Wilson Brothers Mfg Co and "Hold Fast" Fretwire

About

Wilson Brothers Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1898 and became defunct around 1927 [2]. The corporation's name changed hands as recently as 1997 and expired again in 2007 according to the Illinois Corporation Search [1].

Tom Wilson, President of Wilson Brothers and former Lyon and Healy employee, invented an apparatus for building fretwire for instruments such as mandolins, ukuleles, guitars, and banjos. The "outstanding features" of the fretwire included barbs on both sides of the tang and a well formed crown. It was also hailed as being more efficient by creating more fretwire per pound of metal.

I began a search into the US Patents from that period and did find percussion related patents by Mr Wilson but nothing in the realm of fretwire.

1923 Music Trade Review [3]

1923 Presto [4]

Sources

[1] https://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/CorporateLlcController

[2] http://www.mugwumps.com/AmerInstMkr.html
[3]https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1923-76-20/35/
[4] https://presto.arcade-museum.com/PRESTO-1923-1921/21/