1936 mandolin w/ violin scroll head. ivory binding, ivory tuners

[Frank Ford]

That's a cool old mandolin, for sure - reminds me of Martin style 20, and Lyon&Healy "A"

Bits of binding should be no problem - like the tuner buttons, it's ivory-grained celluloid, or "ivoroid." At fifty bucks, you got a good deal on the case, and the mandolin inside was a gift. . .

[Earl Kayoss]

Thx Frank.

you dunno how much i cant wait to see it all spruced up and hear it play.
i dont think the buttons are celluloid, the binding... maybe.
but, i am sure the shop in Brooklyn
will know all the components.

i am hoping that part of what they'll do for me is gimme a spec. sheet on this mandolin that
describes all the parts and the woods and the dimensions and all,
i'd love to know the minutia.

and i guess the best time to get an est. on its value is when its all spruced up.
this may take a few weeks but, i am looking forward to taking care of this instrument, it'll be fun to watch the process unfold.

- e

[Earl Kayoss]

well, its Monday.
I'll call Retrofret today and let you know what they have to say about the Mango.

- e

[BradKlein]

Hey Earl, I expect that they will ask you to make an appointment to bring it in for an estimate on condition and repairs. Remember, they are a busy shop who work hard to pay the rent - they're not a public reference library or a charitable service . They do appraisals, repairs and sales for a living.

But the good news is you're sure to enjoy a visit if you haven't been there before, and they've always been generous sharing their knowledge with me.

[Earl Kayoss]

Understood, Brad and I cant thank you enuff, you, sir, were a tremendous, tremendous help to me here. Greatly appreciated.

they open at 12 noon, close 7pm, maybe they can take it in tomorrow?
I'd shoot there straight from work, I get off at 3pm, they are apprx. 40 mins. west of me.

man, I'd give a limb to take a walk around that shop.
this is all pretty exciting to me. learning about mandolins from scratch.

I am 100% getting the Mango spruced up.
I need the 2 inches of binding and... the 5" crack looked after.
its not a contact wound, just from being dry so,
I have my fingers crossed that I can afford the work.
I work in a bait shop so...
I aint a rich man.
Just for the sake of the instrument, I hope my finances allow for the repairs and I need to get the sunfish done too.
Unfortunately, I caused the sunfish some damage just mucking about with it.

does anyone care to wager a guess on value of the mango?
i been lookin' on the web and ...
I see "boutique" old mando's going for $1500-$3k.
and none of those look as impressive as the Mango.

But, in the end, my own personal guess would be: $500 for the Mango + its oroginal case.
Do you folks think $500 is in the ballpark?

- e

[Ed Goist]

[B]...snip...
But, in the end, my own personal guess would be: $500 for the Mango + its oroginal case.
Do you folks think $500 is in the ballpark?
- e

No way. Do not sell it for that little.
If you posted that mandolin + case on the Cafe Classifieds for $500 it would not last 30 minutes.
I don't know how much it's worth, but I do know it's worth considerably more than $500.

[Earl Kayoss]

Thx Ed.
Its my intention to fix/keep.
its the cost of repairs that'll decide what I do but so far,this forum has basically said repairs shouldnt cost an exorbitant amount of $$$. I sincerely hope thats true.
i will call retro in less than 1 hr. when they open.
i was hoping folks might have fun and just guess at what its worth.
i spent time searching the web for old/boutique mando's and this mango seems rather nice compared to some i saw that were asking for decent coin.

but then again,
there's noone on this planet that can be more in the dark on mandolins then myself so, i am at a loss here with this.

thats y i appreciate all you kind folks being of such great assistance to me here.

- e

[MikeEdgerton]

A guess at what it's worth would be just that, a guess. Without another example on the market there isn't a market value. Beyond that if you found someone that was collecting this builder they would obviously be interested in obtaining it. Unfortunately when it comes to mandolins being well built and rare doesn't always equate to a higher value. Basically it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. That being said put it on eBay with a low starting bid and a ridiculously high reserve. You'll find out what someone is willing to pay for it that way.

[Ed Goist]

No problem Earl. However, as I said, I really don't know much about the value of mandolins. I was speaking only from the ill-informed position of what I'd consider spending for any instrument like that one.

So, you should definitely have someone who knows their stuff look at the instrument before you either put money into fixing it, or selling it. I'd hate to have you put hundreds into it to repair it based on what I said, only to find out later it's worth much less than expected.

[Earl Kayoss]

THX GUYS , AGAIN...
SELLING IS FAR FROM MY INTENT AND DESIRE.
FIXING IS MY INTENT AND DESIRE.

BUT, AND CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG HERE...
MY CURIOSITY (OOOOPS, SORRY 'BOUT CAPS, i am at work and forget caps is on.)
correct me if i am wrong but...
i think my curiosity as to value is to be expected, nothing weird, just your avg. normal curiosity.
i'm not trying to ascertain value to sell it,
just to edify my knowledge in general, thats all.
i am quite fond of it and hope to fix her up,
just because i care about instruments in general, like little wayward children, they are to me.
i just think we should be kind to them.

ooooooooooooooh!!!! its 12 noon, lets call retrofret!
pretty exciting for me now.

