Antique August Pollmann "Banjo-Lute" For Sale
Leigh
believe is called a banjo-lute. It's got a s5-string banjo neck (15 frets
to the body) on a flat-backed mandola-type body. (Round soundhole.) In
the peghead is an inlay reading something like "August Pollmann's
Mandoline-Banjo" with an 1887 patent date. It's US made.
I examined it briefly, and saw no major problems, except for a missing
bridge. The dealer is asking $410. Call 805-882-0031 if interested.
Disclaimer: I've got no financial interest in this item. I don't
routinely advertise for other people, but this "banjo-lute" must be a
fairly rare item, and I'd like to see it going to someone who can
appreciate it, rather than ending up as a decorative wall-hanger.
--Leigh Marrin in Santa Barbara, Calif.
PS: I bought a clean Vega "Little Wonder" mandolin-banjo from the same
dealer, and have been having a lot of fun with it. The A and E strings
are especially bright and lively, and it's fairly loud.
Mouser9999
by no means great instruments, they are undoubtedly unique. They must be strung
with nylon or gut (the neck was not built to withstand steel strings), and have
a sweet quiet sound that's quite unlike a banjo.
Prices are difficult to guage, as they show up so rarely. I bought mine for
$100, in need of moderate restoration (repair cracks, replace some missing
veneer and purfling), and I've heard of at least one person picking one of for
less. Another dealer has one in supposedly excellent condition for $795
(awfully high, IMHO).
>An antique dealer here in Santa Barbara, Calif. has a strange item that I<BR>
>believe is called a banjo-lute. It's got a s5-string banjo neck (15
>frets<BR>
>to the body) on a flat-backed mandola-type body. (Round soundhole.) In<BR>
>the peghead is an inlay reading something like "August Pollmann's<BR>
>Mandoline-Banjo" with an 1887 patent date. It's US made. <BR>
><BR>
>I examined it briefly, and saw no major problems, except for a missing<BR>
>bridge. The dealer is asking $410. Call 805-882-0031 if interested.<BR>
><BR>
Deane
describing made by Pollman is a mandolin banjo
Leigh wrote in message <6p3f2j$3gc$1...@news.rain.org>...
>An antique dealer here in Santa Barbara, Calif. has a strange item that I
>
Joel
>What you bought from the dealer is a banjo mandiolin. The item you are
>describing made by Pollman is a mandolin banjo
>Leigh wrote in message <6p3f2j$3gc$1...@news.rain.org>...
>>An antique dealer here in Santa Barbara, Calif. has a strange item that I
>>believe is called a banjo-lute. It's got a s5-string banjo neck (15 frets
>>to the body) on a flat-backed mandola-type body. (Round soundhole.) In
>>the peghead is an inlay reading something like "August Pollmann's
>>Mandoline-Banjo" with an 1887 patent date. It's US made.
Not quite, I think. A Mandolin Banjo is usually a hybrid the other way
'round, with a banjo head and a mandolin neck. These Pollman instruments
have a round-back or flat-back mandolin body with a five-string neck.
There are photos in the catalog to the banjo exhibit (mostly Jim
Bollman's) at MIT 15 or 20 yrs ago.
Joel Shimberg
--
(Joel)shim...@poboxes.com
Insanity is hereditary....
You get it from your kids.
Joel
>What you bought from the dealer is a banjo mandiolin. The item you are
>describing made by Pollman is a mandolin banjo
Now, having read what Deane wrote a little more carefully, and blushing, I
realize that I was saying much the same thing as he/she did.
FWIW the two that I've seen were both ornate and beautifully made.
Joel
PaulHBock
>
>Joel
Fine as a decorative collectible, not so fine if you really want to play
it. Cannot tolerate steel strings (no neck reinforcement) so gut or nylon are
a must. Tone is thin, very little sustain and low volume.
However, if you buy one of Edward V. Dick's banjolas you get a
finely-built, hand-crafted instrument of modern design (adjustable truss rod in
neck, geared planet pegs, etc.) which looks very similar but provides excellent
volume and sustain and a fast neck. Great for melodic work when strung with
medium gauge banjo strings. Play it with picks or without. Body is a little
larger than the Pollman.
Of course, you will pay more for the modern instrument - $1400 currently,
and the wait is about a year. Still and all, it's a bargain compared to what
some banjos go for these days.
Paul Bock (still patiently waiting)
* Paul H. Bock, Jr.
* * Hamilton, VA U.S.A.
* * * * RASC, A.L.P.O., WHS
* G *
* * * *
* * *
Leigh Marrin/KM6JE
: What you bought from the dealer is a banjo mandiolin. The item you are
: describing made by Pollman is a mandolin banjo
there is a picture and description of this odd, old Pollman instrument.
Gruhn calls it a "banjo-lute".
PaulHBock
Here are two other references:
Walter Forbes' 1962 Album, "Ballads and Bluegrass" (RCA Victor
LPM/LSP-2472), features the instrument on several cuts (most notably "Pretty
Polly" - best version of that song I've ever heard) and has a picture of it on
the back of the album jacket. Description reads "August Pollman & Sons
banjo-lute, made in 1887."
Akira Tsumura's *classic"* book "The Tsumura Collection" (Kodansha
International, 1984) has a section starting on page 107 called "The James
Bollman Collection" which features color photos of 53 instruments of the , Mr.
Bollman's collection. One of them (p. 110) is titled "August Pollman,
mandolin-banjo, ca 1895" and the instrument in the photo is identical to the
one in the Forbes album jacket photo: mandolin body, 5-string banjo neck,
peghead style similar to Vega, and that large white ceramic or ivory circle in
the middle of the headstock (just like the one I saw hanging on the wall of a
music store in Raleigh, NC, in 1963).
The question is, what did *POLLMAN* call it? That's what the correct name
is! Doesn't anyone have any old literature from 1875-1900 which might show ads
for this instrument, with the name correctly identified?
But I'd still rather have a banjola.....can't wait for it to show up.
:-)
Paul