Well the banjo part of the auction is over but it's still going on.  As expected I was outbid on a Bacon Grand Concert I was interested in.  For the amount I bid adding 25% for the auction house wouldn't have hurt too much.  A few banjos went for startlingly high prices for an auction. Close to $10k.  But most went for just a few hundred dollars including some very nice ones. Now the autoharps are being bid on and several of these have gone for over $1K !!!  For a Zimmerman autoharp. Meanwhile banjos by Cole, Bacon, Fairbanks etc are going for less. Very peculiar. But fun to watch. Whoops now they are starting the Mango Lynns.  Gotta go watch this...

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I was watching for a while. Man! The auctions go by quick!

The Lion banjo I was watching went for $600...which is about right. The Schall I was watching went for $2700...far more than I expected. Yah, it had a cool engraved rim...

The Stewart "Ossman Special" went for $1100

Many, many banjos went for the minimum asking price and even more went for less than their estimate. The first FVE went for $950 and the better one (Gariepy) went for $1200...and a tenor didn't even sell.

The autoharps really tell the tale. About 80% of them did not sell at all. Those that did went for $100...a few at 350 and 500. There were two Zimmermans which did 1000 and 1600.

A chubby dragon went for 9500. Ya gotta add buyer's premium to all the prices...so nearly $12k for that one!

I've put a bid in on a parlor guitar for tomorrow, don't expect to win. I would bid on the Lion Banjo Co. parlor guitar but it seems to be in too poor condition for the minimum $400 bid. I doubt it was actually built by the Lion Co...probably made in Chicago by L&H or someone else. I plan to make a few PGs and it would be nice to have an exemplar.

LOL, I told Miz Diane I was bidding on the Stroh Violin. She took one look at it and nearly swallowed her upper plate. ;-)

Yeah it *does* go by fast. It makes it fun, especially since I didn't expect to be parting with any money. The lower model of Bacon mandolin with the gorgeous maple back was very tempting. But it went for more than I would venture for an instrument whose sound and playability are unknown to me. But fun to watch it all happen. 

Trapdoor2 said:

I was watching for a while. Man! The auctions go by quick!

The Lion banjo I was watching went for $600...which is about right. The Schall I was watching went for $2700...far more than I expected. Yah, it had a cool engraved rim...

The Stewart "Ossman Special" went for $1100

Many, many banjos went for the minimum asking price and even more went for less than their estimate. The first FVE went for $950 and the better one (Gariepy) went for $1200...and a tenor didn't even sell.

The autoharps really tell the tale. About 80% of them did not sell at all. Those that did went for $100...a few at 350 and 500. There were two Zimmermans which did 1000 and 1600.

A chubby dragon went for 9500. Ya gotta add buyer's premium to all the prices...so nearly $12k for that one!

I've put a bid in on a parlor guitar for tomorrow, don't expect to win. I would bid on the Lion Banjo Co. parlor guitar but it seems to be in too poor condition for the minimum $400 bid. I doubt it was actually built by the Lion Co...probably made in Chicago by L&H or someone else. I plan to make a few PGs and it would be nice to have an exemplar.

LOL, I told Miz Diane I was bidding on the Stroh Violin. She took one look at it and nearly swallowed her upper plate. ;-)

That fancy FVE was not a Gariepy.  It was a late Recording Banjo.  I'm guessing late 1920s but before the market crashed.   FVE used that fancy fingerboard inlay.  I have one built in 1951 with the same inlay.

It is mostly found on tenors, but I have seen a few 5 strings with it.

I didn 't  look at this auction ; i just  took an eye at the beautiful instruments

As Jody used to say ,  add 25 % for the auction house , +  ( from France ) 30 % of   3 taxes ( 20 % VAT , 8 % customs , 2 %  shipping ' Co )  + usually huge shipping ' prices ..................

The worse is that it 's exactly the same thing for the Auction houses based in UK , this since the Brexit ..... more , these uction houses complaint because they loosed many customers ........................

