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

AV Ebblewhite established a wholesale and retail musical merchandise establishment and between the years 1901 and 1918 they sold (as wholesalers and retailers) a great number of zither banjos bearing the name of AV & Co as maker but these were made by Arthur Windsor, (Birmingham, a personal friend of Ebblewhite), Wilmshurst (of London) and Matthew (of Birmingham). October 2012: It is clear that Ebblewhite exported a lot of Windsor Banjos under the brand name of "Challenge" bearing all the characteristics of Windsor made banjos including; the standard Windsor Popular plain "paddle" peg head, the inlay pattern (see Barnes & Mullins as well) but most typical of all, the chromed steel friction pegs which worked reliably and well. These banjos were made to a price and often had very thin ebony veneer for fretboards while Barnes & Mullins and other customers of Windsor specified 5/32nd" or thicker for their better banjos. Pictures courtesy of Intermountain Guitar and Banjo AV & Co next maker

...was born in 1848 in the Parish of St Georges Middlesex, son of a wheel wright and saddle maker he initially helped his father with his business as a trainee harness maker. By 1881 he was married and was residing at 26 Edgeware Road London with his wife Minnie (Mary), five years his younger and was registered as a Musical Instrument Maker working from home. In 1891 he was still working from home but was now recorded as a Musical Instrument Dealer with four children aged between ten and twenty one. By 1911 his children had all flown the nest and at 63 years old he was a Piano Tuner living with his wife, youngest daughter Mary who was now thirty and her family in Wandsworth SW London. Thomas W Upcott 1848 to 1922 next maker

From early 1927 to late 1940 a Miss Elizabeth Buchanan of 6 Granville St. West, GLASGOW, C.3. advertised herself as a teacher of the Banjo, Tenor-banjo, Mandolin, Guitar and Ukulele and, for a period, her advertisements included "instruments repaired on the premises". A display advertisement in the April 1928 issue of "B.M.G." proclaimed:- BUCHANAN BANJOS Makers and repairers of all fretted instruments. Models included a highly decorated short scale 6 string with slotted peg head and with an all metal pot vented at the side. Images courtesy of MD Collectables Elizabeth Buchanan next maker

.. was was born in Colchester, Essex and became a musical instrument merchant in London from the late 1880's. By 1910 he was employed as a jewellery wholesaler and trader. Joseph Kingsley Simson 1860 to ... next maker

.. established a wholesale musical instrument business at 31 Aldermanbury, London, EC in the 1880's and subsequently in Pinder Street, Bishopsgate, London. Although they marketed banjos bearing their name as maker they were made by Matthew and Houghton of Birmingham. They also sold SS Stewart banjos during the 1890's which were stamped on the dowel stick Ball, Beavon & Co London, under the neck clamp, alongside the Stewart label. In the days of the 7-string banjo, they sold an unfretted instrument with 40 brackets on the hoop and fitted with push in pegs. The firm went out of business during the First World War, probably due to the cessation of supplies and of cheap musical instruments and merchandise from the Continent. Images courtesy of Jim Leith Ball, Beavon & Co next maker

Born in St Pancras, London he never knew his father and by the time he was 15 he was working as a messenger boy. Aged 25 he was just married and Landlord of the Waterloo pub in High Street, Huntingdon, Huntingdonshire. He soon moved back to London where he was working as a musical instrument repairer and ten years later was living at 14 Bolton Street Lambeth with a son and 6 daughters all under 10 years old. He flourished in the early 1870s, both as a maker of banjos with both he and his wife as teachers of the instrument. His banjos at that time were typical of the period: deep (5 in.) hoop of wood (with undulant bottom edge), wide unfretted neck, push-in pegs, and six or eight heavy straining brackets. By 1882 he has premises in Duke Street at the peak of his career and with his wife they are listed as “Professors of the Banjo” In 1885 he was granted a patent for a metal hoop for the banjo "with an annular groove in it to receive the tension bolts and to which the handle (neck) is attached." In section this hoop was something like the figure 5 minus the tail. By 1891 he moved to South London and was living at 10 Mill Lane Streatham and ten years later he was a music teacher living with son in law at 95 Amesbury Avenue Streatham. Henry John James Spratt 1836 - 1920 Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

... was born in Accrington, Lancashire and at 12 years of age was being taught banjo by local music teacher Will Birch .... A course in music theory and piano gave him the technical knowledge to compose for banjo and in 1894 published his first solo “Military March”. In 1900 he formed the Burnley B M&G Orchestra which fulfilled many local engagements for five years , at which point he started touring music halls with his wife Florence. Hi compositions attracted the attention of Clifford Essex and in 1911 he was appointed Editor of “B.M.G. “ which he undertook for 22 years. The now famous author, composer, arranger and banjoist, severed connections with the Clifford Essex Company to form his own firm in conjunction with his son in 1933. Previous to this date he had sold banjos to his private pupils which he had made for him by Robert (“Bob”) Blake of Finchley, London. These instruments bore the mark " E.G." or "Hartford". When Emile Grimshaw & Son came into existence in Piccadilly, London, in 1933 Bob Blake was responsible for the prototypes and early model banjos sold by them but when demand increased these instruments were copied and made in Houghton's factory in Birmingham. The "Vivavox" models in the Grimshaw range (based on the type of instrument made in America by Vega and called by them "Vegavox" were made for them by Sidney Young . Starting their own workshops in 1940 (to meet the demand for guitars), Grimshaw & Son employed Will Mitchell from 1942 (after the closure of the Clifford Essex workshops) and he was responsible for many Grimshaw banjos (often made from parts acquired from the Essex workshops) until his death in 1947. Since that date the firm has been noted for its guitars for over twenty years, but started to make an occasional banjo again from 1965. For more detailed information on Grimshaw go here Grand and Vivavox images courtesy of Charles Allbut Emile Grimshaw 1880 to 1943 next maker