo2 - Posted - 03/22/2026:  02:49:16

Thanks for all the replies, yes I was pleased with the price.



The guy in the antiques/ collectables shop said he'd picked it up as part of an estate sale about 3 years ego and since then it had sat in his shop for sale at £125.



When I noticed it, it was tucked in a corner and half hidden behind other stuff, pretty much unloved and unlooked at, I could see the neck and the inlays but not the rest of it, and because I took a slight interest and asked to see it he offered it for only £40 - I think he was glad to see it finally going out of the door.



Didn't go in there to buy another banjo (I was looking for 78 records) but there you go, at that price it was too cheap to be walking away from :-)



I'll fix it up and get it playing soon.

Edited by - kazootwo2 on 03/22/2026 02:51:12

AndrewD - Posted - 03/22/2026:  03:19:52

What makes you think it's American ? A side view of the pot showing specifics of the hook design, and a better view of the neck to pot connection inside the pot may help narrow it down. The geared pegs are unlikely to be original. It would have had simple violin type friction pegs suitable for the gut (use nylon nowadays) strings of the day.

AndrewD - Posted - 03/22/2026:  03:23:50

quote:

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Originally posted by Texasbanjo

Looks very similar to an entry level banjo I have had for years. Mine has a resonator. Mine also has that star on the headstock. It's a beginner or entry level and not worth much as far as I'm concerned. You can learn on it if that's what you're wanting it for.

---

If your banjo had a resonator it's at least 20 years later than this one. The 'entry level' geared tuners on this one are not original.

Andy FitzGibbon - Posted - 03/22/2026:  04:14:24

quote:

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Originally posted by AndrewD

quote:

---

Originally posted by Texasbanjo

Looks very similar to an entry level banjo I have had for years. Mine has a resonator. Mine also has that star on the headstock. It's a beginner or entry level and not worth much as far as I'm concerned. You can learn on it if that's what you're wanting it for.

---

If your banjo had a resonator it's at least 20 years later than this one. The 'entry level' geared tuners on this one are not original.

---

Resonators were commonly added to older instruments when they came into vogue in the 1920s-30s.

All the construction details on this instrument- neck shaping, peghead, inlays, hardware, ect- point to it being American, made in NYC ca. 1880-1900.

kazootwo2 - Posted - 03/22/2026:  04:40:36

The main reason I thought it may be American was the guy in the shop said it came from a bunch of stuff from a family who'd left the US years ago and settled over here (in the UK), he said it was with a load of 'quality furniture' and thought it might have came with them.



A lot of the banjos I see for sale in junk shops over here are five string english zither style, not many open back banjos.



Here's some more photos showing the hooks and the neck connection (it's had a rough looking repair done to the neck in the pot).



The wire strings will be getting swapped out for nylon.

Thanks

Edited by - kazootwo2 on 03/22/2026 04:52:07

Joel Hooks - Posted - 03/22/2026:  05:53:36

Oh, it is certainly a New York banjo, as Andy wrote.

Unless it is marked (evidently it is not) there is no telling where it came from. As mentioned, the usual lazy attribution is “Buckbee” but the fact is that unknown numbers were turning out very similar/identical banjos.

kazootwo2 - Posted - 03/23/2026:  02:35:18

Thanks for all your comments and advice, I thought if I asked here I'd get some good help with a likely identification.

I'll go with 'New York Style' possibly by 'Buckbee' or a similar manufacturer up there in the 1880s to 1900 - much appreciated!

Jim Bollman - Posted - 03/23/2026:  11:52:36

tailpiece and pegs are later additions to this NYC banjo ca. 1880s as others have already mentioned.

Barnburner - Posted - 03/25/2026:  07:06:10

I assume this is a good forum for verifying authenticity of old banjos?