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Re: When was this Melody Minor Mandolin-Banjo made
It was made in Birmingham in the 1930s at the Reliance Works of George Houghton & Sons- also known as G H & S or Reliance. In the 1930s during the Great Depression, G H & S adopted the "lion couchant" as their emblem. You see this lion embossed into pressed cardboard cases made by Reliance along with the other impressed decoration and it also appeared on the label inside.
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Re: When was this Melody Minor Mandolin-Banjo made
Reliance mostly made banjos in large numbers- sold in the main by third parties but the company did make guitars in the 1930s- flat tops and archtops. Here is one that was owned by Pete Overend Watts of Mott the Hoople. Despite its provenance, the guitar sold for very little paired with a Dutch Egmond flat top at auction. I have one of these guitars and I took it to my luthier to check it out and he confirmed it was made of all solid wood but he also then said " and I still don't like it." It does have a nice Reliance case! My Reliance predates the arrival of that patriotic lion. In about 1934, the British Government passed a law that mandated that all foreign made items be marked as foreign or proclaimed the country of origin- so that lion with British Make or Made as his motto was part of that dynamic.
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