Guitars and other fretted instruments 1920-1970: 50 years of growing popularity

The collection encompasses over 500 items, for the most part guitars as well as other plucked instruments, but also vintage amplifiers, record players, straps, leads, plectrums, catalogues, tutors, etc. It can be exhibited as a whole or in part for a fascinating journey covering fretted instruments in the western world between 1920 and 1970.


Don’t look for the nec plus ultra Gibson Super 400 or the rarest Fender Stratocaster on the market. Here, you can learn more about the instrument you play or the music that you like, where it originates from, how it really sounds and why people shouldn’t settle for a clone with a thick layer of polyurethane varnish.

Instrument
of the week

Go to the instrument of the week

Archive  (2020-2021)

On this page every week a particular instrument from the collection will be highlighted. You get to see exampes from chapters that have not yet been published on this website as a kind of preview. It will make you extremely curious and hungry for more.

Regular updates

Regular updates will take the form of features on selected topics as restoration progresses, such as for example ‘Hofner guitars’ or even ‘mail order guitars’. 
Next update: "Stromberg-Voisinet and Kay acoustics".
The following features can now be viewed (online):

Kay electric guitars

To the Kay electric guitar collection

In a very early stage the company that was to become Kay was involved in experiments with electric guitars. In the late ' 50 and the early ' 60, they produced electric guitars in large quantities under different brand names.
Although manufacturers like Kay and Harmony dominated guitar and banjo production in the US, both brands remained relatively unknown abroad, partly because they never exported much to Europe or Japan before the 70’s.

 Valco: (National, Supro, Airline, ...)

To  the Valco guitar collection

In 1942 "National Dobro" changed into the "Valco Company" and started producing instruments under brand names like "National", "Supro", "Airline" and others. In 1961 they debuted with hollow fiberglass bodies called "res-o-glas”. In 1967 the company merged with Kay though sadly the firm closed down the following year.

Mario Maccaferri's plastic factory.

To the Maccaferri collection

Mario Maccaferri is famous for his typical gipsy swing guitar, designed in 1923 for distributor Selmer in Paris. Less known are his later activities as inventor and businessman with a rock solid faith in the new material: plastic.

Tenor banjos (1920-1970)

To the tenor banjo collection

In 1907 the J.B. Schall Company of Chicago[1] advertised a 4 string “banjorine” with mandolin tuning. What was later to be called the tenor banjo was first called “mandolin banjo” or “tango banjo”, and only became successful after WW1.
Just as with guitars, most of these banjos’ origin can be brought back to just a few companies, Often the peghead is the best reference point ,

Electrify! Floating pickups from the USA, Japan and Europe

To the floating pickup collection

After the Second World War, electric elements and compound accessories for acoustic guitars were favoured, especially amongst jazz guitarists.
The advantage was a natural-like, louder sound without much actual harm to the instrument. The downside: more feedback than with fixed pickups.