Re: Grandpa's S.S. Stewart - Help request
The "B & J" decal on the back is from Buegeleisen & Jacobson, major NYCity music distributors starting in 1897 and active through most of the 20th century. The "B & J" name survives in Canada. They apparently acquired the "S S Stewart" trademark in 1914, and applied it to a variety of instruments from different sources.
I own a "B & J Victoria" bowl-back mandolin that appears to have been made by Lyon & Healy.
I concur with pops1's post; if you haven't done so already, I'd at least get the instrument appraised for repair. If it's Harmony-built, it's likely not a finely-crafted mandolin, but there's a lot of value in family history, IMHO. I'd guess, from the white plastic pickguard and the lettering style of the "B & J" decal, that the mandolin tends toward the later 1920's to the mid '30's, as others have suggested.
Allen Hopkins
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