Beare and Son Ltd (B&S L) The Michigan 1930s Natural

1930s Parlour Sized Guitar.

Good condition, absolutely beautiful patina with great play wear. Is quite a basic instrument, but generates a sweet bluesy tone. Has a slight bow to the neck that could be corrected, this has produced a playable but slightly high (5 mm) action at 12th fret. I have shown this in the photos. Pre truss rod so would need to be professionally straightened to correct. Would be amazing for a slide guitar/delta blues style. Low and extremely playable at the lower frets. I have included a short video link here:

Binding has shrunk away from the waist on both sides. This hasn’t affected the integrity of the joints between sides and top, it’s cosmetic and can be easily fixed. I decided not to as it was honest ageing over time. I have repaired the top as it had split down the centre join. This required rehumidification of the top, glueing and adding a cleat. The repair has been carried out to a high standard and isn’t visible.

It is strung with Ernie Ball 9s snd tuned to Eb to take the pressure off the neck and make it more playable.

Here is some information about the manufacturer:

I have seen many people asking about this brand while I have read much that is erroneous or plain wrong although a number of people have managed to get to the bottom of this enigma, it has not been publicised. Basically, the music dealer Beare & Son Ltd of London, with a branch in Toronto for many years, is an old-established instrument dealer-now over 150 years old and still going strong.



Back in the 1930s this company was a big Gibson dealer in London and Toronto- it is featured in Paul Fox's book "The Other Brands of Gibson". Like many retailers of that era- Selmer in London, which created the "Columbian" brand for US imports, Beare & Son Ltd or B & S L as it says on the badge created "The Michigan" as its own US import brand. There was a huge guitar boom in the UK in the 1930s and banjos were being tossed aside to be replaced by guitars- and American guitars had that extra appeal- that's where the music was coming from. In the 1930s from what I can deduce, these guitars were made in Chicago- Regal, Harmony and Kay. A little oval badge was nailed on the headstock and a sticky badge that was the same was also inside. The badge also stated "SOLE AGENTS" and "MADE IN USA." Now, a number of people have connected this brand with Beare & Son Ltd but plenty of people, it seems think that because it was The Michigan then there must be a Gibson connection. This is not the case- obviously, Michigan was the home of Gibson and the choice of that state as a brand name was redolent Big Time with a certain well-known instrument maker!



Beare & Son retailed Gibson brands in the UK and Canada but unlike Francis,Day & Hunter with its FDH Special, did not sell Gibson instruments under its own brand- or so it seems. I have seen a Harmony archtop from the late 1930s with a carved plastic headstock veneer that features the company's trade mark of the "cat and fiddle" a very impressive headstock, for sure and the cat & fiddle is still the company's logo. If you want to see him, there's a Beare & Son Gibson catalogue from 1936 that can be found via Google and he's on most pages with a big rendition towards the back. World War Two stopped this business and after the dust cleared and the pound sterling had sunk, guitar imports from the USA were a distant memory and the firm imported guitars from Europe- mostly the Eastern Bloc. The badge was the same but the MADE IN USA had gone.



Quite often, The Michigan branded guitars from the 1930s show up on ebay, and the sellers do not know what they have. Most of these guitars are clearly exactly the same as the Regal, Kay and Harmony originals but the name throws people. Attributing guitars to Gibson is not unusual when you do not know its origin and with a brand like The Michigan it is assumed that the guitars were made in that state- so, they are from Gibson. Now, if Beare & Son Ltd had called the brand The Illinois, this would not happen- or less often!Anyway, I hope this clears up matters and helps people to ascertain the true maker of these guitars and the odd mandolin, as well.

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