I’ve been amassing a small trove it seems…most of these are discoveries from the last year and a half, a couple are from earlier that I just stumbled across. Unfortunately, some of the sources were lost during a computer crash last September; if you see one you recognize and have more to share, please do! Once again, the popularity and seeming ubiquity of these instruments in their heyday never fail to delight!
This is my favorite. From the “New Vintage Frets” Facebook page (my friend Paul Ruppa and colleague’s efforts for an all Vega ensemble): “The Ideal Mandolin & Guitar Club was an offshoot of the Bonne Amie Musical Circle. The two groups combined resources to present concerts and social events.” Guess which one I would’ve belonged to…(hint: it’s the one most like our Harp Guitar Gatherings.)
Surely I posted this already? I can’t find it anywhere on my site. A beautiful cabinet card I acquired in 2012. Musicians and date unknown.
I never added these next two either. From eBay ages ago, my friend in Germany, Martin Leykomm, outbid me. That’s OK, they required major Photoshop cleanup (he did a great job!). This Dyer player could be the great-grandfather of actor Guy Pearce. Martin, don’t you think? Martin, we miss you at the Harp Guitar Gatherings!.
This young gentleman plays a Dyer Style 25 harp mandolin.
This charming trio performed on CJGX radio (branded as GX94). I’m sure their names were attached to this online image when I found it. I thought I recognized them…sure enough, another photo – with the harp guitar role reversed – has been on Harpguitars.net from the beginning. Note the added tailpiece in both images.
A woman named Geri sent me this photo recently of a possible relative and friends in Minnesota. She believes this is a group of women…Jaci and I aren’t so sure…
From a 1910 Mayflower catalog, kindly submitted by Randy Osborne of Fine Fretted Stringed Instruments.
The Eckersley Mandoline & Guitar Orchestra of Bolton, England
A beautiful image of a relative of luthier Frankie Montuoro.
Another great image, found on Frankie’s web page (not sure of the original source).
Dashing harp guitar nerds. Image from eBay last year…
…and eBay this year. Someone paid dearly for this original.
This image submitted by Michael Dixon has similar overexposed characters.
From the Montana Historical Society: the U of M Mandolin Club during the 1907/08 season.
The Harp Guitar Foundation just acquired this intriguing new image. Out with the old, in with the new, all during one session. Performers unknown. Can anyone identify any of the players?
And another intriguing image from eBay. The “Alpine Troubadours,” an otherwise traditional German/Viennese group that had relocated to – where else? – Los Angeles!
Someday I’ll get all these images in one place. Meanwhile, to see every Larson/Dyer historical image on Harpguitars.net, you’ll need to check out:
- Iconography: Larson
- The Dyer Blog Index
- Dyers in the BMG (all known Cadenza & Crescendo images of players and advertisements). A Members Only Page (thanks to member Thomas Nielsen in Denmark for recently helping get the section back online!)
Fun! Thanks Gregg.
Thanks! Really fun to see these. They make me smile, especially “the harp guitar nerds”.