FHD Ltd mandolin-banjo

[greatwestroad]

74881

Hi - long-time lurker (hate that word), first time poster here, as they say. I just wondered if anyone could help me with some more info about this feller - I’m not really a mandolin banjo player, though I claim to play mando. I picked it up online, and spent a bit on my excellent luthier’s resetting of the action, which was all over the place. Less than £80 in all, not that money is the point - it sounds nice to me, as it did to my luthier. It’s in pretty good shape all round.

It says “FDH Ltd” on the headstock, which I thought I read somewhere (but can’t now track down) was some kind of UK-branding of Gibson. I tried a search here but was told the term was too imprecise. I’m not looking (or caring that much) to be told “what it’s worth”, but I would be interested to know a bit more about FDH mandolins, likely date of manufacture (1930s ?) etc.

Cheers in anticipation - Pete, London England

[Jim Garber]

I can certainly tell you that it isn't a Gibson. Looks like a British make but that is all I surmise at the moment.

[allenhopkins]

OK, let's assume "FDH Ltd." is Francis, Day & Hunter, the major UK music publishers. Per this article, (http://www.paulvernonchester.com/GibsonFDH.htm) they were also a UK Gibson distributor, and Gibson made "FDH Special" guitars for them. This discussion on Banjo Hangout (http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/121480) mentions that FDH used to sell Revelation banjos, made in the UK by vaudeville artist Will Van Allen, in the early 20th century.

Obviously FDH was (still is, I guess) a major purveyor of musical stuff, who contracted -- as many US music sales firms did -- with instrument manufacturers for "private label" instruments that they could sell "exclusively." If you have, as appears, a British made mandolin-banjo, it was probably made under contract to Frances, Day & Hunter, and so labeled.

Who made it? Hard to tell from this side of "the pond." There's a very good series on British banjo makers, (http://www.whitetreeaz.com/vintage/brit1.htm) which gives histories etc. Reading all that material might yield some info on who made instruments for FDH. Beyond that, you'd need to find someone who recognizes the style of the instrument and can attribute it to a specific British builder.

[greatwestroad]

Many thanks Allen. I appreciate the trouble you've gone to. And my regards to upstate New York, an old haunt of my wife's.