1920s Puntolillo Banjo w/Resonator Regina 4 String 17 Fret w/MOP & Inlay Designs

Description

This listing is for an antique Banjo
recently purchased from a local southern New Jersey estate sale.  The banjo was made by Gaetano Puntolillo, an Italian luthier who immigrated to America in the late 1890s and settled in Lindhurst, NJ.
The neck is made of rock maple with a dyed pear wood fretboard. It has mother of pearl inlay on the frets and says "Regina" on the headstock. The tuning pegs are ivoroid---a form of celluloid.  The body is made of maple with dyed pear wood accents and there is an intricate
marquetry
pattern around the body of the banjo. The rim is 2" wide with a 1/2" of inlaid marquetry pattern around the bottom edge. There are 18 hooks and lugs around the body of the instrument.  It has a metal Bestone resonator on the back which is an antique add-on that can be removed.
The original black case is lined with purple velvet and has a leather handle.  The banjo measures 30 1/2" long. The neck is 19 1/8" and the body measures 11 1/2" across.
Condition: This is being found in as-found original condition----exactly as we found it at the sale. We haven't replaced, adjusted or altered it in any way.
It does not stay in tune because the tuning pegs need to be adjusted. The finish on the neck is worn from being played, and there a few other places of wear in the finish on the neck. There is  a lot of scratching on the metal Bestone resonator on the back, probably from a belt buckle.
The case has a lot of dings and chips, the lining has been thumbtacked to the the case and there are holes in the back  and the clasps are rusty.
Visit my shop for more vintage instruments---all fresh from local estates.