G'day all,

These are "Stumpf Fiddles" ... traditional to some groups of German miners ... ? (I'm sure Lark in the Morning sell them!).

Les B: They do indeed share some anscestry with the Aussie Lagerphone ... both derive from the "Jingling Johnnie" of 19th c. British (and other) military bands ... from the Asian "Turkish Crescent" and "Chinese Pavillion" shaker/jingle sticks that go back centuries.

The Aussie input was to make them cheaply from discarded beer caps instead of brass bells and jingles ... add a notched stick to get a variety of beating sounds ... add a rubber 'crutch tip' to introduce a bounced rhythm (Interestingly, adopted by thes Stumpf fiddles ...). The "Stumpf" idea of a sort of banjo uke being included is strictly theirs!

Regards,

Bob