S. Nathaniel Adams

Documenting history as well as my experiences with repairing and restoring vintage guitars.

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Kay Kraft was the flagship line of the newly formed Kay Musical Instrument Company. Henry Kuhrmeyer, known as "Kay" to his colleag...

The Kay Kraft Venetians

By The Amateur Luthier June 21, 2021 0 Comments
Kay Kraft was the flagship line of the newly formed Kay Musical Instrument Company. Henry Kuhrmeyer, known as "Kay" to his colleagues, bought out his financial backers in Stromberg-Voisinet and launched a line of instruments that would change onlookers' expectations of what a guitar should look like. For information on non-Venetian bodied Kay instruments from the era, please read this article: The Other Kay Kraft Instruments

Now, the "Venetian" body shape is synonymous with Kay Kraft but it actually predates the brand and was available as early as 1927 from Stromberg-Voisinet. These instruments often featured the patented S-V tuners and are easily identifiable by their headstocks.


Stromberg-Voisinet Venetian Mandolin
From a 1927 B&J Catalog
Available in Birch or Mahogany
Features the S-V patent tuners
Image Credit: VintAxe 


Kay Kraft guitars almost always are equipped with the 'Zorzi' adjustable neck joint, patented in 1930. It is a clever novelty but has a limited range of adjustment and I have found that modifications to the hole in the neck block may be necessary. The floating fingerboard is also a design flaw and I often attach a fingerboard wedge/tongue 

Zorzi Adjustable Neck Joint

Joseph Zorzi is often credited with designing the Venetian style guitar body and the adjustable neck that appears on these Kay Kraft instruments. I do not believe Joseph Zorzi had anything to do with these instruments and the story which led to that claim was largely fabricated.

If you are interested in the neck joint and the process of researching who Zorzi was, please read here: The Zorzi Adjustable Neck Joint and Myths

Style A

Flat Top
Arch Top
Tenor
Mandolin

The Style A instruments are characterized by their mahogany back and sides and simple single pearl dot inlays on the fingerboard. The "flat top" example in the standard guitar body shape was actually more expensive than the Venetian style, costing an extra $5.
  • Neck: Mahogany
  • Fingerboard: Ebonized hardwood bound in ivory-patterned cellulois
  • Inlays: Single pearl dots
  • Back and Sides: Mahogany
  • Top: Spruce
  • Retail Price: 
    • $30 for the Flat Top
    • $25 for the Venetians
The Kay Kraft Mandocello and Kay Kraft Mandola were only ever offered in the Style A construction. These were not pictured in the catalogs and are quite rare. They were offered at the same price as the mandolins.

Style B

Flat Top
Arch Top
Tenor Archtop
Mandolin


The Style B Kay Kraft insturments have laminate figured maple back and sides with the 1-2-1-2 fingerboard dot pattern that Kay would become well known for. The guitar models in this style featured geared banjo tuners and not the typical Waverly patent heads
  • Neck: Mahogany
  • Fingerboard: Ebonized hardwood
  • Inlays: Pearl dot pattern
  • Back and Sides: Figured maple
  • Top: Spruce

Style C

Flat Top
Archtop
Tenor
Mandolin

Finally, the Style C represented the finest of the Venetian Kay Kraft guitars with Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, ornate pearl fingerboard inlays, and the finest mahogany neck. The guitar models in this style featured geared banjo tuners and not the typical Waverly patent heads
  • Neck: Mahogany
  • Fingerboard: Ebonized hardwood
  • Inlays: Ornate pearl shapes
  • Back and Sides: Brazilian Rosewood
  • Top: Spruce

Other Variants

Wards Venetian

Montgomery Wards Catalog c.1935
Image Credit: VintAxe

Kay produced a variant of the Venetian guitar exclusively for Montgomery Ward. This 'Wards' model has a Style B body but uses a cheaper neck made of a domestic hardwood and most notably has a square, slotted headstock. It also mounts to the body using a standard, glued dovetail instead of the Zorzi neck joint. It sold for significantly less than its Kay Kraft cousins.

These no longer appeared in the Montgomery Ward catalog as of 1939 (I am searching for earlier issues to determine when, exactly, they left)

Stromberg-Voisinet Venetian

Progressive Musical Instrument Co Catalog c.1931
Image Credit: VintAxe

This is an early version of the Venetian style that still sported the Stromberg-Voisinet headstock of the 1920s. It has a set neck, 12 frets to the body, black and white celluloid checkerboard binding, and a glued 'smile' bridge on it's flat top. The back and sides are birch with a spruce top.

It also existed in a tenor variant

Early Venetian Mandolins



This is the lineup of early Venetian mandolins again from the end of the Stromberg-Voisinet era. Notice that the bass side 'swoop' isn't fully developed and doesn't extend as far as the Kay Kraft models. These photos are from a 1931 catalog

Here are their appointments, from left to right
  • Style 1
    • Mahogany back and sides
    • Spruce top with checkerboard celluloid binding
    • Basswood neck with ebonized fingerboard
  • Style 2
    • Mahogany back and sides
    • Spruce top with white celluloid binding on top and back
    • Basswood neck with ebonized fingerboard
  • Style 3
    • Birch back and sides
    • Spruce top with checkerboard celluloid binding on top and back
    • Basswood neck with ebonized fingerboard
  • Style 4
    • Rosewood back and sides with inlaid marquetry centerstrip
    • Spruce top with wood marquetry binding and both edges bound in white celluloid
    • Ebonized fingerboard



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