.. was making banjos in New York City prior around the 1850's and he went to California with his banjo making friend Thomas W Bree during the boom times following the gold rush of1849. It is not known when he returned to New York but it is reported that he presented a banjo of his making as first prize at the Banjo Tournament held at the Chinese Assembly Rooms on Broadway in 1857. (However other research suggests that this banjo was supplied by Jimmie Clarke ). Charles Morrell Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

George Jordan ( b 1807-c1854), a musical instrument maker came to Liverpool from Ireland where he married Alice Walmsley. Employing several relatives they manufactured musical instruments out of 42 Manchester Street, Liverpool. On the death of his father, George Jordan jnr. ( b 1832) set up business at 67 Dale Street ( see RJ Ward) making and selling instruments while his mother Alice Jordan (1810–c1872) continued out of Manchester Street with her daughter Alice running the shop and nephew William Jordan making instruments. By 1910 the premises at 42 Manchester Street had ceased trading and George Jordan jnr had moved out of Dale Street but was still in the music industry. Alice Jordan 1810 - c1872 next maker

... a teacher, player and composer for fretted instruments, established a workshop and studio at 84 High Street, Clapham, London, in 1880. His extremely well-made banjos and (after 1888 - Ed.) zither-banjos soon gained a name with professionals and amateurs alike in and around London. He employed a number of workmen and made a great number of instruments each week for a number of years. As a professional player of the banjo he used the nom de plume of Dick Spence. By 1883 he was making banjos with an insert strip of ebony through the centre of the two-piece neck .and in 1897 he was advertising the "Spencer. & Watkins' Patent Banjo," although no details of Watkins or the features of the "patent" banjo have been discovered. In addition to his prolific output of instruments bearing his own name, Spencer also made-banjos and zither banjos for others which were branded with the seller's name. He made extensively for Essex & Cammeyer in the early days of their partnership and for Clifford Essex for a number of years. When Richard Spencer died on April 2nd, 1915, Clifford Essex bought his plant and stocks of material from his son who had no interest in banjo making. It is interesting to note that Alfred Dare (who had started work in the Spencer workshops at the age of 14 took charge of the Clifford Essex workshops on the death of Spencer. Will Mitchell (who succeeded Dare as foreman of the Clifford Essex workshops) was also employed by Spencer for some years. In 1910 Spencer moved from Clapham High Street to 364 Clapham Road. Images courtesy of Skip Sail. Richard "Dick" Spencer 1863 to 1915 next maker

... was born in Clerkenwell London, of Scottish parents and trained as a jeweler. He subsequently moved to Birmingham as a Schools Inspectior where he married and then established his Reliance Works in Heaton Street, Birmingham in 1888. The range of banjos and zither-banjos he made were branded "Reliance." His well made inexpensive range of instruments quickly found favour with dealers and players alike and before long his factory was extended, his staff increased and the name changed to G. Houghton & Sons. Production was almost wholly devoted to making instruments for other firms to be branded with the vendor's name and/or trademark. By 1901 his business had expanded and, now resident in Staffordhsire, he was also making the cardboard and leather cases for his instruments, which were also branded "Reliance." Houghton's maintained a stock catalogue of instruments (usually marked with a gold-embossed lion with the initials G. H. & S. underneath) with which many retailers and most of the wholesale houses made up their own catalogues. One of the most popular selling lines of their banjos was the inexpensive instruments labelled "Melody Jo." Besides making, their own stock instruments they would also copy other firms' prototypes for them, to be branded with the latter's name as "makers". In 1962, town-planning development in Birmingham plus staff difficulties finally decided George Houghton (son of the founder) to close down and he moved to London to become associated with John E. Dallas & Sons Ltd. The plant and materials and a few of his key workers he brought from Birmingham was established in a factory at 12 Gravel Hill, Bexleyheath, Kent, and from that time until he retired in 1965 he made the inexpensive banjos sold under the Dallas label. George Houghton 1849 to 1913 next maker

.. of 60 Colombo Road, llford, and then 100 Felbrigge Road, Goodmayes, was a successful teacher of the fretted instruments in the llford Forest Gate and Romford areas 0f Essex who flourished from soon after 1900 up to 1936. He sold a high- class well-made banjo which bore his name and address as "maker" but the characteristics of these instruments seem to indicate they were made for him by J. G. Abbott . He moved from Felbrigge Road in April 1930 and no banjos appear to have been sold by him after this date. W G Davis Do you have a banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

