Need a banjo? Want some provenence?

January 21, 2016 6:34 PM

When Australian blues singer and composer CW Stoneking left his vintage New Windsor banjo in a Yellow Cab near 3rd St in New York in 2008, he was bereft. He searched and called and searched some more but it was never to be seen again until a day ago when a listing on ebay caught Stoneking's eye.

According to the seller, the banjo was found in a dumpster in Dec 2015 near 14th St. Contacted by Stoneking who provided photos to prove ownership, the ebay seller offered to return it to him but he declined due to 'superstition'.

This is a made in the UK, "New Windsor" banjo. It appears in the New Windsor 1930's catalogue to be a "Ideal" model number 8 as shown in the photo. The No. 8 is described as being built with rosewood body, lined with white holly, open Bezel, walnut neck, ebony fingerboard, inlaid positions. These banjos were made from 1887 until 1940 when the company was destroyed in an enemy air raid. I don't know much about banjos buy feel free to ask questions it request additional photos. Case not included due to shipping weight.

Stoneking says the banjo appears to be in exactly the same condition as when he lost it. Used to compose songs such as Jungle Blues (another banjo features in the video), the banjo probably has many more songs left in it for an intrepid player.

posted by Thella (21 comments total)

I'm curious about the nature of the superstition!
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:38 PM on January 21, 2016

Will the banjo be mad at him for leaving it in the cab? What is the "superstition"?
posted by Grumpy old geek at 6:45 PM on January 21, 2016

These banjos were made from 1887 until 1940 when the company was destroyed in an enemy air raid.

This is possibly the only excuse Dell has not yet used to deny a customer request.





Yet.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:47 PM on January 21, 2016 [5 favorites]

It's an ancient superstition:

Never buy your own banjo
on eBay
Or else your face
Will freeze that way
posted by dr_dank at 6:57 PM on January 21, 2016 [7 favorites]

I'm curious about the nature of the superstition!

I am too: "bereft", "searched and searched" but then when it miraculously turns up he doesn't want it back?

I kinda love that the Ebay seller managed to autocorrect-typo Stoneking's name twice -- and in two different ways! -- in their update.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 6:58 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

Why would you keep searching for something you don't want back?
posted by Jubey at 7:13 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

At least now he's found closure.
posted by Flashman at 7:16 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

Why would you keep searching for something you don't want back?

I occasionally track down a particular ex-girlfriend online to confirm that it is a good thing that we broke up.
posted by Badgermann at 7:37 PM on January 21, 2016 [10 favorites]

Going by the banjo players I've met, they're kind of a weird breed in general.
posted by emjaybee at 8:17 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

Why would you keep searching for something you don't want back?

Maybe he wants to give it to someone.
posted by gingerest at 8:24 PM on January 21, 2016 [7 favorites]

So long as the seller does not attempt to send it anonymously to the object of his affection, we cool.
posted by Alterscape at 8:33 PM on January 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

Of course I'm late to the punch on that one. Point gingerest!
posted by Alterscape at 8:33 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm curious about the nature of the superstition!
It's this one.
posted by unliteral at 8:44 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

On Instagram
I have no desire to re-aquire the instrument as I consider the loss to have been a 'sacrifice to the gods'
posted by eye of newt at 10:57 PM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

The seller getting in touch with him reminded me of Janis Ian's story
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 1:38 AM on January 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

To be an authentic bluesman, you have to act as if your life is guided by hoodoo and superstition; if you're a utilitarian atheist, you keep that to yourself and cultivate some gnarly rituals.
posted by acb at 3:29 AM on January 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Fiddling around on UPS website, it looks like it costs a whole lot of $ to ship a banjo-sized package from NY to Australia! I think "superstition" in this context means "economic sense". Plus, it's a TENOR banjo :(
posted by sheldman at 4:11 AM on January 22, 2016

> Going by the banjo players I've met, they're kind of a weird breed in general.

Flagged for lèse-majesté.
posted by ardgedee at 4:17 AM on January 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Fiddling around on UPS website, it looks like it costs a whole lot of $ to ship a banjo-sized package from NY to Australia!

I just sent six bottles and one 22oz can of beer to Australia from Philly and it ran me $87 postage on USPS. UPS was quoting close to $200. I'd imagine a banjo would be 3x or better.

By the way, Stoneking is a lot of fun. Looks like a vaguely albino milkman from the 50s, buries his Aussie accent deep in some sort of swampy read-a-book-about-Louisiana-once patois and can definitely rock the house as well as anyone off a mid-major blues label in the US.
posted by GamblingBlues at 4:27 AM on January 22, 2016

The real reason he doesn't want it back is likely that those New Windsor English zither banjos aren't really that great players. There are lots of them about if you really must have one. Their only tone is a quiet plunk, and they have so much random hardware that it's guaranteed that some part of it will rattle.
posted by scruss at 5:10 AM on January 22, 2016

Their only tone is a quiet plunk, and they have so much random hardware that it's guaranteed that some part of it will rattle.

I wasn’t interested before, but now I feel I must find one.

IM A BIG FAN OF CW STONECLAW.
posted by bongo_x at 8:26 PM on January 22, 2016