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next maker .. was born in St Saviours Southwark, Surrey ( which was incorporated into the county of London on 1st April 1889 ). In 1864 William Temlett established a workshop for making banjos at 95 Union Street, London, S.E., with F. Roberts in charge of production. ( a typo on the original British Banjo Makers web site, and now a lot of others, has this date incorrectly as 1846) At first, the banjos produced were smooth-arm 6- and 7-string instruments with crude deep wooden hoops of 12 in. and 13 in. diameter and fitted with not more than a dozen heavy brackets and guitar type machine heads. A single machine head was fitted at the side of the neck for the octave string. On November 20, 1869, Temlett was granted a patent for his first closed-back banjo which can rightly be considered the forerunner of the zither-banjo. This instrument had seven strings and Temlett called his revolutionary new instrument "the suspended sound board banjo." (The principle was used in later years in other banjos, notably the "Vegavox." ) In the 1871 census he was listed as a concertina maker! By 1876 W. Temlett was making early versions (with very little metalwork in their construction) of what was later to become known as the "zither-banjo" and after Cammeyer had launched his instrument with this name, Temlett called himself "the pioneer of the zither banjo . A feature of a lot of Temlett's zither banjos was the prolific use of mother-of-pearl inlays. He used decorations down each side of the fingerboard and between each fret and even round the upper edge of the hoop. When the demand for zither banjos increased to such phenomenal proportions round about 1880, Temlett moved his factory to larger premises at 44 Southwark Bridge Road and there made the thousands of instruments bearing his name and the many hundreds of others sold under various retailers' names. In 1888 he was granted a patent for a banjo hoop which bulged out with a curve around the bottom; the tension bolts passing through holes in the upper part of this curved bulge and the nuts concealed within the bottom of the bulge. (This idea was later used by other makers, e.g. Gibson in America and Merriman in England.) Although zither-banjos account for the majority of the instruments made by W. Temlett, he also made some worthwhile open - back five string banjos. Early in 1900 he suffered a paralytic stroke from which he never fully recovered. He died on May 2, 1904, in Guy's hospital of Bright's disease and cerebral haemorrhage. William Temlett's son, William Ernest , had started work in his father's factory in early boyhood but left at the age of thirty to form his own business. Born in 1865, W. E. Temlett left school at the age of 14 and entered his father's factory and it was not long before he was appointed manager. But as he grew older, disagreements with his father became more frequent and in 1895 he left to form his own business. He set up a workshop at 29 Charlotte Street, Blackfriars, London, S.E., and for some years keen rivalry waged between father and son. Pictures courtesy of Brown Dog Banjos William Temlett Snr. 1841 to 1904

The Slingerland Banjo Company was established in Chicago around 1915 by Henry Heanon. By the 1920s they were manufacturing a wide range of instruments including banjos, banjo-mandolins, banjo-ukuleles, guitars and mandolins, under the "May-Bell" label, from premises at 1815 Orchard Street, Chicago, Illinois. The company later changed its name to the Slingerland Banjo and Drum Company and subsequently, in the 1930's, to the Slingerland Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company. The Slingerland name is currently owned by Gibson. Pictures of MayBell courtesy of Intermountain Guitar & Banjo Pictures of banjo-uke courtesy of John Kay Slingerland next maker

....Samuel Bowley Barnes (b 1872 in Wimborne, Dorset) and Albert Edward Mullins (b 1873 in Bristol) were boyhood friends in their home town of Wimborne where they worked together at the local grocers shop. As young men they decide to join forces to become dealers in musical instruments; mainly selling banjos and mandolins in which they were particularly interested. Being players of no mean ability their public appearances helped them to sell their goods and soon they were despatching instruments all over the country, also because of their advertising and the launching (in February 1894) of their monthly fretted Instrument magazine called “The 'Jo." ("The 'Jo" title was changed to “The Troubadour" after a couple of years.) Both their sets of parents had died during the 1880's and while Mullins was living with his brother in law in 1891 neither appear on the 1901 census. They started to sell their "own" make of banjo but these were made for them by J. G. Abbott , W. E. Temlett . Windsor , Matthew , etc. - the usual makers "to the trade" at that time. It was in 1897 they patented their “mute attachment" which was fitted to B. & M. zither-banjos and worked from under the vellum. At the end of 1900 they moved to London and established themselves at Rathbone Place, off London's Oxford Street, as a wholesale house in all musical instruments and merchandise and, soon after, started their own workshops at Harrow, Middlesex. which at first were under the supervision of John G Abbott. During the dance-band boom they marketed- their "Lyratone" banjos, plectrum banjos and tenor-banjo which enjoyed considerable popularity. A feature of these instruments was the all-metal construction of the hoops. In 1924 Barnes was granted a patent simplifying the tensioning of the skin on a zither banjo through a redesigned tension ring. They ceased making banjos soon after the outbreak of World War II. the instruments branded "B. & M." sold from about 1965, have been made for them in Germany. Barnes 1872-1932 & Mullins 1873-1954 Barnes & Mullins No.1 Perfect with the adjustable dowl stick, made by Windsor Next maker

The Fender Co. of Santa Ana California did not make any banjos until the latter part of 1965 when they acquired the plant and manufacturing rights of Gariepy Banjos , a firm which had been conducted by the banjo maker Art Gariepy of Long Beach Cal. “Fender” banjos are well made showing the craftsmanship of their former maker. Fender Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

In January 1924 E L BAiley of 455 Fifth Ave, Brooklyn, New York, advertised a new tenor banjo with:"a tone chamber that gives the resonant tone of the 5 string banjo". From photographs it would appear that the hoop of the instrument was built on the same principles as the early Dobson "bell echo" hoop. Pictures and description courtesy of Steve Prior Ed L Bailey Internal Resonator 5 String . Seems this guy was making high quality banjos but I’ve personally never seen two the same. I have seen banjo mandolins and tenors but all vary in construction, tone rings etc. Build quality is very good and up there with the likes of Bacon and Vega. Lovely headstock, extended fingerboard. This one has a bacon style round rod ring. Very fine player, lovely tone, I prefer it to my Bacon FF . E L Bailey next maker

was born in Kentish Town, London in 1859 William James Clifford Essex. In 1882 he disolved the Herbert & Co. Wine Merchant partnership, he had with James Herbert. In 1893 Clifford Essex and Alfred D. Cammeyer formed a partnership with offices and teaching studios at 59 Piccadilly, London. At first, the banjos and zither-banjos they sold under the brand name of " Essex & Cammeyer " where made for them by Temlett , Weaver , Wilmshurst and Windsor but early in 1896 they opened their own workshops at 13 Greek Street, Soho, and were soon employing fourteen workmen to make banjos and zither-banjos for them. Clifford Essex dissolved his partnership with Cammayer in 1900 he formed his own firm at 15a Grafton Street, off New Bond Street, London. W. and instruments bearing. the name Clifford Essex Co." were put on the market. At first all the banjos were made for Clifford Essex by Spencer , Weaver, Langham (in London) and Houghton (of Birmingham) -but in 1904 he started his own workshops at The Oval, Kensington, with Alfred Dare as foreman. When Richard Spencer died in 1915, Clifford Essex bought his plant and stock and took his key makers into his employ. Although most of the CIifford Essex banjos sold in the early days were made in the Clifford Essex workshops, many he were still made by the above-mentioned outside makers; notably Richard Spencer. The Weaver- made banjos were made to Weaver's own design although they were sold with the Clifford Essex label on them. It should be emphasised that every Clifford Essex banjo (except the "Popular" model) was hand-made and each instrument individually assembled which often accounts for slight variations in models. and by then only their cheapest model (The "Popular') was made outside their own work-shops by Houghton of Birmingham. In February 1936 the firm became a private limited company and the title changed to "Clifford-Essex & Son Ltd.”. Soon after the outbreak of World War II the manufacture of banjos (and other instruments) was greatly reduced owing,, to shortage of materials and the military call-up of workmen. When the firm went into liquidation in 1942 manufacture ceased. The new company. with the title "Clifford Essex Music Co. Ltd." has made a few -special" banjos since 1945 and these bear the initials "C.E." in mother-of pearl inlaid into the peghead. From the cheapest to the dearest (£3.10.0. to £60) Clifford Essex banjos carried the following model names : Popular" "Clipper", "Imperial", "C.E. Special", Boudoir Grand", "Professional" (the only 12 in. hoop model), "Regal", "X.X.'Special" (later called, Concert Grand"), "Paravox" (an instrument designed on the 'Vegavox" lines with an 11 in. vellum, "Paragon", "New Paragon", "Paragon Artist" and "Paragon de Luxe" (the last two being gold plated). In addition tile firm produced three grades of zither-banjo: "Grade 111" (the cheapest), "Grade 11" and "Grade 1”. To enable an owner of a Clifford Essex banjo to "date" his instrument, one can tell by the address in conjunction with the firm's title. 1900 to 1936 15a Grafton Street, London W, 1936 to 1942 90 Shaftesbury Ave., . 1942 to 1957 8 New Compton St., 1957 on 20 Earlham Street. Additional informtion .. cliffordessex.net Clifford Essex .. 1859 to 1946 next maker

A patent issued to H C Middlebrook in 1891 regarding "improvements" to the way the neck is attached to the pot and a new fretting system, formed the basis of the Lion company. In an advertisement in the Sept-Oct 1885 issue of “The Cadenza” the Lion Banjo Manufacturing Co., of Rock Rapids, Iowa, USA announced “A great revolution in banjo and guitar making . Many new features .. sloping frets, hollow hoop, new tailpiece but no side peg” and “ An entirely new method of attaching neck to hoop”. A photograph in the advertisement shows a banjo with the octave peg located in the peg head; 5th string apparently being carried from the 5th fret through a zither type banjo tunnel to the peg head. However unlike the English made "zither" banjos the 5th string emerges in the centre of the peg head rather than to the bass side. The company which also manufactured guitars and mandolins exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 Images courtesy of Carl Miller Lion next maker

