Identify this mandolin

[winston]

Hello. I bought this used mandolin three years ago and the previous owner had owned it for 14 years and had also bought it (very) used. There's no label or logo. The only text anywhere on it is the word "Japan" on the plate where the neck is bolted on.

In searching through images of mandolins, I haven't seen anything with a similar scroll on the body, nor with an identical head.

I have had several experienced mandolin players say (with great surprise) that they didn't think a mandolin made from all lamintate/plywood could sound so good. And that was with some pretty heavy damage (cracks in the sides, seams separating -- like someone fell on top of it) that already existed when the previous owner bought it.

Now it has died (the top sank while it was in the car during a thunderstorm and the subsequent very damp/humid heat and the pre-existing damage apparently makes it essentially beyond repair) and I never did find out what it was.

Any ideas? or resources to suggest? (paging through google image searches gets tedious after a while)

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/1079/mysterymandolinlk2.jpg

[MikeEdgerton]

There is an entire thread of strange scrolls in the post a picture section. I recall that one being posted several times. If I recall one of the comments was you could hang it up in your closet instead of putting it in a case. I'll see if I can find it.

[Willie Poole]

Winston...I bought one of those exact mandolins back in the `60`s and like yours the top started sinking so I installed two "sound posts" right under the bridge, not really sound posts but to keep the top from sinking any more...It did sound really great and I recorded with it many times because it sounded as good as anything I had at that time....I sold it to a fellow where I used to work and he still has it and it is still playable, with the sound posts still in it of course...They don`t have any braces to keep the top from sinking in...I won`t go into detail on how I installed the "sound posts", but they worked ....Willie