Thomas William Bacon

... was born in Bethnal Green where he married a local girl.  By 1871 he was living at 15 Saville Place, Lambeth, Surrey and was recorded as  a musician with three children.   Ten years laster he had moved to Endell Street where he was clearly had a good business, making good quality well finished instruments, as he had seven children and employed a servant.   During most of his life he preferred to be known by his middle name William.

Earlier banjos have the address as 26 ENDELL St LONDON W.C. and later banjos omit the W.C. Early models included a gut strung 6 string fretless with five friction pegs in the head and a 5th string peg.  Later models included a slotted peg head with tunnelled 5th string and with the end of the perchpole fed through the pot where the tailpiece was attached to it.  Hi later models can  be rocognised by his signature mother or pearl inlay which was a large dot surrounded by 4 small dots .. see peghead and 14th fret marker