early banjo makers

Often this book, at least at my writing this review in 2014, will go for $150-$400. Mike C. clocks4u NAWCC Member Sep 2, 2000 684 28 28 He called it his "Willard's Improved Patent Time Piece". Ltd. trading as CARTER'S Publications. They learned directly from the older masters and recorded them to capture their stories, wisdom, and musical approach. Musicians play these instruments with a down-stroke technique similar to the earliest known banjo playing in North America. I have a particular love for early banjo toys, which includes makers such as Jerome Secor, Ives, Guntermann, Reed, Courier, Phalibois, Vichy, etc. SC.nb("hatfieldbanjos", "scrtc.com", "", "", ""); Allen & Monte Hendricks At its peak, this list had 79 companies. No direct sales; through dealers only. Clarinbridge, Co. Galway IRL H91 Yp28 Titusville, FL USA 32780 The book profiles the most important players and spotlights key luthiers and manufacturers. Pioneers of progressive bluegrass include John Hartford, New Grass Revival, featuring banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, and J.D. However, a wealth of historical research conducted since the 1970s has brought attention to the African roots of the banjo, and performers and scholars have been making efforts to restore the instruments place in Black culture. Bend, OR USA 97707 Length 63 cm. My wooden-rim banjos are made for playing contemporary "Old Time" stringband music, with aesthetic elements of Victorian-era banjos. While it was released with little fanfare in early 2009, it has proven to be one of the year's long-fuse albums, its subtle charms and subtle melodies creeping up and working their way . I love creatingentirely custom instruments drawing from historical sources. Like so many other parts of our culture, the banjo started as an immigrant. By the end of the decade, other White solo banjo players in blackface became popular on the circus and variety show circuit. It features 100 "milestone instruments" with in-depth coverage, including model details and beautiful photos. +1 (800) 444-2766 SC.nb("zachary_hoyt", "yahoo.com", "", "", ""); 118 M Mid Town Court Jim has had access to a vast array of surviving early banjos through the generosity of banjo history experts, collectors of early musical instruments, and museums. Also see the SHS online store at www.shop-shs.comand the SHS main site at www.shsint.net. SC.nb("fiddlintim", "gmail.com", "", "", ""); Chuck Lee Banjo Company, Inc. +1 (615) 264-4959 SC.nb("Customer.Relations", "gibson.com", "", "", ""); Handcrafted, custom banjos for over 30 years. Have a These "Minstrel Era" wooden rim banjos are the result of those years of study. Other musicians polished up the old sounds and made slick new commercial recordings. Crowe & The New South: "Old Home Place" (1975). James Hartel has been making and playing banjos on and off since 1973 when he made a banjo for his 2 year old daughter. The guitar dethroned the banjo in the early 20th century for several reasons. The Arthur E. Smith Banjo Company produces a line of meticulously crafted banjos that certainly reflects the respect and admiration Kate and Mark have for those early instruments. Minstrel troupes marketed themselves as an authentic representation of Southern plantation life. +1 (619) 464-8252 SC.nb("capek", "capek.us", "", "", ""); Unusual among small luthiers for building both banjos and guitars. The Kingston Trios version sold more than three million copies as a single. Much of what is deemed folk music has its roots in Africa and African American tradition, notes Giddens. William Boucher, Jr., the earliest known commercial manufacturer, started building banjos around 1845 from his shop in Baltimore, Maryland. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. I have a particular love for early banjo toys, which includes makers such as Jerome Secor, Ives, Guntermann, Reed, Courier, Phalibois, Vichy, etc. Cannon's Jug Stompers: "Walk Right In" (1929). +1 (417) 839-5951 PETE ROSS is a banjo maker, researcher, and musician who lives in . www.deeringbanjos.com Early forms of the instrument were fashioned by African Americans in the United States. The banjo is a stringed instrument that is, or has been, prominent in American folk, country, bluegrass, ragtime, and jazz music. Although these elements are from the 19th century instruments, I wanted a banjo that would play 20th century pitches with steel strings. Often referred to as "the red book" (for obvious reasons) by the banjo-collecting world, the books does a great job at identifying and describing some hightly sought banjos. Page updated 3-2-2023 Please Visit our Home Page for links to our guitars, fiddles, mandolins, and more. Most banjos today are fretted, though some musicians play fretless. Players tune the instrument by sliding the rings up or down to tighten or loosen the strings. Sylvester Louis Vess Ossman was one of the most popular recording artists of his time. Shelbyville, TN USA 37160 Frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard of string instruments that divide the neck into fixed intervals. It was tuned in fifths, like a mandolin or violin, and played by strumming with a plectrum, also known as a pick. The efforts of the Gretsch, Vega, Stewart, Gibson