George Washburn 5-string banjo, S/N1095, Circa 1897
This lovely banjo was near the top of the
line for Washburn in 1897, and featured fancy engraved inlays, fancy "Imperial"
brackets, and a lovely carved heel. With its fancy peghead inlay and 26
brackets, it does not correspond to any catalog model I have seen. It
appears to lie somewhere between the 1030 and 1050 models. This example still has the original
tailpiece and the original Aluminum (!) Champion pegs. I've never seen
these pegs before on any banjo.