Stewart Five-String Banjo

This banjo was made by Samuel Swain Stewart Co. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about 1889. It is a Five-String Banjo, serial #6682, with a metal-covered wooden hoop, 26 metal brackets, dark wood veneered fretboard and peghead, with shell inlay, rosewood neck, carved heel, and friction pegs. The banjo’s dowel stick is stamped:

TRADE
S.S.S. [in a peghead outline]
MARK

(There is a metal plate on the dowel stick) stamped:

S.S.STEWART
1889
PHILAD'A

Samuel Swain Stewart was a noted banjoist, one of the most prolific makers and popularizers of the banjo during the late 19th century. He was a determined advocate of "finger-style" (today's classic) technique, as opposed to the traditional "stroke style" (today's clawhammer or frailing) technique.

Through such writings as his pamphlet The Banjo Philosophically. Its Construction, Its Capabilities, Its place as a Musical Instrument. Its possibilities, and Its Future, he pursued a determined campaign to "elevate" the image of the banjo by disparaging and even denying its African American and minstrel show origins. He produced banjos in a wide range of styles and costs and was influential in creating the popular enthusiasm for fretted instrument clubs and orchestras which persisted into the 1930's.