and other banjo companies standardized the commercially manufactured 5-string: 11 inch head, 22 frets, 19 inches from nut to shell, position markers at designated frets. The album included their interpretation of Tom Dooley, a song that was already old when G.B. Between 1893 and 1917, he made more than 500 recordings of ragtime songs, marches, and minstrel material. Matthew Sabatella plays "Pompey Ran Away" on a banjo built by Pete Ross. Roger McGuinn, whose electric 12-string guitar sound defined the Byrds earlier music, played banjo on some songs, as did virtuoso John Hartford. Christian has been with Tommy since 2007 and has another shop in Memphis. www.sagamusic.com. To this day, players who emulate his techniques are said to be playing either bluegrass- or Scruggs-style banjo. The banjo has an animal skin head stretched over the gourd and attached with tacks. Their 2010 album Genuine Negro Jig won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. These two earliest known white banjo players could both claim Appalachia as "home." The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. American Banjo Makersby Stuart Cohen Recomposed by Steve Trussel This list first appeared in an article in Volume 7 Number 1 of Mugwumpsmagazine of which Michael I. Holmesis publisher and editor. 3 special model, New York, circa 1915, the fingerboard intricately inlaid with abalone shell along with the Company logo to the headstock, with an open back, the label to interior of rim, 78 cm long, American banjo, by Samuel. Urbana: Illini Books, 1994. Year 1974 Serial Nos. By the early 1940s, musicians introduced electric guitars in jazz and blues. www.bishlinebanjos.com S. S. Stewart produced his own line of banjos from 1878 until his death in 1898. +1 (800) 877-6863 Saving the world one banjo at a time! SC.nb("info", "cbguitars.com", "", "", ""); Mike Dawson, Luthier Provenance: The Alex & Annette Hood Collection, NSW, An Italian mandolin with label 'Giov. This technique has come to be known as guitar, or classic, style. genuine. This is surely a disturbing trend. While musical tradition runs strong in bluegrass, a generation of younger players started taking the music in new directions in the 1970s. Much of what is deemed folk music has its roots in Africa and African American tradition, notes Giddens. Maker of dance organ orchestrions (early years), piano orchestrions (limited production, early years . Pollock Pines, CA USA 95726 Boucher replaced the gourd with a wood-frame body, which could be mass-produced with much greater consistency. It also gives detailed descriptions on the various ways they constructed their clocks including movements. One of these Old Time banjos can be a simple straightforward purchase, or a deeply collaborative process. Gold Tone has licensed one model. "The Banjo Timepiece" by Chipman Ela is a very good book showing all the great banjos and their makers. SC.nb("info", "omebanjos.com", "", "", ""); Scott Phillips Grayson and Henry Whitter first recorded it in 1929. 3 special model, serial number 8382, New York, circa 1920s, intricate abalone shell inlay to fingerboard and headstock which also bears the Company logo. Pete Ross Banjos: open-back 5-string banjos based on the designs of late 19th century banjos made by Dobson, Buckbee, Fairbanks, and Cole, with modernizations for the contemporary player. Some 5-strings are made each year. Tulsa, OK USA 74112 137 Utah Avenue Charlie Poole with the North Carolina Ramblers: "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" (1927). A listing of notable musicians who play the banjo as a major part of their output include: A [ edit] Derroll Adams Eddie Adcock David "Stringbean" Akeman Howard Alden Peter R. Arnott Clarence Ashley Scott Avett B [ edit] Etta Baker Danny Barker Danny Barnes Terry Baucom Riley Baugus Andru Bemis Carroll Best [1] Louis 'Lou' Black Ron Block SC.nb("rooster", "cloverlickbanjoshop.com", "", "", ""); Dean O. Robinson The instruments were at the core of White, Black, and integrated string bands, which might also include guitar, mandolin, harmonica, or other instruments. Check the site for the first Standard model, the B100. Other banjo manufacturers emerged in the 1840s and the following decades. Mark Hickler Type of wood 1.4 4. These builders may make other types as well. S. Stewart, the Student model, Grade 2, Philadelphia, circa 1900, open back with the factory mark impressed to verso, 82 cm long, American Orpheum mandolin banjo, by Rettberg & Lange, no. The instrument shares design elements and playing techniques with a family of approximately eighty known West African plucked spike lutes. The banjo featured prominently in records manufactured and sold in the first decades of the industry. Many White musicians learned to play banjo directly from African Americans. SC.nb("greg", "buckeyebanjos.com", "", "", ""); Rostislav ?apek The 1890s brought the dawn of recorded sound with Thomas Edisons phonograph and Emile Berliners gramophone. In reality, they were far from that, but they did incorporate elements from both Black and White folk culture. SC.nb("scott", "phillipsbanjos.com", "", "", ""); Open-back banjos, hand-made in the Appalachian mountains with native hardwoods. Soon, banjo making consumed much of his spare time and began to eat into his business time. In 1855, Tom Briggs, a minstrel banjo player and teacher, published Briggs Banjo Instructor, the first in a series of banjo tutors published over the following decades. Somerville, TN USA 38068 Tom & Fintan Cussen Clarinbridge, Co. Galway IRL H91 Yp28 +353 91 796156 Bryson City, SC USA Mazow, Leo G. Picturing the Banjo. However, bluegrass incorporates jazz influences and emphasizes instrumental virtuosity and improvised solo breaks, which were not prevalent in old-time music. www.hendricksbanjos.com As the banjo made inroads into middle-class American parlors during the second half of the nineteenth century, it also became integral to the music of the rural South. 