1925 b&j victoria: Need some information!

[dwilson]

hello all-

well i just had one of those really fun experiences that folks talk about
even in song..
walked into a music store and found a great little guitar for nothing..

only norman blake gets so lucky.. or so i thought!

anyway- here's the little information i have on it-

its a parlor guitar- approximately O sized-- mahogany body, wide grained
spruce top with a natural finish. the neck is maple in a BIG v shape,
rosewood fingerboard & zither type frets- slotted headstock and 12 fret.
there's only 3 dot markers on it- 5 7 & 9.. real mother of pearl. its got
a diamond bridge made of rosewood. all the hardware is original and it's
had a neck reset, but structurally, she's sound as a stone.

the internal markings say 'B & J VICTORIA guaranteed perfect scale NEW
YORK'- all i can ascertain is that b&j is buegeleisen and jacobson, thanks
to the kind folks at elderly instruments.

is there a soul out there who could give me any possibilities as to the
builder of this beast? she sounds like a million bucks- or at least great
for a little fingerstyler to kick out the ragtime hits. i'm just curious
about ol' vic's lineage!

any info would be much appreciated!

thanks much

dan wilson

[Jim Page]

Dan Wilson (that lucky guy) writes:

>>the internal markings say 'B & J VICTORIA guaranteed perfect scale NEW
YORK'- all i can ascertain is that b&j is buegeleisen and jacobson, thanks
to the kind folks at elderly instruments.<<

Hi, Dan--

Sounds like a great guitar! Congrats!!!

This might be of interest. On page 35 of Mike Longworth's "Martin Guitars: A
History," is this paragraph:

"Around the turn of the century, Martin had a traveling salesman named Ingersol
for a while. Starting September 1, 1906, they had a brief wholesale agreement
with Buegeleisen and Jacobson in New York City, a firm that is still in
business."

My copy of Longworth's book is the second edition of 1994.

If B&J was still in business then, they might still be in business now. I'd
find their address and write them and see if they could give you info on your
new baby. One never knows!

--Jim