W.A. Cole Maker

[mobileinarundel]

I have a W.A.Cole Maker mandolin it has a tag that reads W.A Cole Maker imperial mandolin boston MA may 1861 looks old but not sure. It Was in a barn cleanout i did here in maine Was going to give it to my kids to play but like to know vaule before i do as it looks realy old:confused:

[pigpen]

Post some pictures and I betcha somebody will be able to provide some more info.

Good luck!

[mobileinarundel]

thanks i wil try to ad some pics

[Jim Garber]

Cole was primarily a banjo maker -- I have Fairbanks and Cole banjo and I know people who have their treasured Cole Eclipse banjos. I have seen their mandolins but they may have been made by another maker in Boston. I have to check my files at home but I prob have some pics of other examples. In the meantime, please post pics of yours. It is prob a decent instrument, I assume a bowlback?

[MikeEdgerton]

Just to manage the expectations, the value won't be huge.

[allenhopkins]

Here's (http://www.mugwumps.com/WACole.html) a short article on W A Cole by Mike Holmes of Mugwumps. While it's primarily banjo-oriented, it does give a history of the company. William Cole first shows up as an instrument builder, in partnership with A C Fairbanks, for the decade 1880-90. He then went off on his own. Cole died in 1909 but his brother continued to make instruments under the "W A Cole" name, then sold the business in the early '20's. Instruments labeled "W A Cole" were made well into the 1920's, but the later ones were mostly tenor banjos and ukuleles. Holmes states that Cole mandolins may have been made by another builder and sold under Cole's name.

[mobileinarundel]

yes its a bow back i belive 10 string mandolin its seems to be in nice shape but i dont know anything about them ?

[mobileinarundel]

I will post a few pics when i get home.thanks to all who are helping me with this

[mobileinarundel]

had problems geting pics up on site .It is a bow back and only 8 string not a ten sting i will try to get pics but any info in meentime would be great

thanks to all:mandosmiley:

[brunello97]

I have a few WCole 'Imperial' bowlbacks in my files. One shows the label as below as the disc below and the other on a metal plate on the headstock back. Both have neck-headstock transitions that look very Vega-y to me. Which might make sense given the whole Cole-Fairbanks-Day connection and continuity into the Vega years.

No telling what yours is like without pictures but my experience with AC Fairbanks and Vega mandolins from this period suggests they were of good quality across a range of models. The Coles in my files look quite nice so I am hoping that yours fits the bill.


Mick

[zookster]

Cole was a banjo builder, plain and simple. After the break up with Fairbanks, he continued with his own designs and sold a lot of them. I think all the evidence points to Vega as being a subcontractor for the mandolins sold under the Cole label. Many of the appointments and the general construction all have Vega earmarks, most especially the higher end models.
The factories were in the same city.

However, the question remains, why would Cole sell mandolins under his own label, since he had built his reputation on banjos, and why would another manufacturer agree to the arrangement?

Vega was already an established entity. Maybe the extra production was desired at the time, or maybe they had produced too many mandolins and needed another outlet. Remember, the time frame of the 1890s was the advent of the mandolin craze, and mandolin sales were doing very well. In addition, it was already a common practice to build an instrument and sell it under various names (Bruno, Vernon, American Conservatory, etc.)

[allenhopkins]

Cole was a banjo builder, plain and simple...

May not be quite that simple. W A Cole's brother Frank apparently did a lot of the actual building supervision; William, besides being a banjo builder, was also a touring musician. Frank continued the "W A Cole" label after William's death. Frank had an interest in mandolins, took out a patent on mandolin construction (rib construction and attachment, here (http://www.mugwumps.com/ColeProject/FECole-MandolinPatent.gif)), and could well have designed and/or constructed Cole mandolins. To say that all Cole mandolins were built by Vega may be more of a generalization than we can actually support. The various Boston builders and sellers undoubtedly did some work for each other, despite being competitors. I have wondered who built the Howe-Orme instruments, which also share some features with Vegas. Quite an interesting question.

[mobileinarundel]

hey great news my madolin is the same one in the bottom photo from brunell097 its in good shape and plays vary nice any idea what its worth. should i let kids play with it or is it somthing that i should keep on shelf or sell to someone who would use it they way it was intended ?

[Jim Garber]

Depends on how old your kids are. In good shape it could be worth 200-300 or more. If playable why risk a decent instrument. OTOH I doubt whether you will pay for their college education by selling it.

[mobileinarundel]

i want to thank you all so much i now know what i have.I will probly sell it and get them a starter intrument not one thats been around. would make somone happy to have it im sure ..where might one sell a mandolin ?

[8ch(pl)]

On this site, in the classifieds.