1.3 3. The author John Peter Zenger (1697-1746) referred to the instrument as a "banger" played by a black man. SC.nb("will", "seedersinstruments.com", "", "", ""); Formerly J. The Anthology was a set of six long-playing records that compiled eighty-four songs initially released on old-time and race record lines in the 1920s and 30s. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Banjo Roots and Branches. Indianapolis, IN USA 46217 I owned an Epiphone long-neck in the '60s and it was an excellent banjo. Plucked means that it produces sound when the strings are struck or plucked. In 2005, the Carolina Chocolate Drops brought together four African American musicians playing traditional string band music on fiddle, banjo, guitar, and various other instruments. (828) 768-3488 First, the banjo was priced out of the market as the Great Depression swept through the country. +81-090-9358-2965. He spotted the banjo at a New York fair and said it was being played in celebration of an unspecified holiday. Moreover, the accompanying illustration of the Creole-Bania in the top right corner of Narrative's Plate 69, "Musical Instruments of the African Negroes" (1790/1796, 1988/2010: 539 . North Port, FL USA 34290 In 1899, reorganized as the American Automusic Co. In original case, early 20th century. from one-man shops, so perhaps it means that competition in this segment was Carlin, Bob. De Meglio & F. Glio' dated 1916, in original leather case. Ekona Diatta plays "Gambia" on the akonting (2007). Kisco NY, Cider Bros Roadhouse | Comfort Food In Red Hook NY, 518 Donuts | Fresh Cake Donuts & Fried Chicken, Troy Waterfront Farmers Market | Indoor Winter Market, The Falcon | No Cover Live Jazz In Ulster County NY. Nashville, TN USA 37217 The tenor banjo lacked the short fifth string, which provided a single-note musical drone. During the late 1920s, he recorded for various companies race record lines, which captured African American, In the late 1930s, mandolinist, singer, songwriter Bill Monroe formed The Blue Grass Boys, the band primarily responsible for developing bluegrass music. serial number impressed to verso, 60 cm long, Australian zither banjo, by boomerang, early 20th century, impressed factory mark to headstock, mother-of-pearl inlay to finger board, 93 cm long, English zither banjo, by Windsor, model no. Length 76 cm, A Windsor Premium No. Many details of these early gourd banjos are evident in the instruments built by European American banjo makers in the mid-nineteenth century. The ensemble included banjo, fiddle, tambourine, and bones, a percussion instrument made from animal rib or shin bones. Between 1893 and 1917, he made more than 500 recordings of, In the early twentieth century, manufacturers introduced the four-string, or tenor, banjo. Eggleston, VA USA 24086 The banjo is a stringed instrument that is, or has been, prominent in American folk, country, bluegrass. Poco, New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and others carried country-rock into the 1970s and beyond. Epstein, Dena J. Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War. Badageoni Georgian Kitchen In Mt. Plus, great banjo makers craft long-lasting instruments! Patrick Heavner & Topher Stephens www.hussanddalton.com. Spring Valley, CA USA 91977 To make the banjo more appealing to middle-class Americans, manufacturers put more attention on physical aesthetics. The banjo became prominent in the United States with the rise of, In 1843, a troupe called Virginia Minstrels put on the first full-length, series of banjo tutors published over the following decades. In 1843, a troupe called Virginia Minstrels put on the first full-length minstrel show in a New York City theater. Blue Lake, CA USA 95525 SC.nb("info", "hendricksbanjos.com", "", "", ""); Hickler Banjos is a custom shop specializing in reproduction necks and rim tone research. James Hartel has been making and playing banjos on and off since 1973 when he made a banjo for his 2 year old daughter. 249 South Kane Street The brand focuses primarily on creating high-quality acoustic stringed instruments, with options available to all ability levels, styles, and budgets. As products from mail-order companies like Sears & Roebuck became available in the late nineteenth century, rural Americans increasingly purchased inexpensive manufactured instruments. +1 (800) 826-5482 The banjo thimble, a precursor to the fingerpicks that are standard in bluegrass playing, increased the volume of banjo soloists performing in the downstroke style on stage. +1 (570) 924-4080 +1 (901) 517-5867 www.huberbanjos.com, 420 Bridge Street +353 91 796156 Poco, New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and others carried country-rock into the 1970s and beyond. 