Stetson Mandolin

[janelson]

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This mandolin has been in the family since my grandmother purchased it new in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in the early 1900s. The girl seated with this actual instrument is my grandmother dressed in her native Norwegian costume. She came into the United States through Ellis Island with her parents as a child. She played in an all girl mandolin band as a teenager. It is still played regularly, intonation great. I just broke a string, as you can see in the photos.

The case is now gone, I have looked for one for several years with no luck. The original was a hard case that opened at the tailpiece. If you know of one, please let me know.

[Ed Goist]

Glorious; and priceless because of its wonderful provenance.
Thanks for posting.

[Steve Sorensen]

Beautiful. Wonderful. Timeless.
Steve

[Tavy]

Beautiful! Love the image of your Grandma,

John.

[MikeEdgerton]

You probably won't find an original ltype case but you can buy cases for bowlback mandolins like this one. Here (http://www.themandolinstore.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=8470) is one that The Mandolin Store (www.themandolinstore.com) has on their webpage.

Here (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/search.php?query=stetson&exactname=0&starteronly=0&forumchoice%5B%5D=&prefixchoice%5B%5D=&childforums=1&titleonly=1&searchdate=0&beforeafter=after&do=process) are some other threads that discuss Stetson mandolins.

[Randi Gormley]

That is incredible. And a beautiful instrument. thanks for posting!

[Schlegel]

Lovely!

BTW, I have the same case that Mike linked to- It's really the best hard case I think you will find unless you go custom-made. They have 2 straps and it's quite easily worn like a backpack for walking around.

[Jason Kessler]

Very cool mando, very cool story.

[janelson]

Thanks for the lovely comments and suggestions for a replacement case. I also shared this link with Robert Hartman both to provide him a look at yet another instrument as well as to learn what he would say about it. His view is that the maker is likely Lyon & Healy due to the peg head design and some other design cues that do not point to Larson as the manufacturer. Noteably, he shared a 1917 L&H catalog for the American Conservatory Mandolin, Style G 2603 that clearly shows a peg head like mine.

I did a little searching and found another example dated from around 1910 that had a very similar peg head and showed tuners that looked very similar, if not identical to mine. I also found a directory of luthiers that lists J.F.Stetson, The text states that "J.F. Stetson was a brand used by W.J. Dyer & Bros. in St. Paul, MN. They were a major distributor who claimed instruments of their "...own manufacture" but they were made by others."

[Jim Garber]

Very nice instrument! I think the headstock that Bob Hartmann IDs as L&H is a little different from the ones I am familiar with. I don't have access to my computer -- we are currently out of power at home -- otherwise I would post some pics. Workmanship looks like it would be up to Larson quality tho I am not sure if we have seen any that matched it exactly. As usual, there is never a super-definitive ID for Larson work.

[MikeEdgerton]

I also found a directory of luthiers that lists J.F.Stetson, The text states that "J.F. Stetson was a brand used by W.J. Dyer & Bros. in St. Paul, MN.

Most of us are pretty familiar with the mugwumps list. Dwyer like many of the distributors claimed instruments made by the builders that built for the trade as their own. It was a common practice in the industry. L&H is the easy guess as the builder as they were certainly the largest builder at that time.

[brunello97]

Very nice instrument! I think the headstock that Bob Hartmann IDs as L&H is a little different from the ones I am familiar with. I don't have access to my computer -- we are currently out of power at home -- otherwise I would post some pics. Workmanship looks like it would be up to Larson quality tho I am not sure if we have seen any that matched it exactly. As usual, there is never a super-definitive ID for Larson work.

Jim, I was thinking about you after reading about that freaky snowstorm..I hope all is okay.

I am no Larson expert by any means, but like many here are intrigued by their work and influence. For me the fretboard 'end profile' over the soundhole is not very 'Larson-esque' to my eye (though I'm sure an example will pop up.) Given the range of work attributed to the LarBro, I am starting to wonder if maybe they might have done some finish/inlay work on some mandolins built elsewhere (ie L+H.) Just a theory, without any backup at this point.

Mick