Lyon And Healy Banjo Information
In 1864 George Washburn Lyon and Patrick J. Healy were sent to Chicago by Oliver Ditson to set up his Mid West musical instrument wholesale business and among their suppliers was C F Martin.
Save lyon healy banjo to get e-mail alerts and updates on your eBay Feed. + 7 S 0 P O N S O A R P A 7 E E D-1-1 U J-1 0 F J-1-1. Under $100.00 - apply Price filter. $100.00 to $380.00 - apply Price filter. Over $380.00 - apply Price filter. Vintage Lyon & Healy Banjo Resonator, Washburn Banjo. Save lyon healy banjo to get e-mail alerts and updates on your eBay Feed. + Update your shipping location 7 S 0 P O N S O A R P A 7 E E D-1-1 U J-1 0 F J-1-1. February 29, 2012 c.1895 Lyon & Healy 5-String Banjo This is a Lyon & Healy 5-stringer made around 1895. Rumor has it (via the 'Regal Musical Instruments 1895-1955' book) that Regal (then in Indiana) made these for L&H while fancier 'Washburn' L&H products were made in-house by L&H in Chicago. 'Too, Utterly Too' - a parlour banjo piece - from Baur's 'Banjoists' Budget' of 1888 - played on a Lyon & Healy 'Mystic' banjo (circa 1895) with nylgut strings. The banjo has a new head and modern.
In 1880, frustrated with the lack of volume available from some of the makers, including Martin, they broke away from Ditson, and in 1883 set up a manufacturing business which included banjos, mandolins and a few guitars to initially suppliment the instruments they distrubuted for others.
The business grew very quickly and George B Durkee, superintendent of what had become the huge Lyon & Healy factory in Chicago, Illinois, designed the Washburn range of banjos, mandolins and guitars, made and sold by the company.
Lyon And Healy Banjo Information Chart
One writer has said “they let S S Stewart do all the donkey work before they started making banjos which, at first, were copies of Stewart’s range”.
In 1889 Lyon retired from the business (the year after Oliver Ditson died) but Healey continued to improving the quality of the range of products the business was making. In January 1915 they advertised “The New Improved Washburn Banjos (Patented)” which they described as “the latest thing in banjo construction”. This instrument incorporated patents taken out by William D Bowen who sold the manufacturing rights to Lyon & Healy.
Lyon And Healy Banjo Information Group
It is interesting to note that this firm made zither banjos probably for export to England as some were advertised in the “for sale” columns of the fretted instrument press of the day and for a time S A Halfpenny (the notable English zither banjo virtuoso) played a Lyon & Healy instrument.
At one time Lyon & Healy stress that every part of the “Washburn” banjos –brackets, pegs, rims, fingerboards etc. was their own make.
In March 1922 they were offering the patented “Van Eps Recording Banjo” - “with the internal resonator and outward curved dowel or cross piece” but made it clear that they were only the distributors and not the makers.
Lyon And Healy Banjo
... they appeared to cease manufacturing during the depression.