Great grandfathers mandolin

[Martucci]

Thought I’d share a few pics and short story regarding my recently restored mandolin.

Earlier this year while searching Ebay for Weymann guitars and mandolins, a company my Great Grandfather Silvio Martucci made instruments for I came across a listing for a “RARE 200 YEAR OLD ITALIAN MANDOLIN made by S. MARTUCCI”. The mandolin was an old bowlback that had clearly seen better days but if it was what I suspected it was I didn’t care. I quickly contacted the seller who and requested a picture of the label for confirmation. The next day I was looking at a clear picture of my great grandfathers’ label.

S. MARTUCCI
Manufacturer and Importer of
Italian Mandolins, Mandolas, & Guitars
753 S. Eighth Street
Philadelphia, PA

In my grandmothers’ journal she stated that she had been born in 1904 at Eighth and Bainbridge where her father owned and managed a musical instrument shop making and repairing guitars, mandolins and violins. It was indeed an early Martucci made instrument. I quickly responded to the seller that it was not a rare 200 year old Italian mandolin but that it had been made in Philadelphia around 1900 by my great grandfather. Hoping she would use this information to either correct her listing or entertain a direct sale I waited for her reply. Not only did she refuse my generous offer but she did nothing to correct her listing, leaving me to bid against ill informed bidders. As surprised as I was at how high my winning bid reached and how many bidders there were was nothing in comparison to the surprise when the mandolin arrived two weeks later.

The thrill of holding this little treasure grew as I carefully cut open the box and unwrapped the shipping material … what I found as the last of the bubble wrap was removed was a disaster. The neck of the mandolin had been broken at the heel joint and was pushed down into the belly of the bowl. After overcoming the initial shock, and anger at the postal service for destroying a piece of family history I took a closer look, evaluating the damage and the chances of having it repaired. It was obvious that the mandolin was badly damaged prior to shipping and had been rather crudely glued together by a complete amateur for display (or deception) purposes only. The resulting claims and counter claims through EBay left me with two options keep the mandolin which the seller claimed had always been in fine playable condition, she even suggested I had purposely destroyed it, or return it for a full refund. I knew keeping it meant either gluing it back together and hanging it on a wall or spending a small fortune on a complete rebuild. Calling on my friend and luthier Eric Johansen we decided to restore it back to playable condition.

After months of waiting Eric finally delivered the finished project. Considering what we started with the results were better than expected. Not only does it look presentable but it truly has a wonderful sound that could now be enjoyed by future generations. Paired with my Great grandfathers’ guitar which was handed down through the family I’m now 1/2 way to completing my collection…. still need to find a mandola and a violin.

[F-2 Dave]

Congratulations on the find. I know very little about bowl backs, but do admire your efforts to get it playable again. Must be exciting to have another piece of family history in hand. Good luck finding the rest of your collection. Welcome to the forum.

[Jim Nollman]

The same thing once happened to me on EBay. I bid and won an old Kay that looked perfect in the photos, and at a very decent price, but received a mandolin with a broken neck joint and horrible frets.

I complained to the seller immediately. He responded that I should take it up with UPS, since he'd sent me a perfect instrument. Clearly i wasn't going to get anywhere with this guy.


That same day, I called a luthier friend of mine. He came by my house, examined the instrument, together we wrote an "affidavit" that said that the amount of dust inside the joint clearly indicated that the break had occurred years or even decades before. He then estimated what it would cost him to fix it to a playable state. We had the letter notarized also on the same day.

Then i contacted the seller again. her responded exactly as your seller had responded, to repeat that either UPS broke it, but this time insinuating that maybe I broke trying to defraud him.

I wasn't interested in pursuing this any further with the seller, so i wrote the EBay fraud department. I sent them the notarized letter, plus all the rude emails from the seller. Important to note here, The seller had hundreds of EBay sales. So when EBay judged in my favor, they told him that he either fix the problem by sending me the full amount on the estimate, or get kicked off EBay forever. He chose the former route. I hired the same lutheir to fix it. He did a great job, and i still own the instrument. It's a 1930's Kay two point.

This Ebay seller knew absolutely nothing about mandolins. I suspected that he was a buyer of big estates, and the mandolin was one small item of one such estate. So he sent it to me probably without ever really examining it. His rude response was a tactic I can easily he used on more people than just me, as a way to scare me away.

[wwwilkie]

Would love to see a photo of the guitar!

[Martucci]

A couple of pics of the guitar. It's slightly larger than a Martin 0-size and was probably built in the early 1920's. It gets played most every day and has a beautiful tone. 7960479605

[Malcolm G.]

That little guitar looks like a gem - what a pretty neck!

[wwwilkie]

Beautiful guitar and a wonderful story. Hope you find the last two. Thanks for posting!

[Jim Garber]

I have been collecting jpegs of various mandolins esp bowlbacks in order to document and trace history. I have two with Martucci Labels. The first has a label like yours (says importer and manufacturer) the other actually says Silvio Martucci, manufacturer.

Here are pics of both. I do not own either, just have the jpegs.

Here is the first ... might have just been imported into your great grandfather's store.

