The Spratt family

[William Benton]

Does anyone know if Harry Spratt (teacher) was related to John Henry Spratt (builder and teacher) ?

[William Benton]

Mike Bostock said:

Hi William, Harry Spratt (1836-1920) banjo maker, banjo teacher, performer and composer of tunes for the banjo grew up in St Pancras. His parents were James Thomas (known as Thomas) and Catherine. Harry's siblings were Caroline (1838), Frederick (1840), William (1841), Thomas (1843), Walter (1853), Jane (1856). I have a complete sequence of the census returns for this family. No other siblings appear on these returns. Whether there were additional siblings in the 10 year gap between Thomas and Walter is still a question mark that I'm following up. Harry often performed in banjo duet around Kilburn with his younger brother William who also wrote tunes for banjo. His youngest brother Walter was a member of the Firefly Minstrels in the 1880's.

On their marriage in 1860 Harry and Agnes (nee Geale) moved south of the river and lived in the Kennington area while maintaining central business premises just off the Strand in Catherine Street, and later Duke Street.

I haven't widened my genealogical search to examine Harry's uncles and aunts and wider family. There was an occupational theme of painting and house decoration in Harry's immediate family. Also Harry's brother Thomas became a builder so a further family connection with the building trade wouldn't be unusual.

If you need any further info on Harry please just ask. I'm currently collating a large cache of his music additional to the published pieces that I have uploaded to my member page. In due course I'll upload these documents and will also record some of the tunes. Similarly if you have primary source material that I have missed I'd be very interested to see this. Harry Spratt is a fascinating example of a highly active and creative banjoist in the London context from the1860's on. 

[William Benton]

Wow Mike. Thanks for all that information. This is from "The Vintage Banjo Maker, "

Henry John James Spratt   1836 - 1920

Born in St Pancras, London he never knew his father and by the time he was 15 he was working as a messenger boy. 

Aged 25 he was just married and Landlord of the Waterloo pub in High Street, Huntingdon, Huntingdonshire.  He soon moved back to London where he was working as a musical instrument repairer and ten years later was living at 14  Bolton Street Lambeth with a son and 6 daughters all under 10 years old.

He flourished in the early 1870s, both as a maker of banjos with both he and his wife as teachers of the instrument. His banjos at that time were typical of the period: deep (5 in.) hoop of wood (with undulant bottom edge), wide unfretted neck, push-in pegs, and six or eight heavy straining brackets.

By 1882 he has premises in Duke Street at the peak of his career and with his wife they are listed as “Professors of the Banjo”

In 1885 he was granted a patent for a metal hoop for the banjo "with an annular groove in it to receive the tension bolts and to which the handle (neck) is attached."  In section this hoop was something like the figure 5 minus the tail.

By 1891 he moved to South London and was living at 10 Mill Lane Streatham and ten years later he was a music teacher living with son in law at 95 Amesbury Avenue Streatham."

It seems confusing. This photo of yours shows a rendering of Harry playing a six string banjo that very much resembles a Henry John James Spratt banjo that I just purchased. It seems so logical that they were related somehow..

[William Benton]

Mike Bostock said:

Harry and Agnes' son Harry Spratt jnr (1862-1938) also played banjo and wrote tunes for the banjo. Examples of his tunes are among the cache that I'm currently studying.

[William Benton]

Here some additional photos. Thanks Mike.

[William Benton]

Mike Bostock said:

William, the full contents of Harry Spratt's  Banjo Tutor (London, 1872) and Banjo Melodist No.1 (London, 1877) are on my photos page. I presume the cover a/w have been farmed from this site by the hungry reach of googles octopus-like tentacles! Harry's father died in 1887 and Harry did not grow up without a father. Looking again at the census data, clearly this factual error stems from his father being absent from home on the 1851 census. But his wife Catherine is detailed as 'married' and not a widow. Also the father reappears on all subsequent census until his death.

I did participate in the recent auction of that particular Spratt banjo and it's original wooden case at a Norwich auction house. But the hammer price went to insane heights. The pre-auction estimate was £80-£120. With auctioneers commission of 34.2% and shipping it actually cost the buyer just shy of $8000. At that price I was out for sure, so unfortunately I didn't secure it despite a determinedly realistic high bid and I presume this banjo went to an American collector. It's a real shame because it's an interesting and evocative part of our early English banjo heritage and for historical and cultural reasons really ought to be available and on display here. For the record If I'd secured it I would've presented it on permanent loan to the V&A (with possibly the permission to record one or two of Spratt's tunes on it first).  The buyer hasn't declared on any banjo websites, so I guess there is an outside chance I'm wrong and it may still be in this country. If it is I really hope the buyer can conceive of purpose beyond merely their own ego and it finds it's way to the archival care of the V&A.

[William Benton]

William Benton said:  Well Mike. Yes It was me who ended up with it. I just conserve banjos and re-sell them. I would hope an English museum will be interested in owing it. I know how to restore minimally to retain as much originality as possible  while still making it playable once again. I, unfortunately  do not play the banjo.  I'm just a 74 year old American living in North Wales who restored Antique furniture and many musical instruments for nearly 40 years while living in America. Now I have a tiny 8 by 12 foot shed where I continue on a very small scale, doing what I have always loved. It is the most money I have ever spent on an instrument. I will do a proper conservation of this beautiful banjo and I hope the next owner will continue to preserve it. Your information is of great value to me and I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your responses. A friend in the woods....Bill

Mike Bostock said:

William, the full contents of Harry Spratt's  Banjo Tutor (London, 1872) and Banjo Melodist No.1 (London, 1877) are on my photos page. I presume the cover a/w have been farmed from this site by the hungry reach of googles octopus-like tentacles! Harry's father died in 1887 and Harry did not grow up without a father. Looking again at the census data, clearly this factual error stems from his father being absent from home on the 1851 census. But his wife Catherine is detailed as 'married' and not a widow. Also the father reappears on all subsequent census until his death.

