Ferry & Co.

Ferry & Co - Reed Musical Instrument Co.
Ferry & Co. appear to have been some kind of producer or reseller in Chicago in the 1920's, the Banjoleles I have seen branded by them appear to come from different makers but it's hard to find information on them now. What is known is in 1923 they started producing "Instant Noteless Player" invented by a man called James Reed, (who taught at the Conn Chicago Co. school of Music too.), and in 1926 the Reed Musical Instrument Co. was incorporated and started production of a range of Ukuleles using the Reed name. In addition to the unadorned Reed Ukuleles there was a range of very precisely decorated, (not sure if its a decal or very good stenciling?) models called Silhouette.

Reed put out a range of instruments branded Lindy to commemorate Charles Lindbergh's flight in 1927.

Thought the earlier Ferry & Co. Banjoleles were Globe and Harmony made instruments, the Reed Ukuleles were definitely not made by any of the other Chicago makers of the time and had a reputation for being better than basic quality. They were usually called Concert Ukuleles but this was during the period of the Standard Approved classifications and they are all actually of Soprano scale.

In 1928 Ferry & Co. moved their instrument manufacturing from Chicago to St. Mary's, Ohio and this move certainly impacted production for a while. It is unclear if major production every really got going again, and if it did, how long the production continued or what happened to either Ferry & Co. or Reed Musical Instrument Co.?