I have a Buckbee 6-string 17 fret English import c.1885 (?). The perch pole carries the maker’s stamp ‘JHB’ and ‘J. Wallis & Son' the Euston Road, London musical instrument dealer who sold the banjo. Also stamped is the number ‘738’.
Did Buckbee use sequential production numbering throughout, or is this likely to be a batch number?
Edited by - EEB on 04/28/2026 18:00:00
quote:
Originally posted by EEBI have a Buckbee 6-string 17 fret English import c.1885 (?). The perch pole carries the maker’s stamp ‘JHB’ and ‘J. Wallis & Son' the Euston Road, London musical instrument dealer who sold the banjo. Also stamped is the number ‘738’.
Did Buckbee use sequential production numbering throughout, or is this likely to be a batch number?
Could be a Wallis stamp ?
quote:
Originally posted by Stephen John Priorquote:
Originally posted by EEBI have a Buckbee 6-string 17 fret English import c.1885 (?). The perch pole carries the maker’s stamp ‘JHB’ and ‘J. Wallis & Son' the Euston Road, London musical instrument dealer who sold the banjo. Also stamped is the number ‘738’.
Did Buckbee use sequential production numbering throughout, or is this likely to be a batch number?Could be a Wallis stamp ?
Possibly. Just looking at the positioning of the various stamps, 'JHB' and '738' are adjacent and align at a right angle to the perch pole. Whereas the other stamps read along the perch pole. My instinct is that if it were a Wallis serial it would be aligned with their name in the space at the oppposite end. Hopefully Buckbee comparisons will provide an answer.
Edited by - EEB on 04/29/2026 00:52:42
quote:
Originally posted by EEBquote:
Originally posted by Stephen John Priorquote:
Originally posted by EEBI have a Buckbee 6-string 17 fret English import c.1885 (?). The perch pole carries the maker’s stamp ‘JHB’ and ‘J. Wallis & Son' the Euston Road, London musical instrument dealer who sold the banjo. Also stamped is the number ‘738’.
Did Buckbee use sequential production numbering throughout, or is this likely to be a batch number?Could be a Wallis stamp ?
Possibly. Just looking at the positioning of the various stamps, 'JHB' and '738' are adjacent and align at a right angle to the perch pole. Whereas the other stamps read along the perch pole. My instinct is that if it were a Wallis serial it would be aligned with their name in the space at the oppposite end. Hopefully Buckbee comparisons will provide an answer.
To my eye it was just the difference in font size, and depth, plus the number stamp is slightly off centre. Maybe I'm just over thinking it.
Walnut neck with Dobson heel, friction pegs, a fraction under 11” head, and 38 hooks.
Here are the stamps in full:
Edited by - EEB on 04/29/2026 01:40:59
This banjo was originally 7-string. The original 4th and 2nd string tuning peg holes were very neatly dowelled and veneered to match the peghead. A new 3rd string peg hole then drilled and reamed centrally in typical 6-string peg layout. Almost invisible.
Curious that someone would take this trouble rather than simply making a replacement 6-string nut and stringing the 7 as a 6, leaving one peg unused.
Edited by - EEB on 04/30/2026 02:07:37
A lot of Buckbee products have a number stamped on them, which is probably a batch/lot number as they're often only one or two digits and don't seem to follow any consecutive pattern.
Another tiny but informative detail - ‘Guaranteed American’ was stamped by whoever stamped ‘J. Wallis & Son’. The letter ‘N’ has the same distinctive rounding at the top of the riser.
Probably added by the retailer. The banjo would’ve left the Buckbee factory simply initialed and numbered.
Edited by - EEB on 05/03/2026 06:38:30
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