My Correspondence with Michael Holmes of Mugwumps

 

 

Michael Holmes, who recently e-mailed me the patent information, e-mailed me the following information.

"I have quite a bit more information about that period and a bit more about
Puntolillo. From what I have seen, I believe the Majestic banjos were made
by Wm. Lange Co (maker of Orpheum and Paramount, among others) and labeled
for Puntolillo. There are many points in common with Lange's own products,
and he is known to have produced many private label instruments. The
paragraphs in Tsumura's books about Majestic are just plain wrong, and he
and I have corresponded about it. He states he was guessing in the first
book. In the second, after I wrote him, he just hedges!"

I e-mailed Michael back that I didn't think the metal parts were made by him but knowing about him through relatives including my father who were in his shop in Lyndhurst, could not accept that Majestic banjos were only designed by him. They all knew him as a woodworker. Michael wrote back;

"The tooling to make the big parts for the Majestics would have been too
expensive for a small shop to own. Possibly, the parts were contracted out
to Lange, and maybe even the finished rim assembly. The necks and the
decoration may well have been done in your great grandfather's shop and it would be
wonderful if there were any family photos of its interior. I will continue
to look for information, but in many cases, I am the one with the most
collected data, so I often don't know where to go next. It is great to be
talking to a descendent who knows some of the family history.
Interestingly enough, I had your name from John Bernunzio, and the fact you
were working with Mando Bros. I hadn't gotten around to calling you yet, so
it is great that you put up that web page and that we did make contact.
I will stay in touch. Do you have any pictures besides the motorcycle one?
Michael I. Holmes
Director, Banjo Camp North
http://www.mugwumps.com/bcn.html
Publisher, Mugwumps Online
http://www.mugwumps.com