S.S. Stewart’s banjo and guitar journal.

April 20, 2009 5:05 AM

"Miss Annie Oakley sends us a note from London, England, Sept. 21 [1887], 'Your little banjo you made for me (The American Princess) has attracted considerable attention here and given satisfaction.'"
S.S. Stewart, one of the premier American banjo makers of the last decades of the 19th century, also published a newsletter filled with bombast, testimonials, and banjo sheet music. You can see some of Stewart's banjos at Bill's Banjos. You can also read Stewart's banjo novel Black Hercules, or The adventures of a banjo player.
posted by OmieWise (9 comments total)

is anyone else having trouble opening the pdf's in the first link? i'm getting mostly blank pages...

(using preview on a mac)
posted by jammy at 5:37 AM on April 20, 2009

I opened a lot of these on my Mac, with preview, this weekend. They worked fine.
posted by OmieWise at 5:53 AM on April 20, 2009

From Bill's pages: Living with Vintage Instruments.

A.K.A. - Holy crap that's a lot of vintage banjos!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:23 AM on April 20, 2009

They opened up OK for me. Very interesting. Great post.
posted by RussHy at 6:27 AM on April 20, 2009

Which PDF makes mention of the Annie Oakley letter?
posted by mothershock at 7:38 AM on April 20, 2009

Dec 1887-Jan 1888, page two, at the start of the The Banjo World section.
posted by OmieWise at 8:04 AM on April 20, 2009

Thanks!
posted by mothershock at 8:26 AM on April 20, 2009

That Bill's Banjos site just got bookmarked as porn for me...
posted by VicNebulous at 8:57 AM on April 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

"The banjo, sir, is the Devil's instrument, and you would use your voice to sing souls to perdition. So that thing there in the corner is a banjo, is it? Had I known this it should have never entered my house; I thought it was only a gun - the unholy thing."

Best. Novel. Ever. I hope it has a lot of sex, too.
posted by smartyboots at 11:28 PM on April 20, 2009