What is the make of this Mandolin?

[jfots8620]

Just bought this bowl back for 20.00 at a garage sale, just wondering who makes it and the age of the piece , also if it is worth anything. Any help would be greatly appreciated.http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/9223/picture012wd.jpg (http://img340.imageshack.us/i/picture012wd.jpg/)

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3628/picture020c.jpg (http://img340.imageshack.us/i/picture020c.jpg/)

[Bill Snyder]

What about some shots of the back and sides? Does it have any cracks? Is the neck straight? Is the neck joint tight? Any labels of any kind?
While some of the "bowl heads" here may take one glance at it and be able to tell what it is your odds of a positive ID go up with the more information you can give on it.
As to worth, most bowl back mandolins don't go for more than a few hundred dollars in good shape. This is especially true for the American built mandolins. The exceptions to the low value are some of the top tier Italian bowl backs that can go for several thousand dollars.
Your mandolin looks good in the photos and at $20 I would think you got an excellent deal.

[MikeEdgerton]

It's an American made bowlback from around 1900. As for who made it that may or may not be determinable but the folks here will try. A picture of the back would be great. If it's playable, has no cracks or other damage, on a good day it might be worth $200.00, probably closer to half that. At twenty bucks you got a good deal.

[Jim Garber]

Prob made by or for Lyon & Healy. Headstock and pickguard shape is very similar to Washburns. This may just be a jobbed out simply-adorned Washburn or mid level like American Conservatory. As Mike said, condition is everything but even then value would be more than $20 esp if it is playable. I would check that bridge placement for intonation. It looks like it should be moved back toward the cant (fold in the top).

Other caveat: use extra light gauge strings like GHS A-240 (http://www.juststrings.com/ghs-a240.html).

[MikeEdgerton]

I got off my lazy backside and looked through Hubert's book. The headstock shape is the same as some models by Lyon & Healy, it appears they were using it as late as 1912. The pickguard shape appears to be the same as some Lyon & Healy bowlbacks, at least where visible. The bridge is covering the bottom of the pickguard so I can't see that. Jim's right, it needs to move farther down towards the tailpiece. Since L&H manufactured huge numbers of these mandolins, many with no brand names it's a pretty safe guess that it was built by Lyon & Healy.

[jfots8620]

No chips or cracks and plays great, mandolin is in great shape - here are some more pics

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/5551/picture013jg.jpg (http://img508.imageshack.us/i/picture013jg.jpg/)

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/6141/picture015jq.jpg (http://img687.imageshack.us/i/picture015jq.jpg/)

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/1812/picture016kk.jpg (http://img801.imageshack.us/i/picture016kk.jpg/)

[MikeEdgerton]

OK, as long as it's playable it looks like you got a decent bowlback mandolin. It's in petty good shape. Good luck with it.

[brunello97]

Nice find for 20$ or even 3x that much. It looks in very good condition. Was it stored in a case? It looks like once the bridge is properly placed that you might even have room to adjust the action as well.

Are those strings new ones that you put on? One needs to be careful with these bowlbacks and use only very lightweight strings ie: .09-.32 for the e-g range. Using too heavy strings will most assuredly wind up with the neck being pulled out of alignment.

Despite their relative plentitude (and the general lack of interest in bowlbacks among American mandolin players) these were nicely made, very decent mandolins. Their $$ worth in no way corresponds to their quality as instruments. Get some proper strings on it and play play play.

Mick

[brunello97]

Up and at 'em on the ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290477610723&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123#ht_2827wt_1139

Same strings, same bridge position, same photos.

I feel a strange ambivalence wafting over me about the apparent high action.

Mick

[Jim Garber]

I think it may be time for the bowlback evaluator patrol here to ask that potential sellers upon reaping a profit make a small donation to this site. I think our expertise is worth something.

[MikeEdgerton]

I feel violated. :cool:

[Mandobart]

Up and at 'em on the ebay:...
Mick

And not even a word of thanks...

[Jim Garber]

...or a discount?

[Martin Whitehead]

Did you notice his join date?

[Jim Garber]

Oh, well... the nature of people. I don't want to be all that whiny about it, but I am pretty open with giving info and am glad to share that info. It is funny tho how many folks will tell us how much they treasure their family heirloom but them once they find out what it is worth turn around and sell it on eBay.

I just think that we as a community have a body of knowledge to share and the community should get something in return, like a word of thanks at least.

