banjo ukulele by dennis taylor
A very special Ludwig
An absolutely unique Ludwig Banjo Ukulele, custom made, circa 1930, in Chicago U.S.A., for someone whose initials JC were printed in the peghead. A most unusual material was used to decorate the peghead and the resonator giving the instrument a beautiful golden colour . This material was called ‘PYRALIN’ and was probably being used by Ludwig for decorating drum kits. It is also decorated with bright red rhinestones which glint in the light. There are 7 in the peghead and a large one in the centre of the Resonator. It has a powerful and brilliant tone. Imported from the U.S.A. in 1990, this Banjo Ukulele was owned by Dennis Taylor, President of ‘The George Formby Society’. Sadly Dennis passed away suddenly in 2011 and this instrument found a new home with Peter Pollard, a great friend of Dennis and his Vice-President for some years before Dennis retired from the GFS committee. Not long after Dennis passed away, GFS member Ray Bernard telephoned Peter to tell him that it was he, Ray, who had brought the instrument in from the USA and sold it to Dennis. He also mentioned that the JC in the peg-head stands for Judy Canova. Judy was a leading American comedian, actress, singer, and radio personality who starred in many films, worked on Broadway and featured on American radio and television. On numerous occasions I would speculate with Dennis, just who “JC” might be. Ray Bernard was a leading expert on Banjo-ukes and ukuleles and I have no reason to doubt his word. I confess that when he told me who JC was, I had never heard of the lady but even though she died in 1983, there is many web pages and video and radio clips of her on the internet.

The five images shown here are new, taken in

January 2021.

An absolutely unique Ludwig Banjo Ukulele, custom made, circa 1930, in Chicago U.S.A., for someone whose initials JC were printed in the peghead. A most unusual material was used to decorate the peghead and the resonator giving the instrument a beautiful golden colour . This material was called ‘PYRALIN’ and was probably being used by Ludwig for decorating drum kits. It is also decorated with bright red rhinestones which glint in the light. There are 7 in the peghead and a large one in the centre of the Resonator. It has a powerful and brilliant tone. Imported from the U.S.A. in 1990, this Banjo Ukulele was owned by Dennis Taylor, President of ‘The George Formby Society’. Sadly Dennis passed away suddenly in 2011 and this instrument found a new home with Peter Pollard, a great friend of Dennis and his Vice-President for some years before Dennis retired from the GFS committee. Not long after Dennis passed away, GFS member Ray Bernard telephoned Peter to tell him that it was he, Ray, who had brought the instrument in from the USA and sold it to Dennis. He also mentioned that the JC in the peg-head stands for Judy Canova. Judy was a leading American comedian, actress, singer, and radio personality who starred in many films, worked on Broadway and featured on American radio and television. On numerous occasions I would speculate with Dennis, just who “JC” might be. Ray Bernard was a leading expert on Banjo-ukes and ukuleles and I have no reason to doubt his word. I confess that when he told me who JC was, I had never heard of the lady but even though she died in 1983, there is many web pages and video and radio clips of her on the internet.

The five images shown

here are new, taken in

January 2021.

banjo ukulele by dennis taylor
A very special Ludwig