Stennes "Lyre Banjo"
c.1960s
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Click Here to read the Elmer O. Stennes History
If the above link does not work, do a web search on "Murder on Tick Tock Lane" and you should be able to readily find it.
This highly desirable style of banjo clock pictured here is called a Lyre. It was built in the 1960s by by Elmer O. Stennes, a copy of an early 1800s lyre-style banjo.
There are some unique things to know and look for in an Elmer O. Stennes banjo:
First of all is to look for a “bee”, in this case cleverly placed on the tablet. Some knockoffs of Elmer O. Stennes banjos have been made and apparently don’t have the little bee.
Secondly, it's important to look at the movement, in this case marked “Chelsea”. Elmer O. Stennes used movements he salvaged from regulators being retired primarily from public service.
The movements generaly came from E. Howard (#70) or Chelsea wall-hanging regulators (#2, #3).
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(note "bee" on
glass - authenticates
Stennes)
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