1905/1909 Fairbanks Whyte Laydie N.O. 7
1905/1909 Fairbanks Whyte Laydie N.O. 7. We might have the world’s longest banjo here. When entering this banjo’s two serial numbers, 23241 & 25717, in to an internet search engine, a map from Richmond Virginia to Huntington, West Virginia pops up. That’s 368 miles folks. Anyone have a longer Fairbanks? All zip codes aside, this is one decent, altered, and interesting Whyte Laydie N.O. 7. Starting with the maple neck. One side is nicely flamed curly maple. the other half is gorgeous quilted maple. The original finish has been overcoated with lacquer Under that lacquer, on the peghead front & back, and heel cap, is Consalvi engraved mother of pearl inlay. The 27” scale fretboard has the traditional N.O. 7 inlay shapes. It appears to us that the position markers at frets 1, 3, & 5 have been replaced. The position markers at 7, 9, 12, 15, & 17 have been re-engraved, and the 22nd fret marker is original. The fretboard looks to have been reglued with it being slightly misaligned near the rim. The tuners are period gold plated screw tension friction tuners with nice solid mother of pearl buttons. The rim diameter is 10-15/16”. The finish on the rim and dowelstick both appear to be original. The dowelstick has two filled holes that are maybe from a, now removed, mute system. The 28 matching cobra hooks with ball end nuts are modern reproductions. The tailpiece is a modern reproduction of the Cooks Sure-Grip (popularly misidentified as a cammed No-Knot). We have this banjo strung with LaBella number 17 nylon strings and it produces a nice clear tone that works well with finger or clawhammer style. With all the alterations it is priced at ½ of the going rate for an excellent original example. The $6,000 price tag includes a period, likely original hard case.