Ralph Wright's Orpheum #2

[Marty Jacobson]

This is kind of fun... Ralph Wright's grandson asked me to restore this Orpheum #2.

If you don't know, who Ralph Wright was, he was the one of the main guys who wrote the Aristocats, Jungle Book adaptation, Bambi, etc. He was also one of the main animators on the Winnie the Pooh movies, and was the original voice of Eeyore. And apparently, played mandolin extensively, based on the shape of this instrument and a little Martin mandolin I set up at the same time.

I put a new calfskin head on it and got it sorted. It sounds great. Plunky, rich, and perennially out of tune.

The headstock broke off at some point, and is stable due to an effective, if unorthodox, repair we believe to have been done by Mr. Wright himself.

160970160971160972

[billhay4]

Odd pickguard. What's it made of?
Bill

[Marty Jacobson]

I think it's an aftermarket addition, probably from the 50's or 60's if I had to guess. Not sure what it's made of, maybe PVC or ABS. It has ivoroid celluloid brackets on the back, so it could be celluloid, but I didn't get any camphor smell when I buffed it.

[luminara]

Gorgeous instrument!

[soliver]

Very Cool Marty! Thanks for sharing!... Love the Disney associations with the original owner.

[nmiller]

That was a very common aftermarket pickguard on banjos in the 1930s (maybe the 1920s as well, but I doubt it's from much before 1930). It's made of some kind of plastic, but unlike most plastic items from that period, most of them have stayed pretty flat.

[MikeEdgerton]

I had that same pickguard on a Weyman tenor banjo. I think it's earlier, 20's-40's. They used bicycle spokes for the bracing.

[Pete Braccio]

I love all the detail work that you see on old banjo family instruments.