Another What is it request

[CaptShip]

A friend of my wife dropped off the pictured instrument, she said it was a Uke, formerly belonging to her late father which she had recently discovered in a closet. She does not play and asked if I would clean it up and see what I can do with it.

My wife, the actually talented musician in our family, was suspicious of the Uke claim and researched a bit. We believe it is a mandolinetto possibly from the early 1900's. There is no label or any identification marks on the instrument.

It cleaned up rather nice, holds it's tune and sounds nice. The little thing projects some sound!

The issues beyond normal wear that I found were a slight area where the back and sides have separated, one of the tuning knobs has been crudely replaced, one of the tuners, 1st G, is kind of funky and the neck appears to have a very slight twist.

Any thoughts of origin or notion of value is greatly appreciated!

[bingoccc]

Other than the tail piece, it looks a lot like this Vernon. http://antebelluminstruments.blogspo...dolinetto.html

[Hendrik Ahrend]

Other than the tail piece, it looks a lot like this Vernon. http://antebelluminstruments.blogspo...dolinetto.html

Really looks like the Vernon. Both instruments have oak wood back& sides. I wonder how common was that.

[barney 59]

Oak bodied instruments were fairly common in the early 20th century and maybe late 19th century. I have run across quite a few parlor size guitars both American made and German made with oak backs and ribs, not many mandolins though.

[pfox14]

I believe that is a Taropatch, or basically an 8-string uke. They were somewhat of a novelty instrument and were never as popular as a regular uke.

[CaptShip]

Thanks to all for their replies. Agree the closest similar example is a Vernon would it be odd that the head stock metal tag be missing without any evidence of the securing pins? Curious to learn if the number of screws used to attach the tuners to the head stock vary by manufacturer? I see the Vernon model made for Bruno used 3 while the Lyon & Healy mandolinetto photos I've seen used 5. The one we have uses 5 or is it most likely manufacturer used whatever he had in the shop.

Also curious if the body sizes varied very much by manufacturer of the era and if anyone can confirm the Vernon model dimensions.

This one is 21 5/8 overall with a body of 10 1/2 by 7 11/16

On the taropatch suggestion - I originally thought the same but have not found an example with a similar tail piece and bridge arrangement which lead me to a mandolinetto - but I could have easily missed examples.

Further inspection of revealed a hairline crack on the back and the frets need some work.

Really appreciate everyone's comments as it is obvious I am a novice and can use all the help I can get!

[Jim Garber]

Taropatch, nah! It is a mandolinetto, small guitar-shaped mandolin. Meant to be steel-strung -- movable bridge, tailpiece and pickguard. Taropatches are concert ukes with fixed bridges, strung with gut or nylon and no pickguards (usually).

[journeybear]

Right - I was thinking the strings were a giveaway as to its nature. I'm assuming it came in with those on.

[pfox14]

Taropatch, nah! It is a mandolinetto, small guitar-shaped mandolin. Meant to be steel-strung -- movable bridge, tailpiece and pickguard. Taropatches are concert ukes with fixed bridges, strung with gut or nylon and no pickguards (usually).

Dammit Jim, I'm a surgeon not a mandolinetto expert.

[MikeEdgerton]

Oak backs and sides were in vogue for a short period of time. I'm not really sure the pickguard is original, or maybe I just wants to see some tortoise color there.

[Jim Garber]

Dammit Jim, I'm a surgeon not a mandolinetto expert.

Come on over, Paul. I will make you one of my famous mandolinetto cocktails.

[derbex]

Dammit Jim, I'm a surgeon not a mandolinetto expert.

I think that was from 'Star Trek VI -The Undiscovered Instrument'

I'll get my coat

[Jake Wildwood]

My favorite Q in this thread is about # of screws used for the tuner backplate. The answer is... this changed depending on tuner manufacturer used and is not a reliable indicator of maker.

I still don't know who made the Vernon and no... lack of or addition of an extra nameplate = nothing to think on. That's entirely a reseller/retailer thing and has no bearing on the maker (usually).

[MikeEdgerton]

Oh but if it were so easy to simply count the number of screws and know who made it. That would be a dream. As most manufacturers were probably at the mercy of their suppliers it would change anyway. "I need a dozen sets of tuners with 3 mounting holes". Supplier replies "I've only got them in stock with 5 holes, the 3 hole model will be in next January with our next shipment". I'm pretty sure they'd just adjust the process to take whatever they could get. There was no overnight air freight from Asia, New York, or California in those days.