I like that inlay pattern. Reminds me somewhat of a Paramount Style A pattern (which I like also).

I received notice last night that I've been outbid on the W.A. Cole parlor guitar. I won't be boosting that bid, but I'll watch it nevertheless.

I've put a bid on another, cheaper one, lesser condition. We'll see what happens. Probably get outbid on that one too...

Joel Hooks said:

That fancy FVE was not a Gariepy.  It was a late Recording Banjo.  I'm guessing late 1920s but before the market crashed.   FVE used that fancy fingerboard inlay.  I have one built in 1951 with the same inlay.

It is mostly found on tenors, but I have seen a few 5 strings with it.

Speaking of inlay patterns I thought that the vine inlay on the Bacon Grand Concert looked like it was done by someone other than whoever inlaid the peghead. And it looked newer. No patina and a different kind of shell. I asked Guerney's (the auction house) but all they were able to find out was that the vine was there when the owner acquired the banjo. This is the one with the 11:5 pot and the 28+ inch scale and the very clean white holly neck. I thought the big pot and and long scale would combine with the Bacon tone ring to create an excellent musical sound. But of course I was outbid.  Does anyone here have an opinion about the inlay.?  They called it a Tree of Life pattern in the description but I've never seen a tree with no trunk or branches. This is a vine.

Trapdoor2 said:

I like that inlay pattern. Reminds me somewhat of a Paramount Style A pattern (which I like also).

I received notice last night that I've been outbid on the W.A. Cole parlor guitar. I won't be boosting that bid, but I'll watch it nevertheless.

I've put a bid on another, cheaper one, lesser condition. We'll see what happens. Probably get outbid on that one too...

Joel Hooks said:

That fancy FVE was not a Gariepy.  It was a late Recording Banjo.  I'm guessing late 1920s but before the market crashed.   FVE used that fancy fingerboard inlay.  I have one built in 1951 with the same inlay.

It is mostly found on tenors, but I have seen a few 5 strings with it.

"Vine" = "Tree of life" for most intents and purposes. I've seen it listed both ways. I guess it depends on your POV.

There are a number of instruments in the collection that feature similar inlay (guitars and banjos). I suspect that the collector simply liked it...and wasn't big on 'originality'.

I agree that it is probably not original on that instrument. When I see the vine inlay and it is bright and new, I think "Vietnam". There are several cutters in Vietnam who supply very fancy inlay to the industry and ebay is usually full of banjos 'upgraded' with fancy inlay.

Jody Stecher said:

Speaking of inlay patterns I thought that the vine inlay on the Bacon Grand Concert looked like it was done by someone other than whoever inlaid the peghead. And it looked newer. No patina and a different kind of shell. I asked Guerney's (the auction house) but all they were able to find out was that the vine was there when the owner acquired the banjo. This is the one with the 11:5 pot and the 28+ inch scale and the very clean white holly neck. I thought the big pot and and long scale would combine with the Bacon tone ring to create an excellent musical sound. But of course I was outbid.  Does anyone here have an opinion about the inlay.?  They called it a Tree of Life pattern in the description but I've never seen a tree with no trunk or branches. This is a vine.

The Vietnamese inlay shell is usually tinged with pink and blue. This inlay is mostly shades of white and silver. It reminds me of the vine inlay on an early Arthur E Smith banjo I once had, Similar style and similar shell.

Trapdoor2 said:

"Vine" = "Tree of life" for most intents and purposes. I've seen it listed both ways. I guess it depends on your POV.

There are a number of instruments in the collection that feature similar inlay (guitars and banjos). I suspect that the collector simply liked it...and wasn't big on 'originality'.

I agree that it is probably not original on that instrument. When I see the vine inlay and it is bright and new, I think "Vietnam". There are several cutters in Vietnam who supply very fancy inlay to the industry and ebay is usually full of banjos 'upgraded' with fancy inlay.

