racuda
Aug-11-2004, 3:49pm
Oscar Schmidt? Lyon and Healy? You can't tell in this photo but it has multi-color wood inlay purfling and rosette
http://i9.ebayimg.com/03/i/02/3d/f4/ce_1.JPG
8ch(pl)
Aug-12-2004, 2:55am
Probably Regal, but your 2 suggestions and Harmony are also possible. It looks like a nice one.
Unseen122
Aug-12-2004, 6:29am
Looks a little like an old Martin but definatly not.
sonnyjammer
Aug-12-2004, 2:37pm
I have a close twin to this one with the cool wood purfling. Gruhn said it was from the 1920's sold in the Sears catalog I think. I too have often wondered who made these.
PlayerOf8
Aug-16-2004, 4:14am
REGAL. I have her twin sister hanging around my shoulder as we speak.
George
TommyK
Aug-17-2004, 6:01am
If it was sold by Sears, its a Harmony. Sears, at one time owned Harmony. There's a Harmony web-site hosted by, I think, Broadway Music, (KS?). Just google Harmony guitar and you'll find it.
Harmony Guitars have quite a cult following. God knows there are plenty of them and most are bullet proof. In it's hey day 30's - 60's Harmony was responsible for building fully half of all guitars world wide... All in Chicago. They also made Ukes, Mandoes, Banjos and the like. While Broadway's site is primarily guitars (as was Harmony's production), they do have pics and serial number information of other instruments. Being the 500 pound gorilla in that industry, they bought up a lot of names that have since gone by the wayside. Some of the names are still with us as model names. Oscar Schmidt, Stella, Broadway, Airline and many more. Regal could be one of those names. When folk guitar took off in the 60's and 70's Harmony couldn't keep up with demand and made the executive decision not to expand their production. The Pac Rim tooled up to fill the void and the rest, as they say, is history.
When Harmony sold out, the tooling ended up over seas. Today's Yamahas and / or Epiphones,etc. (this is a guess), may be made on that same machinery. I'm guessing they sold some of the names as well. I think Chicago Music Instruments (CMI) and / or Gibson figures into this some how. There is a group of old Harmony employees, I think, that are resurecting some of the Harmony names. Silvertone is one of them.
Good luck researching the predigree of that fine looking mando http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif