Fratelli Tassinari (Napoli) -Help with Info and Value

[mandolinmann]

Any info or insights on this? Value? I just inherited and don't know anything about it really. Thanks!

[vic-victor]

Value is not high, a couple of hundred dollars at best. Tassinari is not particulary sought after maker.

[LadysSolo]

Plus it looks like it has a pretty decent crack in the top - don't know if it is cleated or not. And the headstock looks to be broken, repairs could be a bit pricey. If it is sentimental, worth repairing and playing? Would be for me if it was sentimental. Practical - probably not likely.

[NickR]

The crack is a major negative. I would speculate that those are not the original tuners but are replacements from the 1920s or 30s- not that that is a big deal- and they were added some time in the past. It is a nice looking instrument but paying for repairs would probably not make it worth that much more than what it is worth in its current condition.

[brunello97]

In addition to the value judgements from folks you've received, here's maybe some context (very abridged)

There was a huge mandolin boom in Italy beginning in mid 1880s with much of the production being aimed at export markets, particularly the UK, and to a lesser degree France and Germany. (Not a lot of imports to the US....US makers jumped in on the craze and cranked out huge numbers of bowl back mandolins for the equally huge US market at the time.)

During this period a lot of the prestige name Italian mandolin makers got their starts: Vinaccia, Calace, Embergher, Ceccherini, DeMeglio etc. etc. in Naples and in Rome. There was a second big front of mandolin making in Catania, Sicily that cranked out a lot of mandolins, particularly for the export market. A lot of mandolins out of Sicily apparently were "branded" for sale with Neapolitan pedigrees. That said there was certainly a lot of production in Naples "for the trade" as their was in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Boston. Whether the Tassinari Bros. where actually involved in the construction of this mandolin, or were simply the contractors and purveyors is an open question.

We have seen many, many Italian mandolins here that were simply relabeled products from other makers, Sicilian and otherwise. The practice was widespread in the US as well. I'm no expert, but many of the verifiable makers as opposed to labelers would include an address, perhaps some signatures, etc. Not that those things weren't faked as well.

The Tassinari mandolin looks extremely generic Vinaccian-style bowl from around 1900 + / -. It could have been made by anyone, in reality. Maybe even by i Fratelli. Hopefully some other corroborating info will turn up.
I have owned a wide range of these MOR Italian bowls from obscure branders. Some of them can be very nice players with the shimmering sound that our friend, Martin Jonas, so wonderfully described Italian mandolins. The intonation can be muy sketchioso though, so it is a bit of a crap shoot.

I realize that is kind of a rambling summary, but I hope it provides context.

This one looks like it has some serious issues. Not likely to fetch much in sale. Victor, is being generous...it is in his nature. ;-)
Sentimental value hopefully exceeds monetary value.

What can you tell us about the history of the mandolin?

Who did you inherit it from?Do you know where they got the mandolin?

If you are "mandolinman" have you tried playing this one? Is it playable?

Thanks for posting,

Mick

[Jim Garber]

That last photo shows the back of the headstock/neck joint. These were made with a joint of the core that was covered with a darker wood (rosewood) veneer. I can't quite tell from the photo if the joint itself is broken or just the veneer glue has loosened. If the former then, yes, problematic. Not sure about the headstock. I see a small crack near the heart-shaped opening in the headstock but don't see any other cracks on the headstock in those photos. I agree that the tuners are probably not original but look decent. Also the bridge looks odd and maybe added more recently.