bowl-back identification help . . .

[snowdrop]

Hello this is my first post here and this is my first mandolin! I expect it is of little value, but I am interested in anything about its age, make origin etc. (even if it is a repro) I am in the uk so maybe it is European. There is no label and there are lots of MOP bits missing. there is a 20's looking ladies face inlaid into the scratch plate which also has some snowdrop flowers.I will clean it and hopefully learn to play it! I would love to know if anyone can offer me any help . . . :) here are some pictures. . .

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss38/mountain-snowdrop/main-smaller.jpg

http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/ss38/mountain-snowdrop/?action=view&current=main.jpg

http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/ss38/mountain-snowdrop/?action=view&current=pegs-back.jpg

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss38/mountain-snowdrop/back-neck.jpg

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss38/mountain-snowdrop/face-scratch.jpg

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss38/mountain-snowdrop/bowl-back.jpg

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss38/mountain-snowdrop/tail.jpg

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss38/mountain-snowdrop/pegs-front.jpg

[Capt. E]

While I cannot identify the maker of your little mandolin, it looks very much restorable. Recondition the hardware, get a bridge properly fitted (the diagonal mark on the top just below the tortise-shell guard shows where it was), put some light gauge strings on and it may be playable with relatively little work. Replacing the missing MOP shouldn't be too hard either. You might find a luthier to look at it and guide you on how to go about it all. Welcome to the wonderful world of mandolins.

[snowdrop]

thanks so much for the advice Capt.E - I'm really looking forward to getting the instrument into a decent state to play it. I know you said that you can't identify the maker, but do you think it is an old instrument or one that is new but a little worse for wear? I don't really mind how old it is or isn't, I would just like to know out of interest - the lady's face makes me think it's more of a repro from the 70' maybe? - is it a common thing to see a photo / image like that in an inlay? I have a little piece of MOP that I can use for the inlay repair. once again, thanks so much for the response!

[Capt. E]

I have never seen this exact decoration and I like the look of the lady, but from the look of the finish, I would say it is not a 70's reproduction. It looks old: 1920's or before. From your photos, I can see some small cracks and drying out of the wood where the neck joins the body, but I see no separation of the neck joint. I don't see any cracks in the top or separation of the ribs of the body. A very pretty mandolin that should be very playable.

[Martin Jonas]

It's probably Italian, and probably from the 1910s or early 1920s. Anonymous old Italian bowlbacks are not exactly rare in the UK. Most of them are junk, but there are a few good ones. Those can be identified by name recognition if there is a label, by characteristic appointments (although those were often imitated) or by listening to the tone if the instrument is playable. Yours doesn't have a label, isn't playable at the moment, and doesn't have any decoration elements that would be clearly attributable to any particular builder, so this is not much help. Altogether, I think it's unlikely that it's a particularly high quality instrument, but it may well be enjoyable if made playable. Don't expect it to have much monetary value -- even bowlbacks from wellknown good-quality makers have little value these days with few exceptions.

Martin

[snowdrop]

martin - thanks for the input :)

I have cleaned up the mandolin, painstakingly replaced the MOP, re-varnished the top and made a bridge out of ebony and put on some light strings and at the moment the tone is quite sweet and it's now vaguely playable - I will post up pictures at somepoint. For a cheap purchase in the first place, I'm quite pleased to have at least a playable instrument for now. I'm sure the set up I have could improve - I have never played the mandolin before, so, I'm sure I have comitted several cardinal sins - but I guess that's something I'll have to learn about ;)

[JeffD]

Well let me chime in without much expertise, though I am a cofirmed bowlhead.

I don't disagree with anything said above, except that I would add a healthy dollop of enthusiasm. That mandolin is a real beauty, and regardless of its monitary value, or whether the sound is killer or just ok, I would enjoy and play the potatoes out of that mandolin. Just the fun of playing it, showing it, wondering about who is pictured and why.

Its a great find and a lovely mandolin. Enjoy it. I certainly would.