Leon Eugene Clerc was born in London and made his debut as a banjoist at the age of 18 with "The Star Minstrels", an amateur organisation. When he was 22 he had become established as a teacher of the banjo in London's East End and about the year 1888 he opened a factory at 44, 46 -& 48 Commercial Street, Shoreditch, London, for the manufacture of musical instruments and his banjos and zither-banjos carried the brand names of "Athena", "Crescent" and "Marvel." In 1891 he formed the "Athena Quartet" which became known in all the best concert halls in and around London and did much to publicise Clerc’s own make of instruments. Production appears to have ceased about 1908. He died in Wokingham, Berkshire aged 76 Images courtesy of Glen Morris Leon Clerc 1865 to 1941 next maker

... of St Louis, Missouri was a cultured gentleman of considerable means who went into the business of manufacturing banjos about the year of 1850, out of the pure love of the instrument and was a most ingenious maker. He made a success of the venture but was indifferent to whether he made any money or not. Banjo making was his recreation and his hobby. He always used the best materials, finest workmanship and gave a superb finish to all the banjos bearing his name. MacCord became interested in the banjo in the early 1840’s when he learned to play. With good mechanical knowledge he fashioned several banjos entirely different to others of the period. He is said to have been the first to use 22 frets on banjos – on his wood rimmed instruments made in 1859. One of these models also dispensed with the side 5th peg the string being carried to a scroll peg head housing 5 pegs. The fifth string passed through a slot in the side of the neck to a point where the 5th peg is usually placed and was carried in a groove at the side of the neck to another slot near the nut and then to the peg. In 1884 he was granted a U.S. patent for tunnelling the 5th string under the fingerboard to the peg head. One of his 1880 “patent” banjos had an all metal hoop with a domed back similar to that (in wood) used for the zither banjo. This instrument was described by Clarence L Partee, who said the hoop and the back was not in a solid piece but was in the form of strips of metal strips, about an inch wide with equal spaces between them. Wires were connected to the bezel and these extended down inside each metal strip to meet at the apex of the dome back, where they were fitted to a tightening nut. The idea was that the vellum could be tightened with a single turn of this nut. According to Partee this style banjo had a tremendous volume and brilliance of tone (although predictably somewhat metallic) as was used extensively by such artists as Cha. E Latshan and “Joe” Hart. MacCord retired from banjo making in 1890 and bequeathed some of his experimental banjos to Partee who in turn presented the two oldest instruments to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City where they were displayed in a glass case labelled “Banjos of the 19thC”. see here banjo 1 & banjo 2 Hercules MacCord Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

In "The Banjo World" of May 1894 a classified advert appeared offering for sale a 5-string "C" banjo by Emerson of New York. No details of’ this maker or his products have been discovered. Pictures courtesy of Jerry McHugh D Emerson next maker

.. was a drum maker from Baltimore, Maryland, and is said to have been "a fine banjoist and a fine craftsman" . He was one of the first men in America to make banjos on a fairley extensive scale and is said to have made the first "screw head" type banjo, with 6 brackets on the hoop, in 1845. This banjo has a sigmoid peghead and was fitted with a parchement to the top and the base of the hoop. It is on display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. Boucher subsequenatly dispensed with the double vellum idea and constructed an improved instrument with fourteen brackets on the hoop in 1847. Joel Sweeny teamed up with Boucher when the former retired from the entertainment business in 1845 but what his role was is unknown. William E Boucher .. mid 19th C Do you have a banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

... of 184 Tottenham Court Raod, London was an important music publisher, teacher and dealer in musical instruments in the earl 1880’s (he published several tutors for the 7, 6 and 5 string banjos in 1883). He sold many banjos bearing his name as maker but most were made for him by Edward Spratt (c1823-1884) and Temlett . At a later date he changed his label to read “ Manufactured expressly for C. Roylance". Charles George Roylance 1841 - Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

.... served an apprenticeship with the firm of Ball Beavon . He left at the outbreak of World War I to serve in France. Upon demobilisation, he and his brother formed the firm of Rose Brothers and they dealt in the wholesale supply of all kinds of musical merchandise including banjos and zither- banjos made in the Birmingham and London factories. When the banjo started to be popular during the dance band boom of the early 1920s, Rose Brothers manufactured and sold to music shops their "Savana" range of inexpensive banjos. (The name was coined from the Savoy Hotel and its broadcasting "Havana" band.) In 1923 the Rose brothers took into the business the brothers Morris and the title of the firm was changed to Rose, Morris & Co. Ltd. (See John Grey .) Stanley Rose next maker

