It has a five string banjo neck and a mandolin body, very old and well made. Wallpaper on front of head stock and on its back. Someone cut off the back half of the friction tuners. The tailpiece is missing. My third pass when I saw it in a booth and sort of said hmmm. It was the wallpaper on the front of the head stock that initially caused me to miss it. Head stock has Pollmann attributes. Does anyone want to weigh in on identification? Any help appreciated.
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Looks like a Pollman to me….
I have a Pollman hanging on my wall (instrument holder, not wallhanger) and that looks just like mine. Except for the wallpaper.
Spent my time removing the wallpaper. It is certainly a Pollman. Pollman used five or six different people/companies to make their banjos, and this was certainly made by one of them.
Interesting. What do these sound like?
Please be aware that this is not how the bridge on a Pollman Mandolins-banjo worked. The strings should attach to the tailpiece and then go over the bridge, which was moveable, like a mandolin. This puts downward pressure on the bridge instead of pulling up on it. They typically used steel strings. If you tried to bring this one up to pitch, I would assume it would pull the bridge and maybe the top off. There is an interesting site dedicated to these at the following address: https://www.mandolinebanjo.com
Well aware, I am hunting down an acceptable period tailpiece. Whoever had this in the past did not have a clue. ps. I've been around banjos 50+ years, and own another Pollmann.
It's interesting to see that it appears to have a shorter neck than typical. Most tend to have around 18 frets to the body, either a short board ending after the 18th or an extended one with additional frets. This one looks to be 13 to the body and with 18 total. I have an F.H. Griffith tagged Pollmann in rosewood with the 18-fret short board, and it has a scale length of 24". Curious as to what the scale is on this one? Wonder if this might be a Buckbee-made version?
Excellent observation. I have another Pollmann and was able to compare. Pollmann used different people to construct his instruments during the period they were made and there are some similarities and differences I noted in comparison to the marked one I have. First, the head stock has attributes of both Pollmann and Buckbee. Like the others the scale is 24 inches, but only ten frets are clear of the heel on this one. Both of my instruments are the same total length. The tailpiece on most Pollmanns (some are marked Pollmann some Daisy) are screwed into the body. This one has the metal piece with a hole where the long screw of a traditional tailpiece goes through and is held by a nut. There is no indication of there ever being a screw hole that held another type of tailpiece. Lastly, there is a half circle of wood where the tailpiece sat. This instrument is old and at one time had friction tuners. High quality and well made, my best guess is that it was made by one of the five or six different people who constructed instruments for him, Buckbee is probably a good guess.
Edited by - frankabr. on 12/10/2024 11:58:22
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BTW someone glued the bridge on, and also placed it about 3/4" too low. I can see a mark where the original bridge, which is supposed to be a floating bridge, went. My next job will be removing the bridge.
This looks like a period " knock off " of a real Pollmann. Nothing except the vague general shape implies Pollmann to me. Although several manufacturers made Pollmann branded instruments - one presentation Pollmann made by Haynes of Boston is known and more commonly the maker of the standard line of Pollmanns possibly made by Erland Anderberg whose factory was in Mt. Vernon, NY are in no way similar to your instrument . Perhaps noteworthy is that Erland Anderberg's brother, Pehr, worked for Haynes in Boston. I've owned dozens of Pollmanns over the years and have a dozen or so Pollmann catalogs plus many period photos of Pollmann mandolin-banjos - none look like your instrument in terms of peghead shape, bridge, binding ( or lack thereof ), etc. Even the most basic Pollmann models ( no decoration, no binding, usually oak bodies ) normally would have the circular celluloid brand tag in the peghead or at least the patent info stamped inside on one of the back braces. Because of the popularity of the Pollmann mandolin-banjos in period many knock-off instruments were made ( both by professional firms such as Orme, Bradbury, Merrill, etc. ) as well as many home-made mandoline-banjos. I think yours falls into this latter category. I think it's all the more interesting because of it - I don't mean to denigrate your instrument at all. The August Pollmann Company was a large jobber/retailer in NYC but apparently not a manufacturer.
Great post, but at this point it's still not conclusive in my mind that it wasn't made by one of the factories. The quality of the workmanship is very high, and the headstock clearly looks as professionally made as those made by Buckbee and some others. Perhaps this was one of the early attempts, one that Pollmann rejected? Maybe as time goes by, more information will give us a clearer answer?
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Originally posted by PrairieSchoonerInteresting. What do these sound like?
Most say a bit of a cross between a dulcimer and a guitar, if strung with steel. I get a bit of a lute or classical guitar vibe with mine strung with nylon and tuned down a step or so.
It doesn't look much like any of the Pollman instruments I've seen. Pollman seems to have been pretty good about putting their name on everything they sold.
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Originally posted by frankabr.Great post, but at this point it's still not conclusive in my mind that it wasn't made by one of the factories. The quality of the workmanship is very high, and the headstock clearly looks as professionally made as those made by Buckbee and some others. Perhaps this was one of the early attempts, one that Pollmann rejected? Maybe as time goes by, more information will give us a clearer answer?
"Professionally made" and "Buckbee" are words that one does not often hear together.
I concur with Jim and Andy: This looks like a knockoff or a homemade instrument.
