Tunbridge Ware Seven String Fretless (ca. 1870)

Jaw dropping demonstration of Tunbridge ware, a uniquely British craft, first developed at Tunbridge Wells in the 17th century and is essentially Britain's earliest holiday tourist souvenir industry, utilizing intricate forms of marquetry with veneers made of thousands of tiny pieces of wood. From the 1870s, this banjo is from the hey-day of the craft, featuring an 11-3/4" diameter oak rim with marquetry on the exterior side of the rim, with a large wooden tailpiece, with eight hand-forged brass hooks/nuts. The seven string neck features intricate Tunbridge marquetry vertically on the entire fretboard, mostly in a floral motif, with an usual double-pointed peghead with rosewood overlay; equipped with six friction pegs, and a seventh drone string on a pronounced pegbox. The bridge is currently set at a 22" scale length, with 1-5/8" wide nut. Condition-wise, there is some cosmetic wear and tear, including intricate repaired separations on the marquetry, and slight reglued gap on side of two piece heel, but the neck is very straight, and it plays well.