Washburn Idol Series
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Founded | 1883 in Chicago, Illinois |
| Founder | George Washburn Lyon |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products |
Electric, acoustic & resonator guitars Bass Guitars Banjos Mandolins Ukuleles Amplifiers |
| Parent | US Music |
| Website | washburn.com |
Washburn Guitars is an American manufacturer and importer of guitars, mandolins, and other string instruments. The original company was established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. The modern Washburn is a division of US Music Corp., in turn now owned by JAM Industries USA.
Lyon & Healy began in 1864 as a partnership of businessman George W. Lyon and Patrick J. Healy, acting as the Chicago, Illinois, outlet for Boston sheet music publisher Oliver Ditson and Company. By 1865, the company had expanded into reed organs and some small instruments. Lyon & Healy achieved independence by 1880, and around 1888 the company launched fully into fretted and plucked instruments (guitars, mandolins, banjos, and zithers) under the "Washburn" brand, which happened to be Lyon's middle name.
Tracing the history of any particular instrument of this period presents many obstacles. Not only did the Lyon & Healy company often change designs to follow the rapidly evolving consumer demand, the company also repaired instruments, and offered engraving services, including decorating instruments that it retailed but did not actually manufacture. As well, they built instruments for other retailers and distributors under various house brands.
In 1912, Washburn introduced the Lakeside Jumbo guitar, which some condider the first dreadnought-sized guitar. It bridged the gap between smaller-bodied "parlor" guitars of the late 19th and early 20th century and modern-day dreadnought and jumbo acoustic guitars.
George Lyon retired from the company in 1889 (died 1894). Patrick Healy then led the company into a period of major expansion, beginning with a larger new factory and improved mass-production techniques, and soon dominated the domestic market. Their 1892 catalog claimed to manufacture 100,000 instruments annually. Healy died 1905.
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Wikipedia