[Martin Whitehead]

The polite thing to do though would be to be up front about it. What's wrong with just saying, "Hey I got a good deal on a mando at a garage sale and would like to turn it around. What d'ya think I can get for it? What can you tell me about it?" I mean, wouldn't y'all have given up the same information? We like talking about madolins. Heck, that's what we're here for.

[Jim Garber]

Agreed. Next time I think I will ask the poster why he wants to know.

For about a year I was on an "experts" site as a fretted instrument person. Very often I would get some folks who would ask for info about their family heirloom -- they would often preface it with "of course I would never sell it". Inevitably tho they would want to know what it is worth. I think this is partly the influence of Antiques Roadshow mentality. "Hey, you know that dusty old mandolin that Uncle Milton left us... you know how much it is worth... hah some guy on a web site told me it is worth $8000!! Who knew!!"

[Bill Snyder]

He is not just some guy that happened onto a mandolin at a garage sell. He apparently has had several old mandolins and has been a flea market vendor.
From the listing: "LYON & HEALY 1900-1912 BOWL BACK MANDOLIN
THIS MANDOLIN FOR ITS AGE IS IN GREAT CONDITION, NO CRACKS OR DAMAGE AT ALL. THE MANDOLIN IS STRINGED AND PLAYS GREAT.ONE OF THE BEST CONDITION LYON AND HEALYS I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF OWNING."

and also this: "So we decided to quit the flea markets and move into the computer age."

[MikeEdgerton]

I'd believe that except that anyone with a little knowledge would have at least guessed it was by L&H. "THE MANDOLIN IS STRINGED AND PLAYS GREAT" doesn't fill me with confidence either. A whole lot of people are vendors at flea markets and don't really know a whole lot about musical instruments. How he happened upon it doesn't really matter. Ad copy that attempts to make you look like you know something is nothing new either. The line "So we decided to quit the flea markets and move into the computer age" means he figured out how to widen his potential customer base, nothing more. The guy knew enough to seek out people to find out what it was worth. We should have sent him to George Gruhn.

[Mattg]

I inherited a 110 year old violin that's been in my family since it was new. I truely would never sell it. I love it and want to pass it down to my kids. My wife is playing it now. Still, I wanted to know what it was worth. Mostly just for insurance purposes but I was also curious.

[MikeEdgerton]

I inherited a 110 year old violin that's been in my family since it was new. I truely would never sell it. I love it and want to pass it down to my kids. My wife is playing it now. Still, I wanted to know what it was worth. Mostly just for insurance purposes but I was also curious.

If you want to know for insurance puposes pay to have it appraised. That way there is no argument with the insurance company when and if you ever have a claim. In my mind if I was getting a mandolin appraised for insurance purposes I'd pay George Gruhn to do the appraisal. It would be higher than the market value and George's credential are beyond reproach. I have no idea who you would take a violin to.

[Jim Garber]

I inherited a 110 year old violin that's been in my family since it was new. I truely would never sell it. I love it and want to pass it down to my kids. My wife is playing it now. Still, I wanted to know what it was worth. Mostly just for insurance purposes but I was also curious.

Curiosity is fine, too, but, as Mike says, no insurance company would take an appraisal off a forum to insure any instrument. In addition, no appraiser would appraise a violin sight unseen -- they might give you a verbal appraisal but that would not accepted by the insurers either.

Here are a few Colorado violinmakers from the AFVBM (http://afvbm.org/members/region/CO). I don't know if any are near to you.

[Mattg]

I had no intention of getting a value from a forum like this. I was just saying that even though I would never sell it, I still wanted to know what it's worth.

Thanks for the AFVBM link. I took the violin to probably one of the most well know experts in Denver and he doesn't appraise anymore so I wasn't sure where to go. I do have general idea through some good comparables I've found, still, I need that official doc.

[Graham McDonald]

Perhaps a separate sub forum specifically for people who want to sell instruments where instrument value can be debated and there is an up-front request that some small donation, maybe to a charity, could be made as recognition?

graham

[mee]

thanks for all your expertise, this mandolin is relisted on Ebay with a bid and I questioned the seller and got the following reply:

"it is 100 percent lyons and healy. checked over by guitar expert, and if you check mandolin cafe, i sent the pictures of the mandolin there on the forum and all did confirm it was lyons and healy from 1900-1912. only marking is on the head stock"