309 Plus Park Boulevard Lon and Camille Decap, sons of Alos Decap who founded the firm in 1902. www.cbguitars.com Length 92.5 cm, Tenor/Plectrum banjo, c1970 in as new condition. He's done ground breaking research on early banjo makers William Boucher Jr. and Levi Brown, and was co-curator with Greg Adams and Bob Winans of the exhibit. There is likely no single ancestor of the banjo. By the 1850s, the banjo had become an integral part of American culture. Ltd. 2023 John Furphy Pty. Though there is little documentation, some may have picked up the instrument before the rise of minstrelsy. +1 (270) 646-5219 Furthermore, he continues his research and fine tunes his banjos regularly so that they look and sound as much like the banjos of the early minstrel period as possible. Any thoughts? SC.nb("contact", "goldtone.com", "", "", ""); Laurie Grundy The genre is part of the Americana or American roots music category, which includes elements of traditional folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. A Reliance banjo hardwood neck with nickelplated and wood body in a wood case. 6539, circa 1930, model and serial number impression marks to the front and back of the headstock, 56 cm long, English six string banjo, circa 1900s, open back, with 38 brackets, the headstock plated in nickel, and mother-of-pearl inlay to the fingerboard, 92 cm long, English mandolin banjo, by Windsor, model 3, circa 1920, the engraved tailpiece bearing '94 Newhall St B'Ham/ Eng/ Windsor', 60 cm long, English banjo, circa 1870, the fingerboard and resonator decorated in Tunbridge ware, 89 cm long, English mandolin banjo, by cuckoo, circa 1900s, of typical form, 'Cuckoo' imprinted on the headstock, 55 cm long, American fretless seven string banjo, 2nd half 19th century, of typical design with snakehead shaped headstock and open back, 86 cm long, American Orpheum tenor banjo, by Rettberg & Lange, no. +1 (260) 657-5486 Pete Ross, a Baltimore banjo maker, player and historian, plays a historic gourd-type banjo replica. Apologies for being away and thanks to our resident designer Ginny for putting the site back together. www.stellingbanjo.com There are more than eighty-five documented banjo sightings in North America between 1736 and 1840. 1 - First banjo completed, Bellflower, sold to Bonnie Hasting, Geoff's banjo student, on July 25th. The Banjo Lesson by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1893). 112 Silverwood Drive By the early twentieth century, the mass-produced banjo had become a symbol of White supremacist cultureso much so that in later decades people sometimes had difficulty accepting the fact of . As a material, it is harder and more stable than ebony, and is increasingly used by world-class guitar makers. Home Privacy Policy About Me WebDesignBuild.biz Contact. James established his mechanized instrument factory in Connecticut in the late 1840's Ashborn was the first to apply mass production principles to banjo and guitar making, transforming the homemade artifacts to commercial products. His first banjos consisted of a banjo neck attached to a drum-like steam-bent wood hoop with two skin membranes, one stretched over the top and the other over the bottom of the hoop. The vast archives of 20th-century recordings of African American banjo players and Haitian banza players, recorded by John Werk III, Alan Lomax, and others for the Library of Congress and Smithsonian, capture what people who otherwise were relatively voiceless were singing, and therefore what they were saying and thinking about in different In 1958, Mike Seeger (Petes half-brother), Tom Paley, and John Cohen formed the New Lost City Ramblers, a young group that remained faithful to old-time music traditions. Zachary Hoyt Note that instruments made during the war by this renowned maker are rare. In this day and age research into most subjects can start with the internet, but sometimes what is posted is simply perpetuating a myth. Danny Moloney In 2019, Giddens, in collaboration with Black banjo players Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell, released the album Songs of Our Native Daughters. Mastercraft banjos are handcrafted in the . In 1968, the Byrds brought it back home with their album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, hailed by many as among the first country-rock albums. Dubois, Laurent. University of Tennessee Press, 1995. SC.nb("ken", "levandesign.com", "", "", ""); DP Hopkins, Inc. Hello picked up an early unsigned Willard style banjo and hope to learn more. Crowes New South, featuring Crowe on banjo. SC.nb("phopkins", "united.net", "", "", ""); I have absolutely no information for this brand at all other than having seen several McKinley banjos, which impressed me. Cannons output included bluesy and jazzy music, and he played banjo with both downstroke and up-picking styles. Banjo Mandolin early 20th century in original case. Putting that aside, the early paragraphs are informative; banjo's African roots and early American incarnations in 19th century are .