... of Newark New Jersey .. little if anything is known of this maker. F H Douglas Do you have a banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

... was a high quality instrument maker in Philladelphia, Pennsylvania in the last quarter of the 19th C. While he built instruments and competed with the quality of S S Stewart he did not make anything like the volume. images courtesy of Mark Ralston Joseph Ricketts next maker

.. a Swedish cabinet maker, went to Boston Mass. in 1887. He secured work in the Thompson & Odell works and for eighteen years was their foreman in the banjo, mandolin and guitar factory. In 1905 he started his own business at 40 Hanover St., Boston, and five years later took his son Elmer into the business with him. Between them the two craftsmen produced hundreds of banjos, including other musical instruments in which they specialised. The banjos they produced and sold under the name of Stromberg had what they called a “Cupperphone Tone Chamber” which consisted of a metal ring placed on a series of upright metal tubes or cups fitted on a built in wooded shelf inside the banjo hoop and directly under the vellum. The firm appears to have gone out of business soon after 1929 Photos courtesy of Intermountain Guitar & Banjo Charles A. Stromberg next maker

Leslie Uncless ... as teacher of the banjo in Syracuse,, New York, was mentioned as a maker of banjos along with Dalton MacGee in the August 1910 issue of “The Crescendo” but nothing further been discovered about him or his activities. Do you have a pre 1940's banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

.. of New York City was said to have been one of the best jig dancers in the American Minstrel business in the 1860’s and was equally proficient as a player of the banjo. He was a maker of banjos, although not in large quantities and he sold the banjos he made only to professionals. In the December 1909 issue of B.M.G. Clarence L Partee wrote “ I have seen several fine specimens of his (Clarkes) workmanship” He is said to have improved the design and remedied many of the defects of the Wilson & Farnham “Silver Rim” banjos and is credited with evolving the “extension bar” (perch pole) thus giving rigidity between the neck and the hoop., although “Stewart said that the “majority” of wood rimmed banjos, even before that date, were so made. Jimmy Clarke made EM Hall ’s early banjos “Old Iron sides “ and “The Thunderer”. He died of TB in New York on 27th February 1880 and a measure of the respect in which Clarke banjos were held at that time can be gauged by a statement (by Stewart ?) that “ in 1878 Stewart banjos were superior in quality and design to those hitherto made by JW Clarke” J W Clarke c1835 to 1880 Do you have a banjo by this maker? can you supply us some images? next maker

... came to England from the USA in 1888 having initiall trained as a vilolinist, where, with many introductions to London's high society, he was encouraged in his musical career by people such as Sir Arthur Sulivan. He had learned the Zither style of banjo playing in New York from aged 14 and was well versed in public performances by the time he crossed the pond. He set up a partnership to make banjos with Clifford Essex but when that was disolved in 1900, Cammeyer took over the workshops (established in 1896 at 13 Greek Street, Soho) for the production of his own instruments then later under the name of The Cammeyer Music and Manufacturing Co., Swallow Street, London. These were mainly zither-banjos but some banjos (and later, plectrum banjos and tenor banjos) were made. The man in charge of the workshops was Sidney W. Young who was responsible for the designs of the famous "Vibrante" and "Vibrante Royal" zither-banjos and the "New Era" banjos bearing the Cammeyer name. When Cammeyer retired from business in 1939, Sidney Young took over the workshop at Richmond Buildings, Soho, and continued to make instruments under his own name up to the outbreak of World War II. After the war he established a workshop at 70 New Oxford St., "here he worked in conjunction with John Alvey Turner Ltd. until his retirement in 1963. When Cammeyer died Young acquired the stock of Cammeyer "parts" and timber and from these produced many "Vibrante" zither banjos but these instruments do not carry the facsimile signature of Alfred D. Cammeyer, which first appeared on Cammeyer instruments after July 1st, 1900 and was attached to all his instruments until the date of his retirement. For more information click here Alfred Davies Cammeyer 1862 to 1949 next maker