- Lyon And Healy Banjo Information Group
- Lyon And Healy Guitar
- Lyon And Healy Banjo
- Lyon And Healy Banjo Information Guide
- Lyon And Healy
- Lyon Healy Violin Value
Welcome to
- The only information I was able to find out about it is that it's a 1920 'own make' Lyon & Healy model number 475. It's a 4 string tenor. The original price back in 1920 was listed as $112.50. It was advertised as 'The Aristocrat of Banjos'.
- Lyon & Healy began in 1864 as a partnership of businessmen George W. Lyon and Patrick J. Healy, acting as the Chicago outlet for Boston sheet music publisher Oliver Ditson and Company. By 1865, Lyon & Healy had expanded into reed organs and some small instruments.
This website is dedicated to photos and descriptions of the many banjos in my collection, along with a few other vintage instruments I have picked up over the years. I have authored this site in the hope that other collectors might follow suit and share photos and information on their banjos with others in the collecting community. Since my interest in banjos stems in part from my interest in the technological development of the instrument over the years, my collection spans the period from the 1840’s to the 1920’s. As my collection evolves, banjos presented on the home page of this site may be removed and added to a 'banjos I previously owned' page. Banjos in my current collection are listed alphabetically by manufacturer or brand name. I have recently added a page on Fairbanks/Vega engraved inlay evolution for those interested in how this particular art form developed over the years and through the transition from Fairbanks to Vega ownership. For those interested in the genealogy of banjo manufacturers, I have included a page summarizing some important relationships between manufacturers, but much better information is available elsewhere (see, for example, America's Instrument, The Banjo in the Nineteenth Century, by Gura anad Bollman, University of North Carolina Press, 1999). For those interested in finding out more about buying vintage banjos and other vintage stringed instruments, I have included a page on that as well. I have also included a page on identifying unmarked banjos, for those who have an instrument of unknown origin. For those wondering where I put all of these instruments, I have added a page on living with vintage instruments. This should be particularly helpful to those collectors trying to convince dubious spouses that they don't already have too many banjos. Finally, I have added a page dealing with maintaining and restoring vintage banjos and other vintage stringed instruments. Also, click here for an example of how one can go too far to restore a banjo. For questions and comments, please contact me (Bill Destler) at bill.destler'at'rit.edu.(substitute @ for 'at').
The Lyon & Healy company was a major player in the stringed instrument world in the turn of the century (1900) stringed instrument world in the US. Anyone that studies vintage American made mandolins, guitars or banjos needs this book.
Banjos
Bacon
Bacon 'Professional FF Special' 5-string banjo, Circa 1913
Boucher
Buchanan
Buckbee
Burkard
Cole
W. A. Cole “Eclipse” 5-string banjo model 5000, S/N 3600, Circa 1897
W. A. Cole “Eclipse” 5-string banjo, model 3000, S/N 3670, Circa 1897
W. A. Cole “Eclipse” 5-string banjo model 4000, S/N 3959, Circa 1897
Cubley
G. H. Daniels
C. E. Dobson
G. C. Dobson
H. C. Dobson
Eibel(click here for new information on Eibel banjos!)
Fairbanks & Cole
Fairbanks
A. C. Fairbanks “Senator No. 1” 5-string banjo, S/N 21028, Circa 1901
A.C. Fairbanks “Whyte Laydie” No. 7, 5-string banjo, S/N 22616, Circa 1903
Fairbanks (by Vega)
Farland
Farris
J. Farris “E&F Tenor Banjay”, Amateur Grade 2-1/2, Circa 1880’s
Gatcomb
Haynes
Lyon And Healy Banjo Information Group
John C. Haynes 'Bay State' 5-string banjo, model 323, Circa 1890
John C. Haynes “Bay State” 5-string banjo model 354, Circa 1890
Lyon & Healy (including Washburn banjos)
'George Washburn' 5-string banjo, model 421 custom, Circa 1892
'George Washburn' 5-string banjo, model 442, S/N 328, Circa 1892
Magez
Morrison
Lyon And Healy Guitar
Quinlan
Rettberg & Lange (including Orpheum banjos)
'Orpheum #3', 5 string banjo, S/N 9079, Circa 1915
'Orpheum #3 Special', 5-string banjo, S/N 13406, Circa 1919
Robinson
Rudolph
J. B. Schall
J.B. Schall (Denzel) “Peerless” 5-string banjo Circa 1895
S. S. Stewart
S.S. Stewart “Thoroughbred” 5-string banjo, S/N 6096, Circa 1890
S.S. Stewart “Little Wonder” piccolo banjo, S/N 6265, Circa 1890
Stratton & Handley
Stetson
Lyon And Healy Banjo
Talmadge
Teel
Teed
Thompson & Odell (including Luscomb banjos)
Todd
Turner
Weymann
Weymann 5-string banjo Circa 1900’s
Wilkes
Windsor
Unmarked, Minstrel, and Folk-Art Banjos
Other Vintage Instruments
Guitars
C. F. Martin guitar, 0-42, S/N 12929, Circa 1916
Lyon And Healy Banjo Information Guide
Mandolins
Lyon And Healy
Miscellaneous
Lachenal English concertina, SN 43576, Circa 1890