- e

[BradKlein]

Some instruments are such oddballs, that even if they are wonderful oddballs, they are VERY hard to appraise. Lot's of folks here at the Cafe, pros and amateurs can estimate a value on a Gibson or Martin or Epiphone, etc, because tens of thousands were made and hundreds are bought and sold each week. But the two instruments you've posted recently are VERY unusual and even a seasoned pro can only make a guess as to what they might sell for. They won't make you rich, but they would sell for somewhere between a few hundred and a couple thousand dollars. You won't know for sure unless you try to sell them - but a pro appraisal from a top notch dealer will give you an idea.

[mrmando]

Provided that the Mango has the sound to compete with the instruments it's trying to copy (L&H Style A, Martin Style 20), I see no reason to think it shouldn't be worth $2–3K. But since it's by an obscure maker, it's all down to the sound. Someone would have to play this and fall in love with it in order to pay that much.

There was another guy who worked for Raphael Ciani and then went on to make his own guitars & mandolins (some of which were also L&H-inspired) and did quite well for himself...

[Earl Kayoss]

Thx again Brad. You're a good man.

I did speak with George at Retro.
he was a very very nice man and a pleasure to speak to.

he said...
he is not the one to speak with at Retro in regard to the Mango.
He says his associate Peter is the man.
Peter will not be in til tomorrow.
And I gotta speak to Peter or another associate over there about arranging to have the mando brought in to them...
and repaired.
he said expect a 2 week turnaround time on repairs but, he said i cant hold him to that w/o them having the beast in hand.
he also said...
no way he's giving me an estimate on value w/o having it in hand.
he did say its an incredibly rare mandolin and
I emailed him and Peter a link to this thread
so that they can have an initial look at it that way... on the web.

all that said...
i gotta call back tomorrow at noon when Peter arrives and go from there.
Great!!! More suspense for me!!!
Oh well, its this stage of the game that makes it all fun and worthwhile in the end.

I agree ebay is one way to sorta get an idea of value.
However, I can already tell that Retro are top-notch guys and if they give me a figure, I'd be comfortable with what they say.

keep in mind tho, I've never once said I had any intention of selling,
its merely normal curiosity to wanna know the est. value of something you own and know little about...
i think its normal anyways.

- e

[Earl Kayoss]

Thx for your input there mrmando.
appreciated.
even in its current state, with 76 yr. old strings and some missing,
i can tell you that its loud and resonates really well.
one would think that new strings and a sprucing up will
amplify its admirable sound characteristics and playabilty.

- e

[mrmando]

Earl, if you can afford to keep it, play it and love it, that's likely to be the best way to go. I hope the repair doesn't set you back too much ... it could easily be more than you paid for the mandolin! Since you have two unusual mandolins there, and you've told us you have limited means, here's something to consider: Take both mandolins in and get an appraisal on the sunfish as well as a repair estimate on the Mango. If the repair turns out to be more than you can pay for, you can see if they'll take the sunfish in payment.

[Earl Kayoss]

I just got a call back from Retro.
I have an appointment to bring it in there
July 7th.
so that is a date i am really looking forward to.

I also now have an estimated value based on
what they have seen and know about the condition of the mandolin.
keep in mind though,
it dont count until they have it in their hands.
right now, estimated value: $5,000-$5,500.

what do you guys think about that?

-e

[nobullmando74]

[Earl Kayoss]

r.a. mango guitars evidently go for between $10k and $15k.
'twoud be nice to trip over one of those whilst wandering about a cluttered antique store.
'twould also be nice to trip over a Loar signature as well, evidently.

i think there's a bit more to this mango mando, in that,
its a little piece of NY history too.

-e

[mrmando]

Well, with an estimate like that, it should be worth the wait!

I think you have "the touch," Earl. Between now and July 7 you should occupy yourself with more visits to out-of-the-way antique shops.

[Earl Kayoss]

i bought a guitar last september (i think) for $800.
I sold it for $6k less than a yr. later.
that was nice but...
i kinds know what i'm doing with guitars.
i do know a bit about them but i am certainly not an expert.
of the 6 billion folks on earth, i know the least about mandolins, i assure you.

these 3 mandolins have been complete happenstance.
but...
with the exception...
that you guys on this forum helped me.
it was this forums estimate of $160-$200 value on the sunfish that had me think...
"if the sunfish is worth $200, this "RAMANGO" (remember)
has got to be worth more than $200."

so, huge thx to Mandolin Cafe and all the kind folks here, you guys certainly contributed to the purchase of the mango and
certainly pointed me in the best direction possible when you suggested Rerofret.
the call back i got from Retro was not from george, it was from one of his associates there.
I was surprised to receive that call and they seem fairly excited about the mango, so, thats nice.

- e

[Earl Kayoss]

Retro tells me today 6.5.12 that i may have mis-heard the value estimate and it should be: $3500-$5000.
sorry. my bad, evidently.

- e

[Rick Lindstrom]

[Earl Kayoss]

<Post removed by moderator. Please confine selling to the classifieds>

[Bill Snyder]

Earl, selling is confined to the classifieds so when you get it back you will need to post your ad there. It is free.

[MikeEdgerton]

I'd also consider consigning that to the shop doing the repairs. I think their estimates of the value are pretty generous. They might have contact with somebody collecting this builder. I'd be surprised if it got that much here or on eBay.