LEEDY OLYMPIAN TENOR BANJO

An all original and complete prewar 19 fret tenor banjo made in Indianapolis. These are difficult banjos to find as Leedy, who had built their name as drum manufacturers only made banjos for four years. Okay here's the history lesson: At the beginning of the 1920s Leedy was the worlds largest manufacturer of percussion instruments (later to be overtaken by Ludwig by the mid point in the decade) and like Ludwig decided to take advantage of the popularity of the  banjo by gearing up to manufacture top end banjos. This was somewhat of a big mistake as both Leedy and Ludwig spent a fortune just as the banjo craze was coming to an end and suffered greatly financially, compounded by the fact that 'talkie's' had just been invented. Talking movies took away a large portion of their drum sales as drummers who used to provide sound narratives to the silent movies were now redundant. Ludwig managed to survive by relying on drum manufacture but for Leedy the added complication of the declining health of Mr U.G. Leedy  determined that in a gesture to his family and employees, he sold out to Conn in 1930. Banjos were made by Leedy from 1926 to 1930 with the last banjo being sold in 1932.

In the brief four years of banjo manufacture Leedy made some lovely banjos seeming to specialise in the top end market of highly decorated and engraved models. Even their obligatory student model, the Collegian is a well built instrument. This Olympian up for sale was in the same price bracket as the Vega Whyte Laydie and the Gibson TB3 when they were produced in the 1920s. 

This is a heavy hitter of a banjo with a lovely deep pot producing a powerful tone. It features all original hardware including the original Grover two tab tuners, top tensioning rim, decorative flange on a marble effect pyralin resonator and a neat neck adjuster. I have left the finish of the banjo alone as I consider that it should be left in it's original  excellent state. (minor checking to the neck finish and some small pitting marks to the rim)  Comes with it's original hard case. Price: £750

Some additional close up photos of the spectacular resonator. Notice different light conditions affect the colours.

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