Healy died 1905.īy the 1920s, Lyon & Healy faced growing competition from other instrument manufacturers as well as from the rise of other forms of entertainment, particularly film and the gramophone. Their 1892 catalog claimed to manufacture 100,000 instruments annually. 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. George Lyon retired from the company in 1889 (died 1894). 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. In 1912, Washburn introduced the Lakeside Jumbo guitar, which some consider the first dreadnought-sized guitar. As well, they built instruments for other retailers and distributors under various house brands, and outsourced construction of some models. Not only did the Lyon & Healy company often change designs to follow the rapidly evolving consumer demand, but the company also repaired instruments, and offered engraving services, including decorating instruments that it retailed but did not actually manufacture. Tracing the history of any particular instrument of this period presents many obstacles.
Under the "Washburn" brand, which happened to be Lyon's middle name. The company achieved independence by 1880, and around 1888 the company launched fully into fretted and plucked instruments ( guitars, mandolins, banjos, and zithers) By 1865, Lyon & Healy had expanded into reed organs and some small instruments.
Healy, acting as the Chicago outlet for Boston sheet music publisher Oliver Ditson and Company.
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