lesvanperfek - Posted - 04/13/2010:  14:30:13

Hello all,

My first post...

Although I'm a guitar player I am drawn to all stringed instrument and came across this banjo this week-end.

It first caught my attention because it was an S.S.Stewart - Wondertone, beautifully decorated and I kind of regretted selling a 1947 S.S. Stewart archtop a few years back. Oh well, can't keep 'm all...

I am looking for help to get some background information on it as I cannot find a similar model on my many web searches. I will attempt to post some photos which might help identifying.

Any help would be appreciated.

Regards,

Les Van Perfek
lesvanperfek@videotron.ca
Montreal, Quebec

S.S Stewart Wondertone Headstock

S.S. Stewart - Wondertone

beezaboy - Posted - 04/13/2010:  15:20:19

In about early 1915 the firm of Buegeleisen & Jacobson of New York City
acquired the S.S. Stewart name then owned by Keen-O-Phone of
Philadelphia. B&J, a jobber, began contracting with banjo makers to
provide a line of S.S. Stewart banjos. Your 1947 model may have been a
Kay. I have seen Slingerland made S.S. Stewart banjos from the teens. In
the 1920's B&J contracted with G. Puntolillo of New York to make S.S.
Stewart banjos. Puntolillo was reknown for his line of Majestic banjos.
Puntolillo had a line of Majestic Wondertone banjos. Here's one:
banjoworld.de/Majest38.htm
Your S.S. Stewart Wondertone is a Puntolillo made banjo distributed by
Buegeleisen & Jacobson probably in the mid and late 1920's. B&J had
other makers over the years. Even Gibson. Gibson made an S.S. Stewart
banjo in the style of the TB 11. Here is one recently sold on ebay:
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...:MEWAX:IT
A non-pearloid S.S. Stewart Wondertone from Puntolillo also sold
recently on ebay. Here it is:
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...:MEWAX:IT
Your pearloid model is very nice to me as I like pearloid banjos.
But, it may be that the pearloid models were the less expensive
models in the catalog. It is that way with Gretsch Broadkaster line.

lesvanperfek - Posted - 04/13/2010:  16:32:36

Thank you beezaboyfor the info, very much appreciated.

If anybody else have seen this model and has more info it would be great to get more info.

As it stands I will try to play it but have to admit it might end up either hanging ona wall or on Ebay... It tokme years to figure out the guitar and I don't know if I'll have the patience to learn banjo. But I'll say; I does sound great!

Les Van Perfek