Harwood mandolins and guitars

[oldwood]

Hi friends, I have really enjoyed reading this Harwood thread and thanks especially to Bob Jenkins (KanMando) for starting the thread and providing some great background information on Harwood instruments. It was great to read the Jenkins' Harwood catelog posted on-line. I was looking at it yesterday and it has helped me identify my Harwood guitars - I have what I believe is a Standard 1 parlor Harwood guitar from what I was told was circa 1900 (serial number about: 18150). I have a second Harwood parlor that appears to be a version of the Standard 5/6 Concert model that dates to near 1920. I will try posting pictures of both guitars here in the next week and we can discuss further. I do notice very few ads for Harwood parlors versus others like Washburn, so Harwoor parlors appear to be relatively rare and hard to find. The workmanship is high quality.

[brunello97]

Hi friends, I have really enjoyed reading this Harwood thread and thanks especially to Bob Jenkins (KanMando) for starting the thread and providing some great background information on Harwood instruments. It was great to read the Jenkins' Harwood catelog posted on-line. I was looking at it yesterday and it has helped me identify my Harwood guitars - I have what I believe is a Standard 1 parlor Harwood guitar from what I was told was circa 1900 (serial number about: 18150). I have a second Harwood parlor that appears to be a version of the Standard 5/6 Concert model that dates to near 1920. I will try posting pictures of both guitars here in the next week and we can discuss further. I do notice very few ads for Harwood parlors versus others like Washburn, so Harwoor parlors appear to be relatively rare and hard to find. The workmanship is high quality.

Awesome, oldwood. I look forward to seeing pictures of your guitars. I don't play guitar often but I really do like 'parlor' guitars....

Mick

[KanMando]

"It looks ribbed to me. I can see glue lines spaced out regularly. The mahogany used just matches up well to the piece to its side.
Bill Snyder"

"Yeah, Bill, mine is certainly 'ribbed' in its construction (as this most recent ebay Harwood bowlback is.) In some lighting it almost does appear solid though, as you said, the mahogany grain blends. I'm impressed with how stable it is, given how many cracks or separations I've come to expect in RW bowls.

Not exactly sure what Bob was referring to when he said 'unribbed' but I guessed maybe alternating rib material or linings or something. A solid carved out mahogany bowl would be something. Something kind of weird, for one.

Mick"

I'm certainly no expert on bowlback mandolin construction. I just took another look at the photos and I agree it could have ribs, but take a look at this photo where the bowl constricts at the neck junction. I would expect to see some distinct joint lines here.
If not, I agree with Bill that the grains were lined up extremely well. I have personally inspected a low end Harwood here in Kansas City that most definitely had an un-ribbed bowl. It reminded me of an Ovation guitar. The bowl was very thin and the mandolin was much lighter weight than my ribbed Harwoods. Maybe someone knows whether it is possible to heat, steam, and press a thin piece of mahogany into a bowl shape.

Bob

[Bill Snyder]

I still see the ribs.

[brunello97]

I hear you, Bob. I'm looking at my mahogany bowl Harwood right now and it almost looks as if it was machined not built up of ribs / staves. But on close inspection I can find the joints. The joints are a bit more visible on the inside of the bowl than on the finished outside. It too, is featherweight.

Man, we're so spoiled by all this beautiful rosewood that we can sniff at that low end mahogany!

I'll admit I've yet to string mine up. The top has a couple cracks that need attention and it is missing the tuner plate cover. It needs a nut and bridge (which are easy enough to make.) I should get after it this summer.

A mahogany bowl? Whose idea was that? (Particularly when maple was a plentiful option...) Part of the reason I love these Harwoods.

Mick

[KanMando]

Mick - the un-ribbed Harwood that I inspected had a fabric liner inside the bowl. I'm guessing that it was used to reinforce the bowl.

Bob

[oldwood]

Sorry for asking something that may have been discussed here previously, but how does the sound of the Harwood mandolins compare with other mandolins of the same period? As far as the sound quality for Harwood parlor guitars, my Harwood (standard 1?) really sounds exceptional imo - not a big sound, starts our bright but morphs into an ancient mello sound on the sustain. Love that old wood sound! The smell with nose to sound hole is also ancient wood! I tried to upload a few cut and paste photos here the other day but realize I need to to upload jpg files instead. Should have some photos up by next week. Jim

[KanMando]

Bill Graham describes the sound well in this Mandolin Cafe column from a few years back. Bill plays his Harwoods on a semi-regular basis, as do I, and I think we agree that they are fine sounding instruments. Here's a link to the article:
http://www.mandolincafe.com/news/pub...s_001032.shtml

Bob

[brunello97]

A fairly fancy Harwood Bowlback on the ebay this morning. Very nice detailing on the top and inlay on the headstock. No SN it seems.

Mick

[KanMando]

This appears to be a No. 60. I don't know where the seller got the 1889 date.


Bob

[KanMando]

I took a closer look at the Harwood in post #234. It is not a No. 60 as it has 24 ribs, not 21 as described in the catalog. Also, the ribs all appear to be rosewood, not mahogany and rosewood. This puts it somewhere between a No. 60 and a No. 65 which had 28 rosewood ribs. So, the trend continues. We have not seen a single Harwood - guitar or mandolin - that exactly conforms to the ones shown in the catalog, and we have never seen two Harwoods that are exactly alike.

[brunello97]

....So, the trend continues. We have not seen a single Harwood - guitar or mandolin - that exactly conforms to the ones shown in the catalog, and we have never seen two Harwoods that are exactly alike.

Mick

[brunello97]

It's been awhile since a Harwood has turned up so this one is welcome even if it is in pretty rough shape.

