View Full Version : Date of Lyon & Healy C mandolin
girldingo
Sep-14-2006, 11:41am
Hi all,
I have a Lyon & Healy C with serial no. 450 - does anyone out there have any info on the date of this instrument?
Thank you,
Ilene #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
chinatogalway
Sep-15-2006, 9:45pm
Well, as you probably know there is very little info on the L and H numbers, and that there was a fire that destroyed the records......but I would guess that this is around the 1918-1919 date. Never actually played a C type but they sure do look lovely.
Any pictures?
Hope the above helps
Kieron
girldingo
Sep-15-2006, 10:15pm
Thanks Kieron - wow, I didn't know there was a fire that destroyed the records. #I thought it might be the teens as it has the longer neck. I'm really enjoying playing it and it does look lovely. I might never play my Lyon & Healy bowlback again. Here's a photo taken from the dealers website.
Ilene
Bill Halsey
Sep-15-2006, 11:17pm
Agree with 1918. Ck the finger rest to see if it says "Pat. Apld. For" -- or if there's a date.
manjitsu
Sep-16-2006, 7:17am
Being a huge L&H mandolin fan and having owned a number of them, I too have always had difficulty ascertaining the exact dates of instruments, and have always heard the tale of the fire that destroyed the company's records.
Recently I discovered this post (made by Keef, who is also a member of the mandolincafe) on a Washburn guitar forum:
"there are a LOT of urban myths regarding L&H. Many unfounded stories circulate, including the 1920s fire."
Interesting!
-Chris
ejkauf99
Oct-07-2006, 6:35pm
I just had to check the serial # in my model C. Turns out it's 443. I bought it at an antique shop. I picked it up, the shopkeeper said "I want $175. for the banjo!" The rest is history. I almost sold it once, but won't make that mistake again! I'll try to post an image.
Bill Halsey
Oct-07-2006, 11:24pm
What a lovely long-scale C -- is there a patent stamp on the finger rest? Also, may we see the back?
ejkauf99
Oct-08-2006, 12:05pm
Here is a shot of the back. The scan does not do it justice. The center seam was repaired before I got it. The finger board is also stamped p.a.f
Ed
While I too admit to an interest in dating instruments, L&H has been tough. Fortunately, unlike makers such as Gibson, the quality and nature of whose instruments tends to be variable, L&H mandolins of this type (Styles A-C) are all of high quality. The onlt substantial difference is that later mandolins were made with a shorter scale than the early examples; if you have an instrument in hand and a ruler, you're armed with pretty near all you need to know. (Laong scale approaches Gibson 14'; shorter is about 13").