RELIANCE BANJO UKULELE - Terrible Condition - (About 1930)

This item is really bad - was used by the SABC as a stage prop - one of the 4 strings is missing as well as its turning knob - originally it had sort of mother of pearl stuff on the side of the round part but half of it is missing - there are also old names written in faded ink on the white skin thing behind the strings (head ?) - I know it's awful, but some weirdo might want to restore it to it's former glory - and for all I know THIS might be the Stadivarius of banjos - (hope springs eternal)  - The picture shown is the real item for sale   ****  George Houghton established his Reliance Works in Heaton Street, Birmingham in 1888 and the range of banjos and zither-banjos he made were branded "Reliance." His well made inexpensive range of instruments quickly found favour with dealers and players alike and before long his factory was extended, his staff increased and the name changed to G. Houghton & Sons and production almost wholly devoted to making instruments for other firms to be branded with the vendor's name and/or trademark. Houghton's maintained a stock catalogue of instruments (usually marked with a gold-embossed lion with the initials G. H. & S. underneath) with which many retailers and most of the wholesale houses made up their own catalogues. One of the most popular selling lines of their banjos was the inexpensive instruments labelled "Melody Jo." Besides making, their own stock instruments they would also copy other firms' prototypes for them, to be branded with the latter's name as "makers".

I*N.B.*  If you buy more than one item from me at the same time you only pay R 6 postage each on the additional items instead if R 24 -  (I actually sell really nice buy now books – see what else I have to offer, it might be worth your while.)