James J. Hartel

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      To order contact:
      Hartel Banjos
      167 Walley Road, Franklin NY 13775
      phone: (607)       330-4330

      email:

      Early Banjo & Minstrel Banjo Maker


    Rosewood Fingerboard Overlay


    Birds Eye Maple Neck

Boucher Banjo Reproduction
ca. 1850     

Union Cavalry Soldier with Boucher Banjo, ca. 1864.
Ferrotype, courtesy of Edwin Sims

William E. Boucher Jr.
began making banjos in his Baltimore musical instrument factory about 1840.  His banjo gained widespread distribution during the middle of the 19th Century. They were commonly used in Minstrel Shows and carried by soldiers during the Civil War.
     The early Boucher banjo, with it's graceful scrolled peghead and sculptured neck has come to be recognized as an icon of the early American popular music era.

Standard features:
  • Curly maple neck
  • 12" diameter, 3.25" deep scalloped rim.
  • Brass tension hoop
  • Six brass brackets, hooks and wing nuts.
  • Natural skin head.
  • Ebony tailpiece and nut.
  • Ebony tuning pegs.
  • 26" scale length fretless neck

Price: $1450

Extras:

  • Fingerboard overlay, $75 (rosewood or ebony)

  • 10 ply Keller drum shell, $50

  • Rim Veneer, $100  (rosewood, curly maple or birds eye maple)

  • Cast Boucher brackets and nuts, $100 (8)

  • Neck wood, $50  (birds eye maple, cherry or walnut)

  • Gut strings, $25

  • Renaissance head available on Keller drum shell



Sand cast Boucher Brackets & Nuts on a
Rosewood veneered Keller 10 ply maple drum shell