Gibson banjo catalog, circa 1922. This same photo appears on the cover of the famous catalog “N,’ 1923, which announces the Master Model series. L to R: A. W. Crookes, James H. Johnstone, Francis Havens, Lloyd Loar and Walter Kaye Bauer. This is the first mention of Lloyd Loar as director of the Gibsonians. In the May 1919 Cadenza magazine (while Loar was in France) the Gibson banjo ensemble was identified as “Jumping Jimmie Johnstone’s Jubilant Jazzers.”
By the spring of 1922, Lloyd Loar had proven himself as professional musician, entertainment company manager, speaker, writer, actor, comedian and if not yet inventor, at least acoustical designer. In newspapers and magazines, he was described as a virtuoso on mandolin, mandola, mandolin-viola and banjo. Fellow musicians we have interviewed recall him as an intellectual, a theosophist, a vegetarian and a kick-boxer. Beginning on the Chautauqua circuit with Fisher Shipp, he had performed in nearly every state in the US from Maine and Florida to California and Oregon. While he may have played a Gibson mandolin as early as the 1907 summer season, his public endorsement of Gibson instruments first appears in 1912, in Gibson Catalog “H.”
Gibson catalog “K” p. 18, 1918. Head shot photo of Loar from the 1908 Chautauqua program appears in Gibson catalogs from 1912 to 1918.
Gibson catalog “M” 1921, p. 36.
When did Lloyd Loar move from Gibson endorser to acoustic engineer? As early as 1906 there is mention of a unique “instrument of his own invention,” the 10-string mandolin-viola for which he consistently receives impressive accolades. Around 1912, newspaper accounts make a change from “his own invention” to “built to order.” The company that filled that order was of course The Gibson Mandolin and Guitar Company. The Fisher Shipp Company had often appeared in Michigan during those years, and it seems likely that Loar would have delivered his request for a custom order to the factory at Kalamazoo in person. Why not utilize the skills of the world-class woodworkers and finishers at Gibson to bring his designs to perfection?
L to R: Fisher Shipp, Fisher Shipp, Lloyd Loar with his Gibson MV-2, and Miss Allene Petit. Photo from 1910 concert season.
On May 22, 1916, Lloyd Loar, 30, and Sallie Fisher Shipp, who had just celebrated her 38th birthday, were married at a private ceremony in the the Shipp hometown of Brookfield, Missouri.
Brookfield Budget, Brookfield, MO, May 24, 1916.
Even though Loar had assumed management of the Fisher Shipp Concert Company, the company continued its association with the Lyceum Bureau of Chicago. Shortly before the wedding, a photo shoot was scheduled in the celebrated studios of “Count” Jens Rudolph Matzene in Chicago to promote the 1916 concert season.
Photos by Matzene Studios, April, 1916, shortly before thei wedding. This photo of Loar with a Gibson F-4 mandolin did not appear in the Gibson catalogs until 1921, thus creating some misconception as to the provenance of this mandolin.
Immediately after the wedding, the company was back on tour. The 1916 and 1917 seasons were booked from Maine to Oregon.
Lafayette Sun, Lafayette Alabama, May 24, 1916. Photo from Matzene Studios of Chicago, April, 1916. L to R: Lloyd Loar, Fisher Shipp, Miss Francis “Mamie” Allen and Miss Freda Bethig. The Chautauqua programs continued to use this photo through the 1918 season. In some of those later programs, the pianist and violinist are incorrectly identified as the touring personnel for that year, and not the actual women in the photo.
On September 12, 1918, Lloyd Loar, at age 32, registers for the draft. Under employer he writes “Works for self. Manager and Proprietor of Fisher Shipp Concert Co. booked by Lyceum of Chicago.” He is issued a passport on October 28, 1918 and sails to France, officially a part of the YMCA program to perform for the troops.
Lloyd Loar’s draft card, September 12, 1918.
Loar’s passport application, August 31st, 1918.
The Gibson Sounding Board Salesman of 1918, a periodical sent to Gibson artists-agents, announces that the Fisher Shipp Co. would be joining Loar for performances for the troops in Europe. However, at this point, we have not been able to locate passport or transportation documents for Mrs. Loar or any of the musicians of her troop. Whether they made it to Europe or not, the Fisher Shipp Company continued to tour at home without Lloyd Loar during 1918 and 1919.
The Boonville Standard, Boonville, Indiana. Fri, Jul 18, 1919.
May 15, 1919, the ship “Espagne” sails into New York harbor and passengers disembark on Ellis Island. Most of those on board are traveling at the expense of the US Army. Careful inspection of the passenger list yields no other names recognized as entertainers. In any case, with the concerts for the YMCA outreach to the troops in France completed, Lloyd Loar is back in the USA.
Arriving in New York, Lloyd Loar has a decision: Where to go next? Home to Lewiston, Illinois? To his wife’s home in Brookfield, Missouri? Or… to 225 Parsons St., Kalamazoo, Michigan??
Next week: A look inside the Gibson factory.