George Washburn Lyon and Patrick Joseph Healy both worked in the music retail and publishing business in Boston, Massachusetts in the early 1860s. In 1864, they joined forces when given an opportunity to open a western outlet in Chicago for the Oliver Ditson Company. Forming a partnership, Lyon & Healy’s business grew rapidly, focusing on sheet music, books, cabinet organs, and small musical instruments.
| Specifications | |
| Date | 1897 |
| Location | Chicago, USA |
| Length of Guitar | 963 mm |
| String Length | 635 mm |
| Upper Bout Width | 245 mm |
| Waist Width | 195 mm |
| Lower Bout Width | 345 mm |
| Side Depth at Waist | 95 mm |
| Soundboard: Spruce | Back: Brazilian rosewood | Sides: Brazilian rosewood | Details: High-end model with fretboard covered in engraved mother-of-pearl and elaorate inlays thoughout | |
In the ensuing decades, the company continued its rapid expansion under the Lyon & Healy name and by the turn of the twentieth century, was recognized as the largest musical instrument manufacturing company in the world. The firm’s broad business lines included brokering high-end bowed-string instruments, buying up collections and becoming a source for violins by Amati, Stradivari, and Guarneri. They became the sole representative for Steinway & Sons pianos in Chicago and Lyon & Healy harps became the gold standard for orchestras worldwide. They manufactured quality banjos, guitars, and mandolins to successfully compete with the likes of C. F. Martin & Co, the S. S. Stewart Banjo Company, and John C. Haynes & Co.
Lyon & Healy rolled out the Washburn line of premium musical instruments in 1883, initially manufacturing guitars. Washburn guitars met with great success and over the next decade, the firm expanded the line to include banjos and mandolins.
The Style 388 Washburn guitar in this this collection is in near-mint condition and dates from 1897. It was offered in three sizes: Standard (Style 188), Concert (Style 288), and Grand Concert (Style 388). The high-end Style 388 graces the cover of the definitive volume on early Washburn guitars: Washburn Prewar Instrument Styles, Guitars, Mandolins, Banjos, and Ukeleles 1883-1940 by Hubert Pleijsier, (published by Centerstream LLC 2008).
The back and sides of the Style 388 are made of Brazilian rosewood. The cedar neck is covered in mother-of-pearl bounded by celluloid with ornamental engravings between eight of the 18 frets. The neck is crowned with an ebony headstock adorned with a snowflake-shaped inlay in mother-of-pearl and silver-plated machines with mother-of-pearl buttons. The spruce soundboard is X-braced and bordered with purfling set in a beautiful motif of mother-of -pearl, colored wood, and celluloid with matching rosette. The instrument is fitted with an ebony “Durkee” bridge (named after its inventor, Lyon & Healy employee George B. Durkee) with scalloped ends. The back is adorned with an inlaid stripe. The Model 388 from 1897 was listed in the Washburn catalog at $90, roughly $4,000 in today’s dollars adjusted for inflation.