[Jim Garber]

The second is the one labelled Silvio Martucci.

[Tavy]

Great story - I'm really glad it had such a happy ending - looks like a wonderful instrument now!

Jim: just new it'd be you who'd come up trumps with more instruments from this lable ;)

[Jim Garber]

I guess the question for the OP is: which of these was actually built by his GG and which were imports or built for his store.

It is also interesting the connection to Weymann. You can also see it in the front-mounted tuners on the OP's mandolin which were a distinct feature of Weymann bowlbacks.

[Martucci]

Thank you all for your kind replies, especially Jim for all your pics. Until last year when my father gave me the Martucci guitar I had little knowledge of my GGF, other than what my grandmother had related in her journal. Searching for more info I contacted distant relatives and was able to get a more complete record of his life starting from his birth in Naples to his arrival in America in 1893. I tried to track down other family owned instruments including another guitar and mandola but each had long been forgotten ... what a shame.

I never expected to find a labelled instrument so it was quite a surprise to see one pop up on Ebay. My luthier Eric and I both questioned the origin of the mandolin prior to undertaking such an extensive renovation. We considered that it may have just been a store labeled import but Eric seemed confident that he would be able to determine if Silvio had made it. Eric's knowledge of early american craftsmanship and comparisons to my guitar led us to believe that he had indeed built the mandolin. Another clue was found in the butterfly. Eric felt that the butterfly was not just a supplied inlay but was actually cut and inlayed by Silvio confirmed in part by something Eric had never seen before. If you look closely at the "eye" on the right wing you can clearly see my GGF's engraved initials S.A. for Silvio Alberto. (During the renovation we where even able to use matching inlays from a bag of my GGF's inlays that my Uncle had given to me.)

With regards to the two mandolins that Jim posted. My best guess would be that the first one labelled similar to mine is an import while the second one labelled Silvio Martucci is a maybe - it might be a label from a repair job. The fact that it doesn't have an address leads me to believe it is a later label from some time after 1906 when my GGF no longer had his storefront and was primarily working for Weymann. Although he did continue to build and repair from home the family moved quite a few times in the following years which could account for the lack of an address.

One other interesting note. When Eric removed the label to preserve it from damage during the renovation and to verify that no other makers label was underneath he discovered a partial "Carl Fischer" label under which was another Martucci label. We could only speculate that he may have had a deal with Fischer prior to his joining Weymann???

Thanks again, Fred.

[Martucci]

Jim, thanks for the great pics. Here's another Ebay find that I didn't purchase. Already was involved in one renovation!!796537965479655

[Jim Nollman]

Jim, i like your idea of collecting jpegs of instruments rather than actual instruments. All our wives commend you for offering the rest of us a viable solution to MAS.

[Jim Garber]

Jim, thanks for the great pics. Here's another Ebay find that I didn't purchase. Already was involved in one renovation!!796537965479655

I actually own a Biggio mandolin and a few Luigi Ricca's both of whom were active New York City luthiers so your GGF must have had some connection with NY as well. One other research tool I use when I can is to access a city directory. More and more you can find some online but it is generally spotty. I did spend a bunch of time at the main NY Public Library and found a lot of info on whereabouts of various makers.

[gregsguitars]

Very cool indeed...

[Martucci]

Jim,

I believe the Biggio & Martucci mandolin was a very early collaboration probably right around the time my GGF arrived in America. According to my grandmothers journal Silvio had learned his trade in Naples, perhaps as a disciple of Ricca as the label indicates, and after learning of an oppurtunity in America he sailed for New York. Perhaps Biggio a fellow disciple who arrived earlier sent word to Silvio and the two set up shop. Silvio's time in New York must have been short lived because he showed up in an 1896 Philadelphia directory as an instrument maker located at the eigth street address.

Fred

[brunello97]

Fred, the damage to your instrument reveals an interesting look at the neck construction on your mandolin. John may correct me here, but the break in the neck appears to be along what may a glue joint line in the neck block. From my experience this is consistent with numerous Neapolitan builders. Contemporary builders in Chicago, Nazareth and Boston often used some type of dovetail or pegged joint at that location separating the construction of the bowl entirely from that of the neck.

I don't want to make too much of this detail, but it does seem like your kin, if he actually did construct this mandolin, was at least familiar with, if not trained in, this Italian method of construction. I have only had one Ricca in my possession and could not determine its neck construction. It would be interesting to note the extent of this neck joint construction practice by immigrant luthiers.

Mick

[Martucci]

Mick,

It is indeed a two piece joint using the same wood but with different grain orientation. We where aware that this type joint was as you said a characteristic of Neopolitan builders. Considering the implications we chalked it up to my GGF simply practicing what he knew. He had only been in America for a few years and had never worked for any of the large shops so no need to change. If my GGF guitar is any indication he certainly didn't seem to follow conventional / contemporary building practice. The neck joint is a full mortis and tenon violin joint rather than the standard dovetail, the soundhole is smaller than similar sized guitars, the headstock angle is extreme by any standard, and if nothing else the three piece maple ebony neck is unique.

