He's sort of the Lloyd Loar of the open-back banjo. Day is really "the man" at Fairbanks throughout its most important phases and contributed most of the banjo innovations for which the company became famous. He was the patent holder on the Vega cylinder-back. Day remained in charge of the operations that Vega acquired and became head of the Vega fretted instrument division. Fairbanks by Vega" as a designation and, eventually, to just Vega.ĭavid L. Instruments continued to carry the Fairbanks name for a while and then switched to "A. The former Fairbanks operations, including virtually all of the employees, merely transferred to Vega with little change. (The naming variants on instruments can help in establishing dates.) Vega acquired Fairbanks in 1904 after a fire at Fairbanks. Cole joined him as a partner around 1880 and then struck out on his own around 1888, resulting in the company name changing from Fairbanks & Cole to A.
Fairbanks was a banjo player and began building banjos in 1875. I seen more modest models as well.Ī pretty wobbly historical summary, but perhaps a start for you or others to add on to (or correct.) If you find out more or have an instrument in mind, please share.īrunello97 - a good historical summary.
I have a reasonably nice one that seems on par with the mid range Chicago or NY area bowls I've played. At least with me, they are fairly popular right now. What personnel or building specifications might have rolled over from Fairbanks is an interesting question.įairbanks bowls seem to show up around the web. Of course Vega went on to make quite good quality mandolins in various model styles, that are often the point of discussion here: their artist-model bowls being particularly well regarded. Some Fairbanks names,"Regent" for instance, wound up on Vega labels -for bowlbacks as well as perhaps other instruments-over the next years. (And later of Bacon and Day banjo fame.) Fairbanks was bought/absorbed by Vega in the the early 1900s probably with some personnel moving to the new company. David Day was the key manager under both Fairbanks and Fairbanks and Cole incarnations. They seem best known (and represented) by their banjos on which a lot of information exists. He joined with one WACole a banjoista as the company Fairbanks and Cole. From what I've gleaned ACFairbanks started his company ~1870 making a range of musical instruments and other devices. They were tightly linked in the Massachusetts covey of makers leading through the turn of the 20th c.
There are a number of Google-able links to ACFairbanks background.
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