.. of Bermondsey London (father of George E. Morris the well-known professional banjoist) was a busy teacher of the banjo during the banjo boom of the 1920’s he had zither-banjos made especially for him by a local man named Jim Gough. The demand for the instruments among Morris's many pupils was more than Gough could cope with and George Morris had to turn to Temlett and Windsor for his supplies. The Morris zither-banjos were well made instruments and highly thought of at the time. George Morris 1877 to Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

In 1909 the Ludwig Drum Company was founded in Chicago by two brothers. William F and Theo. Ludwig. In 1920 Charles Mc Neil the tenor-banjo player on the then popular dance orchestra of Ishman Jones used to call frequently at the Ludwig factory in N Lincoln Street, for special parts to be made for his instruments and, including especially good quality calf velum. He complained that few tenor-banjos were fretted correctly , intonation was bad and he suggested that there was room for improvements in many tenor-banjos made in the period. In 1921 William Ludwig finally became interested in the tenor-banjo so took the matters up with his chief engineer RC Danly. Feeling there was a market for better quality instruments and after lengthy discussions they decided to make an all metal banjo hoop from cast bronze (along similar lines to a side drum shell) which had a scalloped bezel for top tension , with the brackets engaging a solid flange in stead of passing through shoes to take the conventional nuts. In addition they devised ways of overcoming the other faults Mr McNeil had pointed out to them. As production of the “Ludwig” banjos came nearer the company provide a studio in the factory in which McNeil could teach his pupils. Ludwig saw great potential for their banjos and built specialist manufacturing equipment to produce their revolutionary instruments. In 1926 Chas. McNeil joined the Ludwig Company as official tester and inspector and every banjo (5 string, tenor or plectrum) passed through his hands. Before long they had a complete range of models ranging in price from $75 to $1,000, sold only through dealers and in every part of the world through intensive advertising. In 1931 The Ludwig Co. stopped making banjo because demand for top end banjos had dropped while its drum business was expanding. In a letter to Terry Hollands in 1965 WM, F Ludwig Snr. wrote that his company had no intention of entering the banjo market again. “We would” he said “just as soon forget the whole thing because of the sad experience we had in those ten years. We put in and lost about $200,000 on tools and equipment that were sold for scrap a few years later – and that is not counting the multiplicity of hours our engineering department spent on the development of the Ludwig banjo". Pictures courtesy of Intermountain Guitar & Banjo Ludwig Next Maker

On December 19th 1882 O R Chase of 698 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. patented his “Apollo” banjo which was said to have been constructed on “entirely new and scientific principles.” The shell was cast in one solid piece of “bell” metal as was the bezel. There was a complete range of instrument in 9”, 10”, 11” and 12 ½ ”hoop, all of which were noted for the largest number of brackets used –as many as 56 on the “Professional” 12 ½” model . O R Chase Do you have a banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

This maker had premises in High Street, Peckham, London and flourished during the banjo "boom" (1880 to 1914) and is said to have been a maker of cheap zither-banjos for the retail trade. Many of the zither-banjos in the shops for less than £1 at this time would have been produced by him. Birch Do you have a banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

See Hewett Stainer Manufacturing Company Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

John Eastwood Dallas 1856 to 1921 next maker .. born in Preston Lancashire ... started to make banjos with J E. Brewster in a small workshop in London's Oxford Street in 1873 and two years later set up as a publisher and banjo maker at 415 Strand, from which address it is said he made banjos for the Moore & Burgess Minstrels and the Mohawk Minstrels. Dallas was a fine wood craftsman who fashioned some exceptionally high-class banjos and zither-banjos. By 1893 the demand for his instruments made it necessary for him to take over the entire premises at 415 Strand; enlarge. his workshops; and employ men to make the large range of instruments he had put on the market. For some years he advertised that he personally tested every banjo and zither-banjo before it left his workshops. At the height of the banjo boom he was making banjos and zither-banjos for other firms and teachers and some of the latter whose "branded" instruments were made for them by Dallas included W.H. Plumbridge (Brighton), J. E. Brewster (London) and Norton Greenop (London). In 1905-6 the three sons of John E. Dallas were rewarded for their work with the firm and were made directors and the firm's title changed to John E. Dallas & Sons. In February 1914 the firm moved to 202 High Holborn and by the late 1920's the banjos and zither-banjos bearing the company's name were truly mass-produced instruments and started to bear the trade name of "Jedson." John E. Dallas died in 1921 and in August of that year the firm became a private limited company. Soon the activities of the company had spread far beyond the fretted instruments and with it came growth. In 1926 the firm moved to larger premises , at 6-10 Betterton Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C.2 and there started to lay the foundation for the large wholesale distribution of everything musical for which the firm is today known. In 1937 the house of Dallas moved to Ridgmount Street and finally to the present address in Clifton Street, E.C.2. In June 1947 John E. Dallas & Sons Ltd. became a public company with an issued share capital of £500,000. With the outbreak of World War II, Dallas ceased to make banjos but in 1947 they started to produce in small quantities the inexpensive banjos which have been sold by music shops throughout the country. These bear the "Jedson" trade mark but are in no way comparable to the pre-war instruments bearing the same name. It was in 1963 that the Houghton works in Birmingham were closed down and George Houghton set up workshops for the Dallas company at Bexleyheath, Kent and it was from here that most of the post-war banjos bearing the Dallas name have been made. Universal Favorite & Jedson 4 string pictures courtesy of Steve Prior

