Banjo-Mandolin (Banjolin) Busato Style « Pierrot de la Lune » 1930's

The banjo-mandolin, also known in France as the “banjoline,” emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century during a period when instrument makers sought to combine the virtuosity and tuning of the mandolin with the powerful projection of the American banjo.

Highly popular between 1890 and 1935, this hybrid instrument found favor with mandolin orchestras, popular music ensembles, music-hall groups, and street musicians thanks to its particularly lively and penetrating projection.

Its design combines a mandolin neck with a circular or octagonal body fitted with a tensioned skin head, producing a sharp, bright, and instantly recognizable tone.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the banjoline experienced a true golden age in France, especially in Paris, where numerous luthiers produced instruments intended for dance halls, musette music, early jazz orchestras, and cabaret performances.

Among the major names of this period was Bortolo Busato, an Italian luthier who settled in Paris in the 1920s and is now regarded as one of the leading figures of 20th-century French lutherie.

Primarily renowned for his Selmer-style gypsy jazz guitars (such as this one) associated with the world of Django Reinhardt, Busato also produced a wide variety of popular stringed instruments: mandolins, banjos, banjo-mandolins, and decorative instruments intended for both professional and amateur musicians.

The Busato workshops were celebrated for their highly distinctive handcrafted instruments, often characterized by Art Deco ornamentation, original marquetry work, bold shapes, and the use of period materials such as acrolaque.

This “Pierrot de la Lune” model fits perfectly within the Parisian tradition of the 1930s, both in its construction and its aesthetic.

Although no label or signature definitively attributes this banjo-mandolin to B. Busato, its style strongly recalls instruments produced in the Busato workshops during this period.

The quality of craftsmanship, the use of acrolaque, the decorative work, the shape of the resonator, and the pronounced Art Deco spirit all suggest that this instrument may have been built within Busato’s direct circle or in workshops associated with him.

The “Pierrot de la Lune” decoration perfectly reflects the artistic and theatrical spirit of the 1930s, a time when musical instruments also became true decorative objects designed to captivate visually as much as musically.

In summary, this “Pierrot de la Lune” marquetry banjo-mandolin in the style of Busato productions is a remarkable and evocative piece, combining French musical heritage, Art Deco aesthetics, and a richly distinctive tonal personality.

Technical specifications:

• Top: Limited natural resonance
• Resonator: Mahogany with fine marquetry veneer
• Neck: Walnut
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Nut width: 37.5 mm
• Radius: Flat
• Frets: 17 frets (+1 zero fret)
• Scale length: 342 mm
• Neck profile: V profile
• Country of manufacture: France, Paris
• Year: 1930s
• Finish: Natural / “Pierrot de la Lune” marquetry
• Appointments: White pearl dot inlays / Resonator binding and sides veneered in acrolaque / Marquetry purfling around the resonator / “Pierrot de la Lune” marquetry back
• Details: Old headstock repair / Non-original bridge / Very good condition / Supplied with gig bag

Like all of our instruments, this banjo-mandolin has been professionally set up with great care.

As a result, it offers excellent playing comfort.

Its tone reveals an extremely dynamic, bright, and snappy attack, with the lively responsiveness typical of the finest vintage French banjolines.

The voice is at once warm, percussive, and delightfully vintage, delivering a characterful tonal color that immediately evokes Parisian musette dance halls, popular orchestras, and the golden age of 1930s stringed instruments.