Sidney Young Banjos Catalog

[Joel Hooks]

Here you go.

https://archive.org/details/sidney-w.-young-banjos-catalog

[Jody Stecher]

Something immediately caught my attention here. Padauk wood was being used in lutherie in 1940. I had no idea. I never heard of it until 60 years later when it became known as an inexpensive, plentiful,  beautiful, viable substitute for endangered Brazilian rosewood. A plank of padauk will clank very much like a plank of Brazilian rosewood when struck. This Plank Clank effect is well known nowadays.  But 85 years ago Sidney Young was using it in guitars and banjos and presenting it, and rightly so, as a being in the same class as rosewood and mahogany.

[Joel Hooks]

The catalog is undated but mentions Cammeyer being retired.  "1940" was just a date I put in.

Jody Stecher said:

Something immediately caught my attention here. Padauk wood was being used in lutherie in 1940. I had no idea. I never heard of it until 60 years later when it became known as an inexpensive, plentiful,  beautiful, viable substitute for endangered Brazilian rosewood. A plank of padauk will clank very much like a plank of Brazilian rosewood when struck. This Plank Clank effect is well known nowadays.  But 85 years ago Sidney Young was using it in guitars and banjos and presenting it, and rightly so, as a being in the same class as rosewood and mahogany.

[Jody Stecher]

Whoops.  Well....this must have been before 1964, the year Sidney Young passed away. So he is still ahead of his time in wood knowledge. Or am I wrong? Maybe padauk was well known to British luthiers in the mid 20th century. We sure heard nothing about it in the USA until 4 decades later.

Joel Hooks said:

The catalog is undated but mentions Cammeyer being retired.  "1940" was just a date I put in.

Jody Stecher said:

Something immediately caught my attention here. Padauk wood was being used in lutherie in 1940. I had no idea. I never heard of it until 60 years later when it became known as an inexpensive, plentiful,  beautiful, viable substitute for endangered Brazilian rosewood. A plank of padauk will clank very much like a plank of Brazilian rosewood when struck. This Plank Clank effect is well known nowadays.  But 85 years ago Sidney Young was using it in guitars and banjos and presenting it, and rightly so, as a being in the same class as rosewood and mahogany.

[Trapdoor2]

Paduk has been marketed under many names. When it is a burl, it is called amboyna...when it resembles rosewood, it is sold as rosewood. Sneaky sneaky!