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Thread: Bowlbacks of Note

  1. #5176
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    In al fairness, the buyer does have a particular reputation there on maestronet. I suspect it's well-earned. Certainly an amusing thread.

  2. #5177
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    What does that mean: "a particular reputation"? I wonder if they are saying the same thing about me... or, for that matter, about you?

    I suppose it is like coming into a party or a play already in progress... we are not sure who the players are or what they represent. Interesting...
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  3. #5178
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    I just reread the thread with the current additions. I think the OP is a real character... I see what you mean, Bob.

    A couple of interesting comments:
    Ive seen a few Calace violins and wasnt too impressed ,they looked very personalistic and rather odd,i think he should have stuck to making mandolins and guitars.Certainly not much resemblance to other half decent Naples makers like Pistucci,Bellarosa ,Contino,etc..Apart from maybe the very flat edge /corner work
    I can't comment on this particular instrument but I can say that Woodcock certificates were and are a joke. I was one of his victims as a naive student back in the sixties when I bought what was supposed to be a Gagliano from him. Every genuine expert who saw it laughed and warned me about his notoriety in the violin world even then. I learned a hard and expensive lesson.
    and funniest...
    It says in the eBay listing that the neck has been replaced.
    I think that the body was also replaced at some stage.
    Jim

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  4. #5179

    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    At some point in life, I, too, would like to have my neck replaced, followed of course by a full-body replacement, as well.

    Cheers,

    Victor
    It is not man that lives but his work. (Ioannis Kapodistrias)

  5. #5180
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Ah shoot Victor, you beat me to it again! :-)

    I just *love* the body replacement comment. Kinda reminds me of my great-grandfather's original wood axe that was handed down to me. The handle's been replaced once or twice, and it has a new head, but I treasure it dearly... :-)

    The violin world is full of interesting stories. I was instantly curious about someone placing a label in an instrument that presumably stated an attribution. I haven't heard that one before.

    Eric
    "The effect is pretty at first... It is disquieting to find that there are nineteen people in England who can play the mandolin; and I sincerely hope the number may not increase."

    - George Bernard Shaw, Times of London, December 12, 1893

  6. #5181
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Yeah, well, Jim, it's a bit of an insular group there, who've played together for years. I seldom get any comment on my meager postings, but I enjoy intruding my presence anyway. They had a huge thread there several months ago, where all the lurkers and the ignored were invited to chime in and express their angst over their situation.

    Lyndon is rather over the top. As Archie Goodwin once wrote of the relationship between himself and his boss "I'm strong-minded; he's pig-headed".

    All that being said, there are some posters on the site who are very well qualified in their respective fields. It can be quite informative.

  7. #5182
    Registered User Tavy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    There's a stunning looking Calace on eBay UK

    Of course it has a stunning price to go with it!
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  8. #5183
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    The Calace is up there in price because it is second from the top of the line, a 16bis. The seller is pretty active on eBay and seems to know his stuff.
    Jim

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  9. #5184

    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    "Are D-soundholes sour grapes?" I ask myself; as I cannot afford hired therapists, the question will remain unanswered.

    Good luck to the eventual buyer!

    Cheers,

    Victor
    It is not man that lives but his work. (Ioannis Kapodistrias)

  10. #5185

    Default Re: Dr. Seuss's mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Halsey View Post
    This Vega instrument came to me for replacement of several missing segments of the pearl and ebony edge trim. It apparently once belonged to Theodore Geisel, the well-known children's author.

    Its owner has kindly supplied the following information, and gave permission to post photos of it here.

    The known facts are as follows:

    1. It came from his hometown - Springfield, MA
    2. It is signed by M.C. Geisel - his sister's initials were M.C.
    3. The name "Ted" appears inside the cover of the original case
    4. He did play mandolin in his high school mandolin club


    The original leather case, with the name "Ted" inside the cover:

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    The instrument is in near-pristine condition:

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    The stamp of Geisel's sister's name on the reverse of the headstock:

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    In researching the provenance of this mandolin, the owner had contacted the Springfield library in hopes that a high school yearbook might yield a photo of Geisel with his instrument, with the mandolin club. Unfortunately (likely due to Geisel's distinction), the yearbook had long since gone missing from the library.
    Hmm, I can't remember the name of the Dr. Seuss biography I read, but it think I remember it saying he was in the Dartmouth University mandolin club, not high school. Someone close to Dartmouth should check their early-'20s yearbooks and school papers.

  11. #5186
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    A lot of foxing on the Calace label for something from 1962. Fretboard extends across soundhole but frets stop at 19? The signature looks like the old Raffaele's, but I confess to not digging my mando up for comparison. (Granddaughter sleeping on my shoulder; best to let sleeping kids lie).

  12. #5187

    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Quote Originally Posted by Bob A View Post
    (Granddaughter sleeping on my shoulder; best to let sleeping kids lie).
    Wisely spoken, my friend!

    *shhhhhhhhhh*

    Victor
    It is not man that lives but his work. (Ioannis Kapodistrias)

  13. #5188
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Hi Bob,

    For a moment I wondered if that "6" was a "1" with a spurious loop... but I don't believe it is. I'm no Calace expert, but I did a quick compare with my 1913 Calace, and while the signature is almost identical, the label overall most definitely resembles those from the 60s. By then the label was likely a printed (rather than signed) affair. Still, Sr. Calace must have been very consistent with his signature, as the printed version is a dead ringer for the hand-signed label in my instrument... right down to little details.

