A VEGA 5-STRING BANJO

Details

C.F. MARTIN & COMPANY, NAZARETH, CIRCA 1970
A VEGA 5-STRING BANJO
The headstock bearing the decal Vega and C.F. Martin & Co. / EST. 1833 as well as internally on the pot, stamped 559, with later soft case; accompanied by a candid color snapshot of David Gilmour playing this banjo in 2001
Diameter of the rim 11 in. (28 cm.)

Special Notice

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Sale Room Notice

Please note this lot incorporates material from endangered and/or protected species of wildlife which could result in export restrictions. Please see Paragraph H2(b) of the Conditions of Sale for further information.

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Lot Essay

David Gilmour acquired this banjo in the early 1970s and kept it at home for private use. Gilmour can be seen playing the banjo in the 2015 BBC documentary David Gilmour: Wider Horizons.
Gilmour told us: I’ve always loved the 5-string banjo. I do like to learn a little bit of everything. When you pick up an instrument that you really have no idea how to play, it forces your hands to not go to familiar patterns that you’ve done a thousand times before, so new pieces of writing sometimes come out of lack of familiarity with the instrument that you’re on. Pieces of music just present themselves usually.

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