Doug Unger Presentation Open Back Banjo (c.2003)

Here is a stunning homage to the Fairbanks banjos of the 1890s by master craftsman Doug Unger. Doug made this neck to mate with a Weymann c.1900 top-of-the-line rim (described below) as a personal custom order for dealer John Bernunzio. Every deluxe feature imaginable appears on this neck. The beautifully engraved pearl inlays in the ivoroid-bound Weymann shaped headstock and neck are reminiscent of the best work from Icilio Consalvi (the Italian immigrant who set the standard for instrument engraving on Fairbanks and other Boston-made banjos beginning in the 1890s). You may want to feast your eyes on the detail in the attached photos of the headstock (front and back - with ebony back-strapping) and ivoroid-bound ebony fretboard. Catch your breath a little and observe the unique carving on the Cole-style boat-shaped heel. While you’re looking at the back of the banjo, note the metal-spun Weymann rim.  Very few of these Weymann top-of-the-line open back banjos are known to exist, and most have similar marquetry and somewhat varied elegant engraving.