    Jim posted some 60s Calace labels in another thread and they are identical to this one, being all in blue ink with the "Anno____" line included.

    Still... its a lovely instrument in seemingly rather wonderful condition.... if you can get over that sound-hole thing... :-) It also lacks the "sound ports"... or what ever they are called that frequently are found just above the bridge on earlier models.

    Best,

    Eric
    "The effect is pretty at first... It is disquieting to find that there are nineteen people in England who can play the mandolin; and I sincerely hope the number may not increase."

    - George Bernard Shaw, Times of London, December 12, 1893

  14. #5189
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    I secretly harbor the belief that the sound hole ports are meant to produce a column of sound which, interrupted by the oscillating wrist of the mandolinist, will produce a subtle sonic effect, not unlike that which would occur if the wrist were moving over the actual soundhole. Whether this was the original intent is at present not known, and may never be known.

    Needless to say, such blue-sky speculation is not something a reasonable person would promulgate in a public forum, but this is the internet, where repetition creates reality. And of course I hold this belief secretly. At least until something better comes along. Actually, it sounds rather 1920s GibSonic, if you've read the catalogs of the era.

  15. #5190
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    A laudable and interesting theory... however, I posit my own. Clearly the "ports" are meant to vent the hot combustion gases produced by an over-exuberant tremolo, most often created when playing dramatic Calace scores. By the 1960s, Calace's music had fallen out of favor, so the ports were sadly no longer needed...

    "The effect is pretty at first... It is disquieting to find that there are nineteen people in England who can play the mandolin; and I sincerely hope the number may not increase."

    - George Bernard Shaw, Times of London, December 12, 1893

  16. #5191
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    A whole new meaning to "blistering tremolo".

  17. #5192

    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    A... portly gentleman, member of the Boston Symphony way back when, used to fill his double bass with cigar smoke backstage, then rush onstage and promptly tear into some frantic passage from Wagner or something— whereupon smoke would begin to ooze out of the F-holes, much to the terror and amazement of all those in attendance.

    Never saw such an effect on mandolin, although of course it would be possible. The aftereffect-stench, however, should advise against the idea.

    Cheers,

    Victor
    It is not man that lives but his work. (Ioannis Kapodistrias)

  18. #5193
    Registered User Tavy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Quote Originally Posted by vkioulaphides View Post
    A... portly gentleman, member of the Boston Symphony way back when, used to fill his double bass with cigar smoke backstage, then rush onstage and promptly tear into some frantic passage from Wagner or something— whereupon smoke would begin to ooze out of the F-holes, much to the terror and amazement of all those in attendance.
    Brilliant!

    Best laugh I've had all morning, John

  19. #5194

    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    It was quite a sight... The gentleman in question, Leslie Martin (affectionately nicknamed "Tiny" Martin by his colleagues) was, ah... anything but: standing at well over six feet, weighing... *ahem*... charitably something around 300 lbs, and playing an oversized double bass to boot, he was, oh... QUITE a sight to behold: jolly, red-faced, with a visible snicker, and that horrid cigar-smoke nebula emanating from the instrument's F-holes, while he scrambled through those frantic blurs of notes from The Ride of the Valkyries, or Also Sprach Zarathustra...

    Cheers,

    Victor
    It is not man that lives but his work. (Ioannis Kapodistrias)

  20. #5195
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Did anyone notice the reference to a Calace lyre mandolin in the vintage section?

    http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...-Lyre-Mandolin

  21. #5196
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Quote Originally Posted by Bob A View Post
    Did anyone notice the reference to a Calace lyre mandolin in the vintage section?

    http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...-Lyre-Mandolin
    I have now, wow, I'd love to own one of those for about 5 minutes just so I could show it off to some friends... after that I fear practicality would render it less useful than one might wish! ;-)

  22. #5197
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    They're lovely things, though I've never seen one in person. Is it true the rods connecting the "horns" to the peghead were made of aluminum, then regarded as virtually a precious metal?

  23. #5198
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    3 photos of my Raffaele Valente Roman mandolin. Not exactly sure of the age I'm guessing about, say, April 5th 1898 (2.48pm)................. well about that year anyway judging by the Embergher elements coupled with Vinaccia style pickguard. I'm sure you guys can give me a much better steer on that...
    It has a slightly radiused fingerboard thicker on the bass side and canted to the treble with sloping bridge to match. Fingerboard appears to be semi floating over the top.

    Only problem is it sounds quiet and a little tinny to my ear - not as loud as Emberghers I've played. But it is very priddy ain't it?
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  24. #5199
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Marc: Check the bridge position and seating. I can't quite tell but it looks like it is positioned across the cant. It also does not look exactly like a Roman bridge either. Have more pics... I have nothing on the maker. I do have two examples by Pietro Valente and the labels say "successor to Raffaele".
    Jim

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  25. #5200
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    Default Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    I've always thought the opening scene in "Wings of Desire" was one of the best ever: Peter Falk flying in der himmel uber Berlin musing in his NYC-cum-Proustian manner on the delight of cities and their place-names. Coming from him, "Trieste" sounds as exotic as "Abilene" or "Bamako". I've never been there, and may be romanticizing it. Fernando del Perugia certainly fans the flame with his labels (if not his mandolins.)

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_500wt_1156

    What was a Fernando del Perugia doing in Trieste? It's like a Calvino story waiting to be written.

    Mick
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