.. was a instrument retailer/maker in New York in the last decade of the 19th C, who's banjo's were probably made by Buckbee . He was issued a patent for a tail piece and around 1895 the company changed its name to the Metropolitan Musical Instrument Co. They marketed both 5, 6 & 7 string banjo's fretted or flush fret under the "Celebrated Benary" name engraved on a plate on the heel. 7 string flush fret Celebrated Benary Robert H Benary next maker

In the 1920’s The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company of Cincinnati, Ohio advertised the “Howard” tenor-banjo outfit for $49.00. The well-made professional instrument which was supplied complete with a fully shaped case was made for the company by the Fred Gretsch Mfg. Co. In advertisements for this tenor-banjo it was also stated that the outfit could also be furnished “in five-string or plectrum models” to order. Pictures courtesy of Michael Powers Howard next maker

In 1893 Clifford Essex and Alfred D. Cammeyer formed a partnership with offices and teaching studios at 59 Piccadilly, London. At first, the banjos and zither-banjos they sold under the brand name of "Essex & Cammeyer" where made for them by Temlett , Weaver , Wilmshurst and Windsor . In 1895 they were appointed UK distributors for William A Cole (who had dissolved their business with AC Fairbanks in 1892) and then, in early in 1896, they opened their own workshops at 13 Greethen Street, Soho, and were soon employing fourteen workmen to make banjos and zither-banjos. The partnership was dissolved in 1900 when no more "Essex & Cammeyer" instruments were produced. Zither pictures courtesy of John Dukes Imported Cole pictures courtesy of Musicalstash , interesting to note the earlier Windsor "Lyre" tailpiece used on this banjo .. not Cole but possibly original as widely used in England at the time. This model is from their lower end "Boston" range as opposed to the higher end "Eclipse" range. Essex & Cammeyer next maker

In 1884 the first English banjo patent GB9439 was granted to S. W. Kemp for his “Gong Banjo" which was described a having "a metal rim with bell projecting backwards and opening with a trumpet mouthpiece." It was exhibited (probably with other banjos by the same maker) at the Invention Exhibition, Kensington, in 1885 and thereafter is said too have enjoyed considerable sales. The patent on this banjo seems to have been granted because of the resonator" "fitted inside the hoop this being a metal interior, shaped like an inverted soup plate with an open centre aperture, about three inches across and with rolled over edge like the lip of a bell. This device was fitted to the top of the hoop, under the vellum, with the banjo perch-pole passing through the two walls of the orifice of the "resonator". The hoop of the "Kemp Patent Gong Banjo" was made entirely of metal barely 0.7 in. thick and had a rolled-over edge at the base. On some models the hoop and the internal metal resonator were elaborately engraved with floral designs, cherubs, etc. It is not known when S. W. Kemp ceased making banjos although his activities extended from the seven string banjo era into the time when five-string banjos were more generally used. There is only one entry for a SW Kemp in the UK census lists. Samuel W Kemp born in 1831 is recorded in 1861 as a shopman in a Piano warehouse .. Samuel William Kemp next maker

. . . was born James Thomas Parslow in July 1848 to Joseph and Harriet Parslow in Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, England and in 1874 when he was 26, married Sarah Martha Prout. He learned woodcraft as an apprentice at Burgoynes, the Kingston, Surrey, motor-launch builders, famous for building royal barges. In the early 1880’s he established a workshop complete with lathe and forge at 28 Fairfield Road, Kingston Upon Thames. All his machinery was steam-driven and until he added zither-banjos to his output at the turn of the 20th century, every part of his banjo was made by his own hands. These were made in two models: 11” hoop with generally a 26¼” scale and a 12” hoop with a 27¼” scale. The necks of his instruments were laminated both vertically and horizontally depending on the style and on many, pearl dots were placed at the 5th peg side of the neck to correspond with each fret. Parslow was a lover of decoration and he collected odd pieces of mother-of-pearl from which he would fashion stars, crescents, arrows and dots for insertion in the fingerboards of the banjos he made. With minor variations, no two Parslow banjos would be identical in this respect but in general he chose the 5th 7th 9th 12th and 17th fret positions for the main inlays whereas the majority of makers preferred using the 10th instead of the 9th. He devised and patented his own non-slip pegs and used several styles of metal perch-pole in his banjos which could be adjusted at one or both ends by screw-nuts to make the hoop rigid. He also devised a special tailpiece; the lugs for the strings being hinged to make the fixing of the (gut) string easier but later cast brass or bronze ‘Lyre’ style tailpieces with copper lugs. He often used the "split" second fret on his zither-banjos but they also appeared on his regular models. Because he never used serial numbers, it is difficult to date the evolution of his instruments especially in the design of the headstock, the transformation of the nameplate from stamped to engraved and the style of heel. In addition to his instrument-making, he maintained a teaching studio and ran a successful banjo quartet with outstanding pupils which appeared at local concerts, this also helped to advertise the Parslow instruments. He died aged 72 in 1920 and it appears that the business then folded; although his son Charlie Parslow played banjo professionally – especially with The Palladium Minstrels and touring the world with Al Jolson – there is no mention of him continuing the family business. Pictures courtesy of Steve Harrison , text courtesy of Ed Parslow James "Jimmy" Parslow 1848 to 1920 next maker