Appears to keep the 'no two alike' streak going.

Mick

[brunello97]

A nice looking Harwood bowlback on Ebay this morning, albeit in need of some repair. Features the same mahogany bowl and headstock profile as mine, and without the "Harwood" headstock inlay. It has much more interesting neck to head joint as well as a nice termination to the fretboard. SN is 24558.

I am up to 15 Harwoods in my file and, still, no two of them are alike.

Mick

[Gregg Miner]

Hello all. I'm preparing a new Harwood update (I really need to do a whole rewrite, but who has time?!) - and wonder if anyone has heard who might have snagged the last two recent eBay Jenkins catalogs? One was c.1916, the other c.1907. I have a limited budget for research materials and they went pretty high. I was hoping for scans from a couple pages, and as is typical, I never seem to see research emanate from these things.
Meanwhile, in case Harwood geeks missed this blog...though this discovery was harp guitar-specific, it was one of the most mind-blowing I've yet come across: http://harpguitars.net/blog/2014/01/...arp-guitarist/
Plus a couple more new specimens presented here: http://harpguitars.net/blog/2014/01/...uitar-updates/
Best,
g

[Gregg Miner]

Hey all. I located the 1907/1908 catalog and got the pages I wanted from my very generous friend Lynn Wheelwright.
So here's the new beast: http://harpguitars.net/blog/2015/01/...d-lyre-thingy/
I also started on a complete rewrite of my Harwood article. If anyone has new historical info or thoughts, please contact me privately.
Best,
g

[delsbrother]

Gregg, Lester Payne is also in Redlands, CA in the 1890s.

[arlotone]

I just purchased a Washington parlor guitar from a private seller here in Portland, Oregon. It had been recently restored by Kerry Char. It looks great and really sings when I fingerpick ragtime songs on it.

I read this entire, epic thread to learn what I could about it. It looks very much like the "No. 601" in the 1895 catalog that Bob Jenkins posted. There is no logo on the headstock and no number stamped anywhere, but that same "tomahawk" logo is printed on the inside of the sound hole and on the neck block. I noticed that other photos of Washington guitars, as in posts 191 and 192 above, use a different logo printed on the headstock. Is this a clue that those guitars are from a later date range?

My guitar has what could be a serial number printed in ink, directly on the wood inside the soundhole, but it is so badly faded that I can't make out any of it. I tried adjusting levels in Photoshop, but had no luck. Maybe someone else can get something from this.

One difference I see from the 1895 catalog image is my headstock is taller, with an extra inch or so of wood extending past the tuners. The guitar pictured in post 160 above has the shorter headstock as in the catalog, but it has six individual tuners compared to two sets of three like mine and the catalog image both have.

I also noticed, but don't think anyone has mentioned, that the 1897 newspaper ad in post 112 shows the following hierarchy of brands, from top to bottom: Harwood, Washington, Clifford, Royal.

The seller guessed this guitar was manufactured by Washburn because of the similarity of the internal bracing. I could try photographing the interior if anyone would like to follow up on that.

[arlotone]

A couple more thoughts about this Washington guitar:

- The 1895 catalog says, "Every genuine Washington guitar or mandolin is stamped with trademark 'hatchet' and our name 'J. W. Jenkins Sons.' Look for it; we make them." It seems like one of the big questions here is whether or not Jenkins actually built these instruments. Does anyone read that as a literal and accurate statement that they built the Washington instruments themselves?

- I thought the "hatchet" logo was a reference to Washington state, which might have been associated with Native Americans at the time these were made. But my bandmate thought it was a reference to George Washington and his childhood hatchet. Others have suggested the brand was named after a small town near Kansas City or New York (I'm guessing there's a town named Washington in almost every state), but that wouldn't explain the hatchet.

[hudbutter]

Here is a guitar I found at a yard sale for $10. I put $500 into it and I love it. I think it's a Harwood.

[brunello97]

Another Harwood bowlback mandolin is up for sale on the ebay. My files are now at 17 examples without any two being matches.

The headstock looks a bit odd as if there were some damage and removal of material. Hard to say for sure. Harwood used a number of different headstock profiles, including their classic (Mannerist actually) broken pediment style--which I do quite like.

Mick

[brunello97]

Another Harwood bowlback mandolin is up for sale on the ebay. My files are now at 17 examples without any two being matches.

The headstock looks a bit odd as if there were some damage and removal of material. Hard to say for sure. Harwood used a number of different headstock profiles, including their classic (Mannerist actually) broken pediment style--which I do quite like.

Mick

Oh, I forgot the link to this most recent Harwood on the ebay.

Mick

[oldwood]

Gregg, thanks for posting - I own what are I beleive the same two Harwood models that you posted in your original Harwood article in Frettboard Journal. Love them! I will try contacting you at some point with some additional thoughts on your planned update. Given their scarcity at auction, it doesn't seem there are many of the old Harwood guitars around anymore - yet it looks like there could have been as many as 40,000 or more produced back in the day. Obviously, one sees plenty of Washburns on the market - but sadly few Harwoods?

hudbutter, nice looking guitar you posted - and it looks similar to a Harwood. I don't know if Harwood ever produced guitars without the "Harwood" bone marker at the base of the frettboard? Also, does your guitar have a serial number stamped on the top of the headstock? Best, oldwood

[Cethera]

Here’a a link to photos of my Harwood parlor guitar, serial number

6 / 7263

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9282989&type=3

I bought this guitar from a friend in Paris.

[brunello97]

Another Harwood on the ebay. And again no match for any of the other 17 in my files.

This one appears to be in pretty good shape. SN 7668 w the Harwood / New York stamp on the back of the headstock.

Mick