Gibson TB-3 Mastertone #25-8, the "Richard A. Booth"
Style 3 was the least
expensive model in Gibson's prewar Mastertone line;
it was introduced in 1925 and remained
in production through 1937, when its price was lowered from $100 to $75 and it was renamed
style 75.
This TB-3 has the
factory
order #25-8
(see Gibson
banjo serial numbers vs. factory order numbers)
inside the rim, which dates to 1931. The resonator, however,
bears the number #9488-42, which would date to 1929. It cannot be
determined whether the banjo was originally shipped from the factory in this
configuration or whether the original resonator was damaged and replaced by
Gibson with an older resonator remaining in stock. In either case, prewar
Gibson banjos with mismatched numbers are not at all uncommon and this
instrument's specifications are entirely consistent for a
style 3 banjo of the period
with the exception of the
Bella Voce fingerboard inlay pattern. The highly ornate
Bella Voce model of the
late 1920s was only in production a short time, and surplus
Bella Voce components are
consequently seen from time to time on later Gibson banjos. A number of
TB-3s are known with the
standard style 3 leaves and
bows inlay pattern on the fingerboard and the
Bella Voce pattern on the
fingerboard (see TB-3
Mastertone #345-6, the "Helen Knighton"), but #25-8 is the only example seen
to date with the opposite configuration. One of this banjo's
"littermates", TB-3 Mastertone
#25-23, features leaves and bows on the peghead and the flying eagle pattern
on the fingerboard, suggesting that lot #25 may have been one in which Gibson
made a conscious decision to use up various leftover inlay patterns.
#25-8 shows signs of heavy use over the years, including missing binding on the treble side of the fingerboard, a repaired heel crack, one replaced tuner, and one crack in the pot metal flange, but its structural integrity and functionality remain uncompromised and the banjo is ready for many more decades of music-making. The instrument remains in its original plush-lined Geib and Schaefer #509 case. #25-8 was owned for many years by Richard A. Booth (November 12, 1914--February 14, 2009), a native of Nova Scotia who later settled near West Point, New York.
