G'day Mark,

I just had a look at the 9-stringer reproduced in Music - A Pictorial Archive of Woodcuts & Engravings, Selected by Jim Harter, Dover Publications Inc, New York, 1980. This is an engraving, fairly typical of the sort of thing in catalogues and advertisements in the late 19th/early 20th century.

I notice that many of the Dover Pictorial Archive Series say "…19th Century …" but the Music book does not - probably because so much is available in early 20th century catalogues. The same book has illustrations of banjos nearby, which include tenor and plectrum models, as well as banjo mandolins, so this would suggest that the illustrations could be as late as 1930.

The guitar is described as "Nine-stringed Hawaiian guitar". This instrument has a metal tailpiece, slightly angled bridge and an asymmetrical headstock with a strip of 3 tuning pegs on the bass side and a strip of 6 tuning pegs on the treble. There is no brand shown, so it may be a generic "cheap cut" for music advertisers.

Regards,

Bob Bolton