Fairbanks & Cole CLIPPER Banjos
--------
Quoting from the preface to an 1886 F&C Price-List:
"The success of the "Clipper" Banjo during the
past
two years
has encouraged us to make still another effort, and
we feel sure
that the "Expert" Banjos will prove a blessing in
disguise to many
who do not feel like paying $50.00 for a banjo."
That said, it is surprising that the Clipper is one
of
the more elusive
F&C models. Only seven have come to light thus far,
and all seven
are quite different.
Jim Bollman, in his characteristic generosity, has
allowed
me to
include the 1886 Clipper
catalog
page on this site. Ranging in price
from $50 to $100, the Clipper was the top of the
F&C
banjo line.
Apparently the high price was a serious issue since
several
years later,
in an F&C price list from 1889, the Clipper is
given
only cursory
mention and there is no illustrated page devoted to it
at all.
--------
All
Clippers
have a
distinctive metal covering on the lower portion of
the thick laminated wooden pot
that
extends from the center of the
outside of the rim,
down and across the bottom and then back up
about 1/4"
on
the lower inside. They are fitted with a metal tone ring
which varies from instrument to instrument.
Other features common to Clippers are an ebony
backstrap,
32 cobra
hooks with fancy square ball end nuts, and high grade
ivory fittings.
--------
Of the seven presently known:
S/N
1234 (ca. 1881)
appeared on ebay in September of 2019. It is a
fairly plain example with not many MOP inlays, a few of
which are missing. It has flush ivory frets and was sold
with a single carved ivory peg. Here it's shown with some
plain ivory replacement pegs. It has a tone ring consisting
of a perforated hollow round tube. A more unusual feature
is the simple "outline" carving on the heel which is seen on
a small number of early F&C banjos, the first being s/n 1000.
S/N 1402
(ca.
1881) was destroyed in a fire. The remaining pot and
the stub of the neck were recovered from the slag heap.
S/N 1700 (ca. 1881)
appeared on ebay in January of 2008. Here it is
as part of Bill Destler's fine banjo collection.
S/N 1916
(ca.
1881)
is
a
highly
decorated
model with beautiful and
unusual inlays on the fingerboard and peghead, and a
ring of
mother of pearl leaves around the outside center
of the pot.
The fingerboard has large ivory frets.
S/N 3279
(ca. 1883) is a rare true fretless with an ebony fingerboard
decorated with a variety of separate brilliant MOP
designs.
There
are small MOP dots ("side frets") along the side of the
fingerboard
as position
markers, with the 12 "fret" indicated by a small
triangle.
S/N 5735
(ca.
1885) has metal frets and fairly simple inlays
remini-
scent of the unusual style of S/N 1916. It
is particularly unusual in
that
the fancy cast
brackets are attached directly to the lower metal
ring. The
other
Clippers have the usual screw and washers securing
the
brackets through holes in the pot.
This is possibly the first example of Fairbanks'
concept
of a bracket
band.
The 1886 catalog states that the $75 and $100
Clipper
models have:
"Clipper rim with 32 brackets riveted on German
silver
base
(by this process there are no holes in the rim
proper)"
S/N 6656 (ca. 1886)
appeared in 2011. It is in rather poor condition,
missing most of
its inlays and with a broken heel.
This is the second example of the
bracket band.
This entire Clipper site ©2002-2020 HSD - All rights reserved