Does this paint job look familiar?

[vetus scotia]

9885798858

Looks a little like a Regal, a little like a B&J I have seen. Any other thoughts?

[Jim Garber]

Is that a paint job or a decal?

It is probably a Regal.

[vetus scotia]

Yeah, I guess it probably is a decal. I am not in possession of the mandolin. I just found it for sale online but the pictures are all pretty fuzzy, but it looks like a neat little old instrument.

[allenhopkins]

Quite a few guitars, ukuleles and mandolins from the 1920-30's were "tarted up" with (generally gold) decal work. And there were extreme cases like Harmony's "Harold Teen" uke (http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/180U-1579.htm)...

[vetus scotia]

The decal is what grabbed me about this one. "Tarted-up", I like that. What strikes me about this mandolin is that the decal seems so well preserved, and the mandolin in general seems to have relatively few scratches and dings. So despite the fact that the wood (plywood?) suggests that this was a super-low-end model, it seems like it would be worth more than most of its ilk that are still around.

[vetus scotia]

There is a reference to the 20s or 30s above, but just to be sure in case I try to sell this instrument: Is there any way of telling (maybe from the decal, maybe from other features of the mandolin) what era this mandolin is from? When I bought it I was guessing 30s, but now I am thinking that it might be more like 60s or 70s. I don't want a valuation, I just want to be able to describe this as accurately as possible. I see a few decals on older mandolins, but the decal/wood combo here does not look quite like them. On the other hand, the style of the decal is not really very 60s, even early 60s.

[allenhopkins]

So, did you buy this (presumably Regal) mandolin?

Check out this thread: (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?50253-Regal-Mandolin) similar-appearing, though fancier, Regal, with floral decals and a Pearloid fingerboard. Vintage estimated at 1920's-'30's. Often Regals have no serial numbers.

Wikipedia says the original Regal company stopped making stringed instruments in the early 1950's, so it's not "60's or 70's." The "Regal" label you see now has been licensed to Saga, the big distributor of Asian-made instruments (Kentucky, Trinity College, et. al.). This licensure occurred in the late 1980's, and your mandolin's obviously older than that.

Regal made, probably, millions of instruments, with its own and other labels. There were a wide variety of finishes and ornamentation applied to their basic designs. You're unlikely to be able to pinpoint its year of manufacture; picking the most likely decade is a more realistic goal. I think 1920's or '30's is the most likely.

[vetus scotia]

I did buy it, and the guy who sold it did not make any claims about its age or manufacturer. Just billed it as an 'older mandolin' in 'usable condition.' I am going to play it for a while when it arrives, but I also think I can resell it for more than I paid, so I might test out the market. I just wanted to see if it would be reasonable to claim that this is 1920s or 30s. Since posting I have been able to find quite a few more mandolins with decals from the 20s (a lot of Oscar Schmidt stuff), including the mandolin in the thread you linked to. There are also a surprising number of guitars with decals of people playing mandolins on them. Anyway, what made me start thinking 60s was a collector's blog that identifies a similar mandolin as 1960s Regal. But there are no other references to 60s Regals online, and what you say explains that.

[Jim]

I have a similar shaped regal from the 30s, sounds quite nice and is fun to play. Enjoy yours.

[vetus scotia]

Thanks Jim. It was in fact one of your old posts that helped me decide to go ahead and buy this one. Looking for a 'sweeter' sound when playing Bach, but can't quite afford the Lyon and Healy yet....

[BradKlein]

It's a great decal, and I wonder if it wasn't designed for some other purpose. Furniture? Plaster work? Harpsichord lid? In any event, please post a better photo here on the Cafe for posterity.

[vetus scotia]

Will do as soon as I have it. And you are right, the other decals I have found seem to suit their mandolins much better. This is a great one on the Antebellum site. 99175 The dark wood of the mandolin and the rich green and other colors really work. While I like the fact that mine has a well preserved decal, there is something not quite right about it. The colour blue with this wood, the subject matter (looks like two ballet dancers, though is this really any stranger than a decal of a mandolin player on a guitar? A little I guess, but not much.). Even the shape. The oval of the decal is like a quarter rotated version of the soundhole. Makes for kind of a mess. But it does seem to capture something of the 'marketing' of this mandolin. Probably sold for well under $5.00, but you were getting a real, classical instrument!

[vetus scotia]

Here is the link to the full Antebellum post on the OS mandolin: http://antebelluminstruments.blogspot.ca/2012/04/c1920-oscar-schmidt-stella-flatback.html

[vetus scotia]

As requested for posterity, photos of my newly arrived Regal-made after a little cleaning and new GHS extra lights were put on:99585
99586
99587
99588
The mandolin is all solid birch, and the finish is darker and more attractive than in the photos I saw when I bought it.