Believe me, I was not bending over backwards trying to justify restoring this mandolin. I was content to simply remove the lable and frame it with a picture of my Great Grandfather as a piece of family history. And as my wife reminded me .. I found one mandolin just by chance surely I would find another now that I knew what I was looking for.

Thanks again for your comments. Fred

[Jake Wildwood]

RE the guitar: is that a Weymann? It certainly LOOKS like one with that neck.

[Martucci]

RE the guitar: is that a Weymann? It certainly LOOKS like one with that neck.

No, it's not a Weymann but it certainly shares many traits. It was made by my Great grandfather who at one time worked for Weymann. I'd like to believe that he brought those traits to Weymann.

[brunello97]

No, it's not a Weymann but it certainly shares many traits. It was made by my Great grandfather who at one time worked for Weymann. I'd like to believe that he brought those traits to Weymann.

Hmm. This makes me want to find a Weymann bowlback cadaver for a bit of an autopsy. I had a pretty nice Weymann bowl a few years ago but sold it to a guy in Switzerland of all places. Fred, your story is a fascinating one because it identifies another clear link between old and new world building traditions.

Mick

[anyadang]

Jim,

Today I bought a mandolin at a local antique shop here in New Hampshire. It has an identical inlay to the one you have posted pictures of above. A lot of other details are quite different, but that inlay – identical. Your instrument is much more intricate otherwise.

Do you think the common inlay means these have the same maker? Mine has no identifying labels as far as I can see.

79878
(I’m going to post more pictures of my instrument in a new thread.)

It is interesting that I found your picture – in this thread - so quickly after purchasing this instrument. The family history that has been passed down tells me that my great GREAT grandfather was a mandolin maker by trade, whom immigrated here (New Hampshire/Maine) from Madrid Spain. I found documentation that shows he was also a performer (professional mandolin player)(and may not have really settled here – he toured the world). I knew it was probably a long shot, but since I found the mandolin in local shop, it could have been one of his. My great-great-grand-father’s name was Melquedes (or Melquiades) Hernandez (1876-1929). I would love to find one of his instruments like Martucci has.

-AA




I have been collecting jpegs of various mandolins esp bowlbacks in order to document and trace history. I have two with Martucci Labels. The first has a label like yours (says importer and manufacturer) the other actually says Silvio Martucci, manufacturer.

Here are pics of both. I do not own either, just have the jpegs.

Here is the first ... might have just been imported into your great grandfather's store.

[Schlegel]

Do you think the common inlay means these have the same maker?

It was pretty common for makers to buy pickguards and inlay from a factory, so you often can't assume anything other than "American" from a pickguard like that one.

[anyadang]

Thanks - it is safe to say this also gives me an approximate age too?... Jim's instrument sounds like it was from around 1900...

[brunello97]

Anya, have you looked into the history of "The Spanish Students"? It was a touring group of young Spaniards who were instrumental in launching the mandolin craze here in America, that your mandolin was a product of. I believe "Estudiantina Figaro" may have been the first traveling group to come to these shores, very possibly within the time frame of your kin, though your GGF would have been only about 4 years old when the group first arrived. It is understood that the first traveling groups played Spanish bandurrias rather than mandolins, but to unfamiliar audience and ears these may easily have been mistaken for mandolins. Copycat groups in the state (often staffed with recent Italian immigrants proficient on the mandolin) spread the wave across the country and thus the demand for the instruments. It would be no surprise that there would be other touring groups of Spanish musicians that predate or postdate this group that first came to the US.

There is much to find here (and on the web) searching for The Spanish Students and Estudiantina Figaro. I don't recall if I remember reading where those folks were from. I have a Madrilena colleague, though, who tells me these Estudiantina music groups are still very popular back home, so a Madrid connection is tantalizingly possible.

I'm not trying to make too many assumptions too quickly, but if we have turned up a link here back to the days of the Spanish Students (or their progeny,) that would be amazing.

Mick

[Jim Garber]

Anyadang: I am still looking for some American catalogs of inlays. I think there were separate manufacturers of those one of which was Louis Handel who also supplied/made the tuner buttons.

Even more interesting is your GGGF. I found a reference to a Melquiades Hernandez in Paul Spark's Classical Mandolin. Youncan read the paragraph here (http://books.google.com/books?id=GFC1swWRWMIC&lpg=PA26&ots=adxtxmOO9Z&dq=Melquiades%20Hernandez%20mandolin&pg=PA26#v=onepage&q=Melquiades%20Hernandez%20mandolin&f=false). Sparks says that one of the leaders of the Spanish Students (the group that started the American mandolin craze in the late 1880s) was named Melquiades Hernandez. I would assume that he was either a different person of that same name or else was a leader of the group much later than their debut in the US. In any case, it sounds like he was an active player. Bear in mind tho, that that group didn't play mandolins but played bandurrias -- 12 string instruments that were similar but were more popular in Spain.

[brunello97]

Martucci bowlback for sale in the Classifieds right now:

http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi?search_and_display_db_button=on&db_id=53659&query=retrieval

NFI, I just wanted to get another example into the thread for posterity.

Mick