From the National Air and Space Museum, in the Wright Brothers exhibit in D.C. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
From the National Air and Space Museum, in the Wright Brothers exhibit in D.C. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Photos of this mandolin were previously posted in this thread, but they were not as clear.
Bill Snyder
No kidding.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
"He sits around and picks that thing until I can hardly stay in the house."
- Katharine Wright
Nice spousal support! Just goes to prove the old saying, "Behind every great man, there is a good woman...holding him back!" She probably tried to discourage that "aeroplane thing" he was working on also!
Come to find out, Katherine was his sister. I'm not sure either of the Wright boys ever married. Sounds like a good case of sibling rivalry though!
Lynn
Lynn, when are you going to make the Dude replica of the Orv mandolin?
Jim
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
I haven't seen chenilled strings in a long time. Can you still get them, or are those strings that old?
John Hamlett
www.hamlettinstruments.com
OMGosh - thats my mandolin!
Well almost - the fretboard overhang is different - which possibly explains why I am not an aeronautical genius.
Mine is a Washburn - someone told me between 1897 and 1905.
The picture of Orville's mando is a Washburn as well... made by Lyon & Healy.Originally Posted by (JeffD @ April 28 2007, 16:14)
"... beauty is not found in the excessive but what is lean and spare and subtle" - Terry Tempest Williams
Orville's looks like a somewhat older model possibly a model 122, pre-1900. Jeff's has extended fretboard and more elaborate binding.
Jim
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
Do you think Orville played that mandolin the wright way?
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
I would love to get one of those for $33.75!
The letter hints that Orville may have been somewhat passionate about the mandolin. That is pretty cool.
I wonder if anyone has compiled a list of historically significant and fameous people who also played mandolin (i.e. they aren't fameous FOR playing the mandolin.)
I didn't pay that much more for the last Washburn bowlback I bought a few years ago. It would be interesting to find out how much 33.75 equates to in today's dollars.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
You won't believe your eyes.
Edit: this link takes you to an inflation calculator. It won't display the calculation page I arrived at, but if you click on "try again" and enter 33.75, 1900 and 2006, you will be surprised, I believe.
"I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is."~John Mellencamp
"Theory only seems like rocket science when you don't know it. Once you understand it, it's more like plumbing!"~John McGann
"IT'S T-R-E-M-O-L-O, dangit!!"~Me
Actually I am. $788.00, basically the cost of a decent entry level pacrim instrument. I wonder what the Martin's cost with the same trim level.
I'm sure Jim Garber has a catalog someplace.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Interesting. The lower Martin styles around 1900 pricewise would be #2 at $30 and #3 at $35. I would say, in general, those were better quality and slightly more ornate mandolins than the Washburn tho they were definitely in competition. I got these prices from Mike Longworth's Martin book (based on Martin's exact recordkeeping).
Jim
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
There is a mandolin up on ebay that looks to be a #122, similar to Orville's, for under $250, though not in new condition.
I don't know how to post a link to it, but it is item number: 230123167428.
It is really neat that through the shared passion of mandolins we can "connect" with history.
Further confirmation, it is a #122! Woo hoo!
Interesting, they started out at basically the same price. I would have expected a difference even then. There is certainly a price difference now.Originally Posted by
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
[Quote] I wonder if anyone has compiled a list of historically significant and fameous people who also played mandolin (i.e. they aren't fameous FOR playing the mandolin.)
I understand Patrick Henry played the mandolin.
douglas austin
Not for nothin, but: We ARE talking about THE "Orville Wright" of airplane fame, correct?
-Soupy1957
Breedlove Crossover FF SB
“The weather was so bad even my iPhone was shaking!”
-SDC
Good God, I think Mrs. Wright was reincarnated as my wife!Originally Posted by
"The problem with quotes on the internet, is everybody has one, and most of them are wrong."
~ Mark Twain
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