In the early 1920’s The Regal Musical Instrument Co., of 3211 W Grand Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, included banjos amongst instruments they made and these were mainly sold through the big American wholesalers, e.g. Tonk Brothers of Chicago and Bugelesein & Jacobean of New York. It is not known when they left Chicago but in 1965 Fender Sales Inc., of Santa Anna California were marketing five models of “Regal “banjos which, it was stated, were “distributed exclusively” by Fender. Picture courtesy of Bruce K . Regal Next Maker

... was born in Clapham, Surrey and out of 9 Falcon Road, Battcrsea, London, S.W., he was initially known as a maker of flat-back mandolins of his own design but he did make a number of banjos and zither-banjos; mainly for other firms, to sell as their own make. In 1896 he was granted a patent pertaining to zither-banjo construction in conjunction with J E Brewster . In February 1899, in conjunction with W E Temlett , he was granted a patent for a roller-"nut" but there is no indication how he came to co-operate with Temlett. However in 1911 at age 34 he was recorded as a Banjo Maker, married with two sons and two daughters, not as an employer but working for others, and living at 25 Khyber Road, Battersea S W. He died in the late 1940s when Clifford Essex & Son acquired his stock of timber, etc Frederick Langham 1877 to c 1947 Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

John Clamp Snr 1833 - 1907 next maker .. born in Durham, Northumberland was a cabinet maker who in 1881 was living at 8 Sandyford Square in the centre of Newcastle, with five daughters and a son. By 1891 he was registered as a Banjo Manufacturer working from home and 1898 he had moved to 22 Simpson Street in the St Andrews district still making banjos at home and by 1901 his 24 year old daughter Cecilia Clamp was a "Teacher of Banjo" and performer. No doubt her students provided a ready market for his banjos. His son John had by now married but carried on with his father’s original profession as a Cabinet Maker in the Tyne & Wear shipyards. Among the banjos he made were ornately inlaid, high quality instruments with carved heels and heads. Initially fretless and subsequently fretted. His early range of flush fret banjos across three styles were available in over 120 different options of pot size, scale length, materials and 5, 6 and 7 strings. They were named the Trick , Drawing Room and Stage models with pot sizes from 9-13" and priced between £3.0.0 and 12 Guineas. He had been a banjo manufacturer for 25 years by the time he died and initially with a family of six to support. Hence the evidence is, contrary to the AP Sharpe article in BMG that he "made only 30 banjos in his lifetime", that he made many hundreds of banjos and it is likely that what was said was "30 banjos per year during his lifetime." It would appear he actually made 550+ during his lifetime. Images courtesy of Gene Parsons at STRINGBENDER PRODUCTS . Clamp fretless images courtesy of Alec Somerville

, .. of Stockwell, London flourished from 1880 to 1912. during which time he advertised himself as a "Professional Banjo Maker" and sole manufacturer of the “lmproved Eureka Banjo." Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? A J Shepherd next maker

Following a tour of Englad with his brother George (b 1857) the African-American James Bohee established a teaching studio in Coventry Street, London, in 1882. He first sold S. S. Stewart banjos at exorbitant prices to his pupils but before long he decided it was more profitable to sell his "own" banjos. These had a 12 inch hoop, plain nickel-silver, fingerboard without any fret markings, and push-in ivory pegs. When the Prince of Wales, who was soon to become King Edward VII, took lessons from him, the banjo craze hit British High Society. It is said he was a shrewd business man and asked as much as £50 for one of his banjos, a truly great price when one realises the highest-priced instruments at that time were 9 or 10 guineas. Bohee banjos were branded "Champion" and Alfred Weaver made the majority of them, although some were said to have been made by Arthur Tilley of Surbiton. Bohee died in 1897 but his brother liver on to 1930. James Bohee ... 1844 to 1897 Do you have a banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

... founded the company in Schönbach which was in Germany in 1887. He became the largest manufacturer of string instruments in the country and his two sons Josef and Walter joined the company just after the 1st WW taking the Hofner brand's reputation round the world. After the turbulence of World War II the company moved in 1950 to Bubenreuth in Western Germany. Karl Höfner Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker