.. 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

.. was born in Bethnal Green, London to a father who was a mason living in Emma Street. Emma Street was redevloped and the familly moved away and by age 21 (1881) he was just married and was registered as a screw turner. He was known as George Coker and within 10 years had 3 children and was registered as a banjo maker. Again his work changed and he became a French polisher and subsequently by 1910, living in Islington, N London and was registered as a celluloid case maker, and had started using William again as his first name. The banjo-making firm of W. G. Coker & Co. of London was, in the beginning, a partnership between W. G. Coker and G. H. Young; sometime prior to 1886 for in that year they took out a patent for "doing away with the necessity of drilling holes in the banjo hoop for the shoes" by using a "ring, angular in section something like the figure 7", this being either "hooked on to the hoop or attached by means of a flange turned round at the lower edge of the hoop." It is also interesting to note that in the patent specification they also suggested a flanged bezel - an idea used by several modern makers of banjos both in America and England. The banjos these two craftsman made were extremely heavy instruments, solidly built and all with a short scale length of about 14 inchs. They were fitted with Coker's own patent non-slip pegs which had a knurled adjusting screw at the top to tighten the mechanism and, if necessary, lock it. Coker's "trade mark" was a large raised metal star fixed to the face of the peg head on which the name Coker was-punched in. Young eventually left, and the name of the firm was changed to W G Coker & Son with the address of 41 Melville Road, London, E.17. Images courtesy of Bill Cannon William George Coker 1860 - 1940 next maker

Jetel 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 large manufacturers of every type of brass and wood instrument ' who advertised their extensive "steam factories at Grenelle, La Couture and Mirecourt." At a later date they made a wide range of guitars and mandolins. Soon after they opened their London house in 1880 they included banjos and (after 1888-Ed.) zither-banjos among the goods they sold but these were apparently made for them by Matthew, Windsor and Houghton (of Birmingham) and Temlett and Wilmshurst (of London). The majority of the instruments sold under their name were made in their own factories in France but these never included banjos and zither-banjos. In one of their 250-page catalogues dated 1905 they offered a range of unfretted banjos from 3s. 8d up to the "Artist" model (fretted and with 30 brackets) 'or £3.10.0. Their range of zither--banjos was priced from £1.2.0 to £5.14.0. A 1924 catalogue of the company included a range of banjos from £3.16.0 to £12 whilst zither-banjos bearing the "Jetel" trade mart, were sold from £3 to £6.10.6.

a professional drummer met Sam Cooley while playing locally in Indianapolis in 1895. Hollander made his first drums in 1894 in Toledo Ohio and in 1896 they teamed up and formed the Leedy-Cooley Manufacturing Company making drums in Indianapolis. In 1924 they started making banjos by employing an ex Ludwig banjo maker. These were mostly 4 stringed instruments. In 1930 during the great depression both Leedy and Ludwig were purchased by G C Conn Manufacturing of Elkhart, Indianna. U G Leedy Hollander c 1875 - 1931 Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

Stromberg-Voisinet 1890 - 1931 next maker Stromberg-Voisinet started out as the Groeschel Co. in 1890 making mandolins. By the 1920's they we making banjos, ukuleles and guitars and in 1921 the company was incorporated as Stromberg-Voisinet. In 1928 they produced what is recognised as the first electric guitar operating out of 312 Union Park Court, Chacago. The Kay Musical Instrument Company was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1931 by Henry Kay Kuhrmeyer from the remnants of Stromberg-Voisenet of which he was president 1928. Images courtesy of James Fabian

... of Brixton London, was a teacher, composer and banjo entertainer who started to play the banjo in 1879. He used to advertise that he used only his "own make" of banjo which he was always ready and willing to sell to his pupils and other interested persons. No further details of either Henderson or his banjos have been unearthed although it is known he was still flourishing in 1901. Walter Henderson Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

Muse Banjos of Jamestown, Star Route, Boulder, Colorado was the same company as Ode . Muse Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

L Yosco Manufacturing Co. The Iosco familly emigrated from Italy to the US in 1877 and Rocco Lorenzo Iosco (b 1869) changed his name to Lawrence Yosco. He began maufacturing fretted instruments, at the turn of the 20th C and by 1919 had premises at 204 W 34th Street, NY. In that year he was granted a patent on his "double rim" banjo, effectively a resonator with a 3" void built into the rim. While Yosco made Italian style bowl backed mandolins, guitars and 4 string banjos, no 5 string models appear to have been made. Images courtesy of Mike Amato, Bedford Banjo Shop, PA www.bedfordbanjoshop.com next maker