Resonator banjo-ukulele
Alternate name(s)
- Ukulele-banjo
- Banjo uke
- Banjolele
Maker
Harmony Company
Date1927 ca.
Place MadeChicago, Illinois, United States, North America
ModelCalifornia Style [Sears catalog]
Serial No.none
SignednoneMarkingsInscribed onto back of resonator, from the bottom of the instrument [likely by the owner]: Anna S Fritz [in cursive] / [three human faces, from left to right: a young girl, facing forward; a woman, side profile; a man, side profile] / [a small pine tree and a small boat, between the f-holes]
Stamped onto later bridge: GROVER
DescriptionNeck: mahogany
Peghead: mahogany, with a maple veneer stripe running from the top of the peghead to the nut between the tuners; 4 tuners
Fingerboard: mahogany, with a maple veneer center stripe; 17 nickel-silver T-frets
Heel cap: none
Head: calf skin
Tone ring: not visible
Rim: mahogany with mahogany veneer a maple veneer stripe around the center of rim
Bracket hooks: none
Tension hoop: blackened [called Japanned in 1927 Sears catalog] steel secured with eight iron screws
Resonator: arched mahogany; glued directly to rim; two f-holes measuring 48 mm (1-7/8”) long, placed 30 mm (1-3/16”) from top of rim at heel; three heads scratched into back, two female and one male – female heads with 1920s hairstyles
Nut: rosewood
Tuners: 4 nickel-plated brass and nickel-plated steel tension pegs with ivory-plastic heads
Tailpiece: nickel-plated steel
Finish: clear lacquer
DimensionsTotal instrument length: 521 mm (20-1/2”)
Vibrating string length: 329 mm (12-15/16”)
Fingerboard length: 218 mm (8-19/32”)
Fingerboard width at nut: 31 mm (1-7/32”)
Fingerboard width at body: 42 mm (1-21/32”)
Head diameter: 140 mm (5-1/2”)
Resonator diameter: 178 mm (7”)
Rim and resonator depth: 56 mm (2-3/16”)
Credit LineGeoffrey Robert Rezek Collection, 2014
Object number14908
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