Jody Stecher said:

Speaking of inlay patterns I thought that the vine inlay on the Bacon Grand Concert looked like it was done by someone other than whoever inlaid the peghead. And it looked newer. No patina and a different kind of shell. I asked Guerney's (the auction house) but all they were able to find out was that the vine was there when the owner acquired the banjo. This is the one with the 11:5 pot and the 28+ inch scale and the very clean white holly neck. I thought the big pot and and long scale would combine with the Bacon tone ring to create an excellent musical sound. But of course I was outbid.  Does anyone here have an opinion about the inlay.?  They called it a Tree of Life pattern in the description but I've never seen a tree with no trunk or branches. This is a vine.

Yes - its frustrating that we can no longer trade between EU and UK without high costs.  It used to be so much easier (and less expensive!)

marc dalmasso said:

I didn 't  look at this auction ; i just  took an eye at the beautiful instruments

As Jody used to say ,  add 25 % for the auction house , +  ( from France ) 30 % of   3 taxes ( 20 % VAT , 8 % customs , 2 %  shipping ' Co )  + usually huge shipping ' prices ..................

The worse is that it 's exactly the same thing for the Auction houses based in UK , this since the Brexit ..... more , these uction houses complaint because they loosed many customers ........................

LOL, I won lot #0720, a "Lion" parlor guitar!

I own a Lion banjo and have been researching the company for some years. I've never seen a Lion guitar...didn't even know they offered a guitar. I was interested in it from the beginning but since it had some cracks, etc., I chose to bid on the Cole. After I got outbid on the Cole last night, I went looking at the Lion again and upon closer inspection found that it has the Middlebrooke patent "scalloped" fretboard. That got my attention...and I put in a bid.

So, watching the bidding was fun. My heart was thumping, even though I wasn't bidding. When it got to the Lion, I figured It would simply go thru a series of competitive bids and my wimpy offer would be overwhelmed. Nobody ever bid and I won it for the minimum of $400...with the 25% premium, that's $500 (plus shipping, of course).

If it makes it here in one piece, I think I got a bargain on a rare guitar!

Congratulations, Marc!  I've never seen a Lion guitar *or* banjo. But my sister-in-law bought a guitar at Buffalo Brothers and the Eagle Music shop refused to sell me a Clifford Essex banjo claiming it was already sold. And "Martin" is an animal too.  What other animal banjo things are there? Oh yes, there's Gibson's "Flying Eagle" inlay pattern. And there are Pony Banjos.  I noticed that the odd size little banjos got higher bids at the auction than some very nice regular size banjos. I guess someone Knew What They Wanted.

Trapdoor2 said:

LOL, I won lot #0720, a "Lion" parlor guitar!

I own a Lion banjo and have been researching the company for some years. I've never seen a Lion guitar...didn't even know they offered a guitar. I was interested in it from the beginning but since it had some cracks, etc., I chose to bid on the Cole. After I got outbid on the Cole last night, I went looking at the Lion again and upon closer inspection found that it has the Middlebrooke patent "scalloped" fretboard. That got my attention...and I put in a bid.

So, watching the bidding was fun. My heart was thumping, even though I wasn't bidding. When it got to the Lion, I figured It would simply go thru a series of competitive bids and my wimpy offer would be overwhelmed. Nobody ever bid and I won it for the minimum of $400...with the 25% premium, that's $500 (plus shipping, of course).

If it makes it here in one piece, I think I got a bargain on a rare guitar!

LOL...and most of the Lion Banjo Co. production went to dealers in California...well, Southern CA. Obviously you don't spend enough time in pawnshops down there. ;-)

My first banjo was a Korean 'bottlecap' ($50) and it had an Eagle decal on the back of the resonator. Didn't look at all like an Eagle as it had very short wings. I called it my "chicken banjo".

Joel has a Giraffe banjorette. I've had some banjos that were dogs...

Oh! I have a Stratton "Monarch", do insects count?

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