George S. Sandstrom

During the early 1900s George S. Sandstrom, of Oakland, California, made what is called a Banjo Ukulele, or banjolele. A combination of a ukulele and a banjo, which at the time sold for about $2.00.

Circa 1917 Burled Redwood Body
Circa 1917 Burled Redwood Body

Patent and Construction

On 12 December 1917 Sandstrom filed patent application number 206746. He was awarded patent number 1354268,[1] titled "Banjo," on 28 September 1920.

The patent specifications describe Sandstrom's invention, in part, as "...a tightening device for banjo heads and other musical instruments having an open circular rim, a flexible head interposed within the opening of the said rim, an annular lip integral therewith and extending inwardly from the top of said rim, a flat top ring fixedly to the inside circumference of the said rim over which said head is drawn.

Specs.

Materials

George Sandstrom's instruments had light Maple necks with a medium dark maple body. A few were made with the body, and resonator of burled California Redwood.

References

  1. ↑ patent 1354268
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.