HOWE-ORME

Elias Howe, Jr. founded the Elias Howe Company in Boston, MA and after his death in 1895, his sons William H. Howe and Edward F. Howe produced Howe-Orme branded instruments during the late 1890s and early 1900s. George L. Orme was from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and was a partner in the J.L. Orme & Son company that he also became involved in after his father's death. J.L. Orme & Son retailed musical instruments and also published sheet music in Canada. It is unknown how Howe and Orme became associated with one another, although Orme shared a patent with James S. Back for a "raised longitudinal belly ridge" for use on guitars and mandolins. This patent was later refined and a new one was issued to Edward Howe in 1897.
Howe-Orme offered a variety of acoustic guitars as well as other instruments, but they were most successful with mandolins. Their instruments featured several innovative designs including the longitudinal belly ridge, an adjustable/detachable neck, and a zero fret. Several patents were awarded to Howe-Orme and instruments often feature many of these numbers on them. Howe-Orme's mandolin line included several variations from the mandolin family including a regular mandolin, tenor mandolin, octave mandolin, and mando-cello. Unlike the bowl-back mandolins of this era, Howe-Orme began building their mandolins with a flat back and the shape resembled a guitar. It is unknown when Howe-Orme stopped building mandolins, but it is largely accepted that they lost the market to Gibson in Kalamazoo, MI. Any further information on Howe-Orme can be submitted directly to Blue Book Publications.