I did participate in the recent auction of that particular Spratt banjo and it's original wooden case at a Norwich auction house. But the hammer price went to insane heights. The pre-auction estimate was £80-£120. With auctioneers commission of 34.2% and shipping it actually cost the buyer just shy of $8000. At that price I was out for sure, so unfortunately I didn't secure it despite a determinedly realistic high bid and I presume this banjo went to an American collector. It's a real shame because it's an interesting and evocative part of our early English banjo heritage and for historical and cultural reasons really ought to be available and on display here. For the record If I'd secured it I would've presented it on permanent loan to the V&A (with possibly the permission to record one or two of Spratt's tunes on it first).  The buyer hasn't declared on any banjo websites, so I guess there is an outside chance I'm wrong and it may still be in this country. If it is I really hope the buyer can conceive of purpose beyond merely their own ego and it finds it's way to the archival care of the V&A.

[William Benton]

How were you planning to record Harrys' music on it if it is

not playable?

Mike Bostock said:

William, I notice that you edited your post after my reply to it to add the information that you purchased the Spratt banjo recently. Do you mind me asking are you based in the UK or overseas? 

That particular Spratt banjo (c.1870-1880) is to my knowledge unique in condition and originality. I have seen other Spratt banjos of a similar date but all were in relatively poor condition. Please do not 'conserve' it in any way, shape or form other than ensuring it's condition and environment are maintained. That banjo as an informative cultural artefact should by rights be in the V&A collection in Kensington, London. I hope that rather than blandly seeking to profit you think wider and better to place it on permanent loan to the V&A. You would still retain ownership but that instrument would be available to inspire in it's home city in perpetuity. More importantly it would be secure under the ongoing care of professional conservators

Realistically, I expect that my plea is a forlorn one.

[Joel Hooks]

Looking through the tutor, pages 9-11 are filled with pieces that are found in early American tutors. The one that I don't recognize right off is Broadway Jig.

[Joel Hooks]

Bryant's Jig:

https://archive.org/details/buckleys-new-banjo-method-1860-james-bu...

Prince's Jig:

https://archive.org/details/buckleys-new-banjo-method-1860-james-bu...

Ephraim's Jig (Boston Jig):

https://archive.org/details/buckleys-new-banjo-method-1860-james-bu...

Harper's Jig:

https://archive.org/details/buckleys-new-banjo-method-1860-james-bu...

Ninth Avenue Jig:

https://archive.org/details/buckleys-new-banjo-method-1860-james-bu...

Hobson's Jig:

https://archive.org/details/buckleys-new-banjo-method-1860-james-bu...

[William Benton]

I am thankful for all of your input Mike. I knew it was it was a special piece, or I would not have purchased it. I am not a wealthy person, so donating it I'm afraid, is not an option for me, though I do truly understand your passion concerning keeping it near it's home and sharing it's existence with people.. I have done many conservations for museums and other preservation organizations over the years so I do know something about what I'm doing. Once it is in my possession, I will examine it closely before making any decisions about.it. I would love to hear you playing some of Harrys' tunes from your tutor project. Again, thank you for expressing your feelings about this beautiful banjo, Sincerely, Bill 

Mike Bostock said:

Interestingly I have a set of detail photos of your Spratt banjo from the previous owner. It looks in as good if not better shape than my Tunbridge-decorated banjo c.1863. A banjo from the 1860’s or 1870’s may possibly be restrung with gut and played without necessarily requiring any material change. But my point about not conserving the banjo specifically relates to the unique importance of this Spratt banjo in relation to an English banjo heritage. If on close inspection it has structural defects that do not allow it to be played - so be it. It is more significant to have this banjo and case remain untouched and original than to have it playable. I and others can easily record Spratt tunes on other period instruments. Once the Spratt banjo is ‘conserved’ the uniqueness is lost forever. A museum such as the V&A has facility and resource for care far beyond the private individual.

[William Benton]

That is key information Mike. You cleared it up beautifully. Were there other similar headstocks of that era or was that shape his own design?

Mike Bostock said:

Also, just to answer your original question and hopefully clear up any confusion you may have, Harry Spratt's full name on his baptism was Henry John James Spratt. But he was known as Harry, the usual short form of Henry here.

[William Benton]

All good information to have. I did come across this picture from the 1870's, But I can't be certain that it is one of his. He must have been a fine respected teacher and composer. Quite an interesting man of his times. Thanks Mike.
Mike Bostock said:

The stylised thistle-shape headstock was characteristic of all the Spratt banjos we've seen so far. Though I've only seen Spratt banjos from c.1865-1880. We have primary source evidence that Harry continued making banjos post-1880 but haven't seen a range of confirmed examples of his post-1880 banjos yet so without evidence we can't assert that his later banjos kept to the same consistent shape headstock. Again we can only evidence the consistent pattern of Spratt's headstock design. That's not the same as saying that headstock design was not used occasionally by other makers.

In terms of production output numbers an interesting comparison can be drawn with early Tunbridge-decorated banjos that were made over a similar time period. Though thin on the ground they do crop up from time to time today, we would expect a similar number of survivors among Spratt's work.