beezaboy - Posted - 03/19/2009:  14:39:38

Been thinking about the history of R&L Orpheums (especially the tenors). When did the Rettberg & Lange "partnership" (I can't imagine that this business wasn't a corporation but can't find data) END? Information is lacking. We read that William L. Lange and William P. Rettberg acquired the J.H. Buckbee factory in 1897. They moved to East 13th Street, NYC, and began making and selling Orpheum banjos in 1903. Some years later but at least in the teens (data missing) they move to 225-227 East 24th Street, NYC and produce Orpheum banjos. This is the address of Lange's Paramount banjos. Then a patent is applied for or is granted for the Paramount banjo in August 1920. A Paramount banjo makes its first appearance in 1921. Was this a Rettberg & Lange Paramount?? Were R&L Orpheums still being produced in 1920 and 1921? In April 1922 (according to website) Wm L. Lange "took over sole control of the company and changed the title to Wm. L. Lange". So Lange gets the factory on 24th Street. In September 1922, Lange advertised six models of the Paramount banjos as "Successor to Rettberg & Lange". So did the company, Rettberg & Lange, produce Orpheum banjos in 1920 and 1921? Also, were there any Rettberg & Lange Paramount banjos produced in 1921 thru 1st quarter of 1922. Surely the management of the company didn't send their employees (250 of them) home while the details of the management change were being lawyered. Whaddaya think?

Beezaboy

timmo_1949 - Posted - 03/19/2009:  16:10:40

According to the few sources that I have found, Lange made banjos until the late 1930s (1935 or '39, depending on the source).
http://savethebanjos.com/Lange%20Hi...addendum.htm

Timmo
"Bother Yum-Yum!"
http://savethebanjos.com

beezaboy - Posted - 03/19/2009:  18:21:26

I may have inadvertenly discovered the answer to one of my questions while looking at something else. Did Rettberg & Lange make Orpheums at the beginning of the 20's? Looks like they did. Here is a banjo with two tags. One Orpheum by Rettberg & Lange. Then another tag on the same banjo: Orpheum made by Wm. L. Lange. This banjo must have been made in the early 1920's before the Lange take-over and was still in inventory when Lange took control. Then after the duo split, Lange added another tag with his name only and shipped the banjo out for sale. Wish I'd been there to buy it! Interesting piece of history here.
http://www.banjoworld.de/High113.htm

Beezaboy

anbanco - Posted - 03/21/2009:  10:06:54

If you will look closely at the picture of the two labels, the R&L label is not attached but just setting in the shell, shown for comparison. The banjo in the picture is a "Super Orpheum" which was released about the same time as the "Super Paramount", late 1929. The supers were made to compete with the high end Gibson, Bacon and Vega designs. Lange was out of business by 1936, a victim of the Depression.
Glen

beezaboy - Posted - 03/21/2009:  10:56:25

Glen: Thanks for your post and discerning eye. I am not familiar with Orpheums as you can see from the conclusion I drew from seeing two tags. So, I still wonder if Orpheum tenor banjos were made by "Rettberg & Lange" in 1920, 1921 and the first quarter of 1922? I thought I had the answer but you have put me right. I should have been more thoughtful when I saw the Paramount metal/wood resonator.
Regards,

Beezaboy