Help me identify this old 12string

[mandoswe]

Hello all fellow mandolin enthusiasts!

I got this little beauty as a gift, and neither me nor the giftgiver has any idea what make this is, and i cant for the life of me find anything in regards to a serial #.

When googling around i found this place, and figured id ask if maybe one of you can shed some light on this interesting piece.

I put the photos up on my own server and attached them.

119447119448119449119450119451119452119453

Thanks so much in advance!

[Jim Garber]

What do you need to know? Obviously German-made in Markneukirchen, on of the larger areas for instrument manufacture in Europe. It looks like the maker is Götz. I have some images from old German catalogs but no access to them at this moment. The back looks quite nice. 12-string mandolins are, to me, of limited appeal but interesting variant. I would not think this is a particular valuable or rare mandolin but it looks decently made. I would not guess the time a manufacture other than to say my guess would be 1930s-50s -- truly only a guess.

[mandoswe]

Thanks for the reply Jim!

Yeah figured as much from the marking, inside the body. What indicates that the maker is Götz? Resemblance to the images you refered to?
Im not interested in selling really, just would be fun to know more about it. It looks and feels solid, all tho its scratched up on the front.

The markenukirchen area seems to have been (and still is) filled with instrument builders of many kinds, with plenty of mandolin makers, so it's been hard finding any proper info. It does have a signature burned into it on the front, but i cant really make it out.. The bridge seems to be marcella/marcello, but all ive been able to gather is that they made parts, is that correct?

[MikeEdgerton]

The bridge seems to be marcella/marcello

That's not the bridge it's the tailpiece.

[mandoswe]

That's not the bridge it's the tailpiece.

Thanks for the clarification Mike, language and style barrier got to me there.

[Jim Garber]

Marcelli is a common Italian-named but German-made tailpiece. You see them on other mandolins from that area. Götz is the brand I see stamped into the soundboard. I am not sure of the label inside but that could be the retailer.

[mandoswe]

Götz is the brand I see stamped into the soundboard. I am not sure of the label inside but that could be the retailer.

Wow good catch! You've been a lot of help to me Jim, much appreciated! Now to find some info on Götz..

[Martin Jonas]

The label inside gives the village in which the mandolin was made, Wernitzgrün (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernitzgr%C3%BCn). That is now a suburb of Markneukirchen, although back then it was an independent municipality. It's a really small place, 330 inhabitants now and about twice that early last century. Like most villages in the Markneukirchen district, they specialised in musical instrument making -- according to Wikipedia, most wooden tuning pegs for German violins were made in this small village prior to WWI, with about 30 independent workshops in that trade alone.

Like Jim has said, "Marcelli" is simply the maker of the tailpiece -- they are really common in German mandolins. The maker's name is branded onto the soundboard and also signed by hand on the label: it's "C.A. Götz". You can see the initials, "CAG", in the centre of the printed label. The company still exists and is still based in Wernitzgrün. Their website is here: Link (http://www.gotzviolins.de/).

Martin