Dave Guard's S.S. Stewart Banjo.

Posted by Pete Curry on June 23, 2000 at 20:40:47:

The topic of Dave Guard's (and John Stewart's) Vega Pete Seeger banjos has often been discussed here, but I don't recall seeing much talk about his first banjo which, we are told in "The Kingston Trio On Record," was a Stewart, given to him by Nick Reynolds' father. So I thought I'd contribute what I've learned about these instruments. My sources are "Ring the banjar!" by Robert Lloyd Webb, and "Banjos: The Tsumura Collection" by Akira Tsumura. I also have some personal knowledge on the topic since my first banjo was an S.S. Stewart which I purchased at a pawn shop in Philadelphia for $35 in 1958.

Samuel Swain Stewart (1855-1899) was one of the most successful manufacturers of banjos during the last twenty years of the 19th century. His company was located at 221-223 Church Street in Philadelphia. His "spun rim" banjos, which were somewhat of a trademark, consisted of a thin sheet of German silver fastened to the outside of the rim. (A contemporary version of this type of rim construction can be seen on the Goose Acres "Classic" and "Elite" models at the Goose Acres Web site: www.gooseacres.com.) Fairbanks used a similar design for some of its models, as did Haynes, VanEpps and others.

Stewart banjos were the best to be had until the early 1890s when A. C. Fairbanks perfected the banjo tone ring, a feature that the Stewart banjos lacked. (Other manufacturers had been experimenting with various tone enhancing devices, but the Fairbanks Electric, introduced in 1890, was far and away the best, rivaled only by the Fairbanks Whyte Laydie and Fairbanks/Vega Tubaphone which followed in 1901 and 1909, respectively.)

The best source for information I have found regarding Stewart model differences is the Tsumura book which contains many color photos of various Stewart models. (Interestingly, the "star" as an inlay motif was apparently as popular with Stewart as it was with Vega.) Per the Tsumura book, the inlay pattern on the peg-head of Dave's banjo (which can be seen most clearly on the "Hungry i" LP cover), was used on the Stewart "Presentation," "Orchestra," Acme" and "Champion" models. The only exact match in the Tsumura book for the inlay pattern on the fingerboard of Dave's banjo is on a Stewart "Banjo Banjeaurine #3" (pg. 97, top center). Elements of this inlay pattern (e.g. crescent moon and star at 3rd fret, diagonal row of diamonds at 4th fret, etc.) appear on other Stewart models such as those mentioned above. Numbers (such as #3, #7, etc.) were often used to indicate the grade of classic era banjos, similar to the way Martin uses numerical suffixes to indicate grade on their guitars. So my guess is that Dave had a Stewart "Presentation," "Orchestra," Acme" or "Champion" model, grade #3.
If anyone knows which Stewart model Dave played, please let me know (please include source information.)

Interestingly, as per the "Hungry i" LP cover, Dave's banjo appears to be fitted with right-angle (or "guitar-style") tuning machines, which had to be of recent vintage since all the Stewart (and other) banjos of the period had straight-through pegs. Likewise, the 5th string peg on Dave's banjo appears to be an update since most if not all of the Stewart banjos came with "friction" (or one-piece "violin-type") 5th string pegs, typically of carved ivory. (My Stewart had the original friction 5th string peg which would pop out at the most inopportune moments, like in the middle of the banjo introduction to "Darlin' Corey"!)

Dave's Stewart banjo, like all banjos of that vintage, had a calfskin head, the "plunkiness" of which can be clearly heard on the KT's recording of "Sloop John B."
Pete Curry

In Reply to: Dave Guard's Stewart Banjo posted by Pete Curry on June 23, 2000 at 20:40:47:

In the Akira Tsumura Book, "Banjos--the Tsumura Collection," there is a photo of what appears to be an exact match for Dave Guard's banjo. It is in the S.S. Stewart group shot on page 94 (2nd row from bottom, last instrument on right). Unfortunately, these instruments are not individually identified as to model, grade, etc. I will write to Mr. Tsumura in Tokyo and see if he can help us. Pete

In Reply to: Dave Guard's Stewart Banjo posted by Pete Curry on June 23, 2000 at 20:40:47:

Interesting string, Pete. This is a favorite topic for me because I have an old Stewart - best guess, built in the late 1870s - that is almost a twin of the instrument on the covers of those first two KT albums. What I've been told is that it (and probably Dave's) is probably an SS Stewart model known as the Universal Favorite. Somewhere deep in my files I've got a Stewart catalog, and leafing through that, I just can't be sure of what the model is. The inlays and the heel carving match those of the Presentation, but the Presentations were incredibly fancy elsewhere. So, I dunno. I played that old rascal for years, and it now occupies a place of honor here hanging on a wall in my home office. Sounds like a Stewart, for sure. No tone ring, and with the vellum head that originally came on it when I bought it in 1959 reinstalled, it's perfect for an old-timey sound. Interesting that Stewarts still can be had for reasonable prices.
Best - Jon

On June 1, 2005, Pete Curry added the following Post Script:

Since the above was written I have seen photos of various Stewart banjo models on the internet, and it appears that Dave Guard's first banjo was an S.S. Stewart Universal Favorite #3, which has the same inlay pattern as the banjo on the cover of the Trio's early LPs. Here's a url that will take you to a copy of a page from an old Stewart catalog showing the three Universal Favorite models:


And to round out the history of Dave's banjo: in an interview with Pete Pardee conducted in 1979, Dave Guard said Bob Shane was the first banjo player in the KT! He played the Stewart with the 5th string removed, tuned like the top four strings of a guitar (i.e., plectrum banjo style). Then one day while the Trio was playing at the Purple Onion, he [Dave] took the Stewart, put the 5th string on, and began playing it, practicing "constantly." In the interview he also says that he returned the banjo to Nick Reynolds after he left the Trio.