Sidney W H Young 1881 to 1964 Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker ... was born in Pimlico, Middlesex as the 2nd of nine childern and was living at 7 Howards Road, Walthamstow in Essex in 1901. He was first heard of in the banjo-making world as a member of the team of craftsmen making banjos and zither-banjos in the Essex & Cammeyer workshops at 13 Greek Street, Soho, London. His younger brother Gerald Nicholls Young was also working in the industry but later changed to being a carpenter joiner. When Clifford Essex and Alfred D. Cammeyer dissolved partnership in 1900, Sidney William H Young was appointed manager of the Cammeyer workshops and it was he who was mainly responsible for the design and manufacture of the 'Vibranite," "Vibrante Royal" and "New Era" instruments (as well as the many other cheaper grades of zither banjos) sold under the Cammeyer name. When Cammeyer retired in 1939, Sidney Young, took over the small workshop at Richmond Buildings, Soho, where he continued to make instruments for private customers until the outbreak of World War 11. (it was during this period that he designed and made the "Vivavox" models for Emile Grimshaw & Son.) Although no instruments were sold in his name, Sidney W. H. Young’s unmistakable craftsmanship can be found on instruments bearing other names. After the war he established a workshop at 70 New Oxford Street, London, W.C. . Here he worked in conjunction with John Alvey Turner Ltd., (their premises being next door) until his retirement in 1956. He had acquired a good stock of Cammeyer "parts" and timber, and turned out many "Vibrantes" etc., but these do not bear the facsimile signature of Cammeyer on the heel butt. In 1937 Turner acquired Alfred Weaver 's stock of half-completed hoops, arms, fittings, etc., and Mr. Young's skill fashioned them into instruments almost indistinguishable from the genuine article except that they bore no maker's name. He died on December 11th,1964.

J. Thibouville-Lamy & Co Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker "Jetel" was the unofficial trade mark of J. Thibouville-Lamy & Co., of 10 Charterhouse Street, London, E.C., a firm which was established in Paris in 1790. They were still a leading musical instrument maker out of the same address in 1915. They were large manufacturers of every type of brass and wood instrument ' who advertised their extensive "steam factories at Grenelle, La Couture and Mirecourt." A bottom end brand made for them by Matthew was "Down South" a design based on early 5 string instruments with a paddle head and only 10 tension hooks also see Jetel

.. was a Music Publisher and Band Instrument Manfacturer based in South London at the turn of the 20th C. Banjos and zither banjos bearing the name made of Boosey and Co., of London were made in the early 1900's by both Windsor and Weaver , while a few of the cheaper models were of German origin. When the dance-band boom started in the early 1920's the banjos sold under the Boosey name were imported from the U.S.A. Boosey & Co. became incorporated with Hawkes & Co. in 1930 to become Boosey & Hawkes Ltd. Images of this Weaver made model courtesy of Stan MacBroom Charles T Boosey 1857 - next maker

... of Gloucester, was a banjo enthusiast who made (and sold privately) several conventional banjos when he was a pupil of S.E.Turner of Cheltenham. In 1927 he conceived the idea of making an all wood instrument. Basically, the hoop of this banjo (which he patented in 1928) consisted of a series of blocks glued together in a ring and turned to a section similar to that of a bell. A metal band was fitted under the"shelf" of the hoop to act as a wearing plate for the nuts of the tention brackets, thus eliminatingthe neccessity for the conventional shoes. Mr Merriman sent his prototype to Windsor of Birmingham who made about half a dozen instruments to his design. They were sold privately. In 1932 about the same number of instruments were made for Mr Merriman by J.G.Abbot and he advertised them in the June 1932 "BMG". When these were sold Mr Merriman retired from the field of commericial banjo making. In later years Harold was the Landlord at the Royal Exchange Public House in Hartpury Gloucester. Pictures countesy of John Craze of a banjo made by Merriman in 1943 while serving in Kenya. He and John's father Frank Craze played with the Phil Barker Banjo Boys from Gloucester. Harold Thomas Merriman 1903 -1977 next maker

... a well-known teacher of the banjo, mandolin and guitar was born in Hove and settled in Brighton, Sussex in 1883. For many years he conducted a successful teaching studio there and led an amateur B. M. & G. orchestra in the seaside town. At the turn of the century he established a teaching studio at John Alvey Turner' s in London which he attended twice a week and for some time he also conducted a London amateur B. M. & G. Orchestra. He was a self-taught player of the banjo, having started to play on seven string instrument. He became well-known as a banjo soloist after he changed to the five-string instrument and until 1893 used a Weaver banjo. He started to play and sell his "own make" banjos but the instruments bearing his name as maker, were made for him by John E.Dallas . Images courtesty of Chris Irving William H Plumbridge 1864 to 1925 next maker