1890s Lyon & Healy "Academy" 5-String Banjo

This one is stamped "Academy" on the dowel and it has a lot of Lyon & Healy-style features but an earlier-style tailpiece and different rim hardware than I'm used to seeing on these, so my maker's supposition may be wrong.

It's a local player's 5-string and it arrived here with a repaired heel, loose dowel, replacement head, and a terrible need for straightening-out. It got that by way of a dowel reglue, new bridge, cleaning, new 5th string pip, and new Gotoh geared pegs (aged finish) throughout.

Of course, it was intended for gut strings when made so I've restrung it with nylon. I'm very much glad the owner was willing to go the extra mile with adding geared pegs as it makes the whole experience much more fun than dealing with fussy friction pegs. Post-work this had a nice, chunky, authoritative sort-o tone and feel to it. It's a shorter scale (~24") and so sits "just so" and comfy in the lap.