[Ads-l] antedating dobro

[Andy Bach]

They also made "Dobro" guitars before making the resonator (or
"resophonic") one, patented in 1933  John Dopyera was granted a patent
(U.S. Patent #1,896,484, February 7, 1933) for a musical instrument with a
conical metal resonator." A lot more of the story here:
http://chasingguitars.com/nationaldobro-history/

but the Dobro company ( DOpyera BROthers, also a Slovak word meaning
"good") was formed after splitting from the National Guitar (the first
resonator seller, created by John Dopyera) in 1929 and released a "better"
resonator guitar.  Legal shenanigans ensued and finally the Dopyera
brothers ended up buying National (and firing their nemesis), renaming it
the National Dobro Manufacturing Company.  So, in 1931, it could have been
a Dobro resonator or just a guitar made by the new (not yet National) Dobro
Manufacturing Company.  As for the "amplifying" guitar, it could also refer
to the "magnetic pickup" model they released in 1933.

newspapers.com has ads from "The Bakersfield Californian from Bakersfield,
California" from Nov 15,  Dec 28 1933, and Aug 9, 1944 possibly showing a
$27.50 price, but they're behind a paywall.

On Sun, Oct 6, 2019 at 3:42 PM Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:

> Aren't those uses referring to the name of the manufacturer, the Dobro
> Manufacturing Company?
>
> On Sun, Oct 6, 2019, 12:06 PM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Dobro - OED has 1952
> >
> > From a display ad:
> > _Detroit [MI] Times_ 21 Jan 1931 p 7 col 5
> > "1 Dobro Guitar . . . . . . $30.00"
> >
> > From a classified ad:
> > Portland OR _Oregonian_ 8 Jan 1933 Sec 2 p 6 col 1
> > "CLEARANCE SALE MUSICAL GOODS . . . . new Dobro amplifying guitar,
> $27.50"
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 

a

Andy Bach,
afbach at gmail.com
608 658-1890 cell
608 261-5738 wk

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