Lyon and healy banjo makers mark plus#

I think my info was from mugwumps, can't find it just now. Don't remember all details but IIRC that partnership dissolved a while after Stewart's death, something to do with Stewart's heirs. He partnered for a while with SS Stewart. Thanks to everybody who provided information and pictures.George Bauer made guitars & banjos in PA in the late 19th/early 20th C. This resonator was found on a banjo with a Harmony Company, Chicago, IL, label. Often they are unmarked from the start or the decal rubs off. This peghead was found on a banjo with a Harmony Company, Chicago, IL, label.

As with the above peghead, hey were made by the Kay Company, Chicago, IL, or their predecessor Stormberg-Voisenet. This resonator is found on banjos, often with no name at all, but sometimes with any of several other names.

They were made by the Kay Company, Chicago, IL, or their predecessor Stormberg-Voisenet. This peghead is found on banjos, often with no name at all, but sometimes with any of several other names. But the press on style is a strong indicator that Gretsch was the maker. This resonator appears on many of them, sometimes with a minor variation in the sound holes in the flange. Many 1940s and '50s banjos came out of the Gretsch factory with different or sometimes no markings at all. They were made by the Kay Company, Chicago, IL, who were in business 1931 to 1968 making student grade instruments for the most part.

Lyon and healy banjo makers mark plus#

Sometimes marked Old Kraftsman, Kay Kraft, plus variations and others, but just as often with no name at all. This peghead is often seen on banjos, guitars and mandolins. A similar peghead design is found on Gretsch's all metal rim sold variously as the Orchestrella and the American. They were the likely maker, but it is possible that in the 30s they farmed the work out and simply labeled the instruments. This shape is sometimes seen with the Rex or Clarophone name, both Gretsch company brands, on student grade banjos, but most often with no maker or brand designation. This integrated shoe and flange, patented in the 1930s, is found on low end tenor and plectrum banjos made by the Regal Company of Chicago, IL. Tailpieces were sold as after-market products and are easily transferred from one banjo to another, so do not constitute 'proof' but they are often suggestive. Also, the tailpiece on this banjo is a patent assigned to Lyon & Healy, further suggesting them as the makers. These shoes are shown in an 1890s Washburn banjo catalog, on low end models with simple peghead shapes. Most have the patented L&H tailpiece shown in the inset. This peghead is found on low end, turn of the century, Lyon & Healy banjos, often with the L&H or Mystic brand stamped into the strut. If present, the Slingerland name will usually be found stamped on the strut while the seller's name, if any, will normally be on the peghead. This peghead is found on tenor, plectrum and 5 string models, often with no name at all. Slingerland, while in business making drums from 1916 until the present, only made banjos from circa 1918 to 1944 and seems to have produced the bulk of student and mid-range instruments during that period. In 1931 they changed the company name to Kay. The cast flange with its alternating perforation pattern is a clear indicator of these banjos. Not to be confused with the Boston Strombergs, they manufactured a line of low to medium grade fretted instruments for jobbers and wholesalers. Stromberg-Voisinet, established in Chicago as the Groeschl Company, they changed the name in 1890. Anyone have a banjo with this mark that's clearer? Lyon & Healy advertised a Star brand banjo circa 1890. They have been found on banjos bearing his name and on no-name instruments. In 1883, Henry Tallmadge received patent #288679 for this unique head tightening arrangement. Click on the picture to see a larger photo Readers are encouraged to submit others, particularly if accompanied by a label of some sort. This article is an attempt to help in this pursuit.

Sometimes we know (or believe we do), other times we can do no better than suggest two or three possible makers. Often Mugwumps receives requests to help identify instruments with no names. Banjo Identification No Name Models Mugwumps Online Guide To No Name Banjos