Help Identifying/Choosing Mandolins

[peter977]

My wife's grandfather passed away a couple of months ago. Upon digging through the attic, the family found 2 bowlback mandolins. Both of them are in rough shape (the pictures make them look better than they actually are). I am trying to get a little more information about them.

Mandolin 1: Bay State Mandolin
http://baystatemandolin.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

This I know (very) little about. I believe that Bay State was based out of the Boston area, which is also where my wife's grandfather spent most of his life. I am guessing that this mandolin was probably built around the late 19th century, but I will defer to the experts here.

Mandolin 2: Unknown
http://baystatemandolin.shutterfly.com/pictures/14
This one I have absolutely no clue about. I cannot find any distinguishing names/trademarks/serial numbers or anything. It looks similar to the Bay State but there are no Bay State markings.

I am allowed to keep 1 of these (I get first choice) and the other goes to another family member (both of us play guitar...neither of us has ever played mandolin before). What I would like to know is:

1. Can anybody give me any more information about these, particularly the unknown mandolin? I can post more pictures if necessary.
2. Are either of these worth anything?
3. Assuming that I can get them in playing condition (I live in northern Virginia so I would need to find a trustworthy place to get them fixed up), which one should I keep?

Thanks!
Pete

[Marty Jacobson]

Good news is, those look really cherry, considering they spent time in an attic!
The bad news is, neither of them are worth much money. I would keep the Bay State, as it appears to be a well constructed, American made instrument (though not a top-end model). If you get it checked over and set up, it should give you as much enjoyment as many other mandolins. Just make sure the person setting it up knows bowlbacks, how to check the structure, and the proper gauge of strings to put on them.
The other "instrument" is a wall hanger, looks like a tourist grade instrument made in Europe somewhere.

[allenhopkins]

I would slightly disagree on the "no name" mandolin. Those alternating maple/rosewood bowls are seen on quite a few US-made mandolins from early 20th century. And while the headstock and the pickguard look fairly crude and low-end, there's some decent inlay work on the neck, and herringbone purfling around the top, so I wouldn't consign it to decorative usage out-of-hand.

However, the Bay State is the safer bet, as Martin points out. Second his suggestions on proper set-up and extra-light strings.

[Graham McDonald]

There was a discussion here a few weeks ago about a mandolin very similar to your unknown one, with the circular soundhole and the geometric scratchplate, and the thinking was that it was also a Bay State mandolin. The smaller number of alternating colour/timber ribs on the body suggests a low end model. The one with the Bay State stamp on the head is likely to be a higher grade - more ribs and from rosewood - and could be the better choice. A couple of sets of GHS 240 .009-.032" strings will establish which is the better playing instrument. The most common problem is the neck pulling up from the string tension and making the action higher than necessary.

cheers

[Jim Garber]

I also saw that mandolin with the round hole and the triangular pickguard but could not remember where. Thanks, Graham.