My correspondence with

Guenter Amendt

(His pictures and text)

Hello from Germany.
I just looked up your website and am very much excited to learn more about the secret of Majestic instruments.
I am interested in banjos for over 4o years and most of the Majestic banjos in Akira` s book came from me.
Same like me, Akira loved Majestic instruments opposite to many others which seem to ignore the fine instruments because there were no catalogs and/or other information available.
I am also regularly writing in a German banjo magazine ( Das Banjopodium) and several times in the past mentioning MAJESTIC and showing pics of Majestic banjos but always had to tell the readers that I know very little about the background history.
I missed an information about Majestic banjos being sold thru large warehouse magazine(s??) because many years ago I remember having seen advertisements in the Sears&Rob..catalogs. Could it be possible that he had also specially manufactured for them?
I hope that with help of other readers you will find out more about the history. Also there must be a connection to Germany. Some banjos and Guitars with a MAJESTIC label I have seen here.They were definitely made and sold here and I wonder if either your Grandfather sent parts to German manufacturer or opposite. The label on these instruments is out of metal in the shape of a triangle with a green background. I will check thru my thousands of photograph for a sample if you are interested but unfortunately I had seen these instruments over 3o years ago when I took no or poor phonographs and since then I never found another sample. Most will be destroyed due to the war time.
Today I like to send you some pictures attached of may be one of a kind of these fine banjos, its a full scale 19 fret tenor banjo with resonator and flange having the very rare lions head carving on the heel. I found two short scale and open back with lions head carving at the heel which I gave to Akira but this is the only one I have seen and know in all the years.
In case you need any pictures from my collection for your web site I will be happy to give them to you, I do have many detailed ones.
Have a look at my website which within the next two days or so will be enlarged with lots of fancy banjo pictures.
Guenter
www.banjoworld.de

Hello Anthony.
I will send you a few pics today. I will start with a comparison of pegheads
of the top of the line, a Weymann no 7 and a Majestic peghead. It shows that
the shape of the pegheads are the same, which means to me that there was a
connection.
Guenter

pics of Majestic tenor and 6-string guitar, made in Germany pre war.
You can see the triangular emblem on front and rear side of the peg head on there 6 string guitar which is typical.

A "blond" and a dark version of early style Majestic with lions head caving on their heels.

a Majestic plectrum banjo made in Germany but sold in England by Clifford Essex Co. maker of the well known Paragon banjos.

this resophonic guitar was sold ( and made?) in Germany and again showing the triangular brand in the peghead.
Interestingly it reads on the cover plate: Majestic
Aristocrat
Intern.Trade Mark Pat.

Here some more photographs of my Majestic Banjos.

Also information from a flyer showing Majestic guitars. Note the remark on picture #2 on the bottom which says that the US Artist Michael Danzi, who was very famous in Germany, playing as a Radio Guitar Solist in Berlin using a Majestic guitar. The flyer is dated 1938