Needs comments on my inherited Gibson!

[FlatlanderIA]

Any info would be appreciated, don't know much about it's history or potential value. This was played by my grandfather. 10171210172010171910171810171710171610171510171410 1713101721

[mandroid]

its hard to read the penciled in serial numbers in person , from those pictures it's impossible.

no face of the headstock pictures .. wild guess : late teens to '21

[FlatlanderIA]

Very hard for me to read the serial # too... best I can tell it MAY be '3407'



its hard to read the penciled in serial numbers in person , from those pictures it's impossible.

no face of the headstock pictures .. wild guess : late teens to '21

[mandroid]

would have deleted this were it enabled. :confused:

[mandroid]

thats probably a digit short my 2, '22's have 5 numbers not 4

theres this whole sector too
http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?58-Vintage-Instruments

[mrmando]

Hm. Well, the label appears to say A2, but an A2 should have back binding and this doesn't have it.

We can all read the 40 on the label quite clearly. What are the numbers before and after the 40? It should have a 5-digit serial number.

If it is an A2, then it's from 1914 or earlier. The A2 was discontinued in 1914. When it was reissued in 1918, it was Sheraton brown, not pumpkin. Regardless of the model, this mandolin couldn't be any later than 1918 because of the finish color.

I can't tell if it has any headstock inlay. A simple, straight-on shot of the entire instrument, front and back, would help in determining what we're looking at. If there's no "The Gibson" on the headstock, then what we have is a simple Style A with a 2 added to the label, possibly by some unscrupulous reseller trying to collect a few more bucks. I have seen such things before.

There should also be a "factory order number" stamped inside on the neck block, which will be of use in dating it.

If the original hardshell case is present and in good condition, it's probably worth right around $1,000 to $1,100, provided that it doesn't need repair.

[mrmando]

Very hard for me to read the serial # too... best I can tell it MAY be '3407'
A serial number of 3407 would yield a shipping date of 1905 or thereabouts. This has no characteristics of a 1905 instrument ... the patent date on the pickguard clamp alone is sufficient evidence of that. It's likely that there's a fifth digit after the 7 ... or at least there used to be one. 3407x would yield a shipping date of 1917. Which would mean that this is really a Style A and the 2 was added to the label later (since Gibson wasn't making A2s in 1917).

[michaelpthompson]

I would think that its greatest value is that it was played by your grandfather. That's so cool.

[journeybear]

Martin is quite right - not an A2, but a plain A, with no logo on headstock. Also what he said re: finish color helps date it, or at least puts one end to its date range. Here is what my 1917 A (on the right, SN 37492) looks like, for comparison. Looks to be in pretty nice shape, by the way.

101968101969

Other than that, I wonder if we are related? I haven't been in close contact with family lately ... :whistling:

[FlatlanderIA]

Martin is quite right - not an A2, but a plain A, with no logo on headstock. Also what he said re: finish color helps date it, or at least puts one end to its date range. Here is what my 1917 A (on the right, SN 37492) looks like, for comparison. Looks to be in pretty nice shape, by the way.

101968101969

Other than that, I wonder if we are related? I haven't been in close contact with family lately ... :whistling:

Guys, thanks all for your comments. Here is an additional photo of the headstock.


102177

[Chip Booth]

I don't believe that inlay is original to the mandolin. It looks 30's era to me. Teens would look more like this.

102178

Here is a mandolin from the 30s.

102179

[Vernon Hughes]

From the headstock logo and the checking in the finish,looks like it went back to gibson at some point for a do over.

[mrmando]

That is a 1930s logo, suggesting that this instrument went back to the Gibson factory in the '30s for some kind of repair work. It's hard to say what was repaired, since it seems to still have a teens finish and hardware. Perhaps someone at the factory thought that adding the logo meant the instrument now deserved to be an A2.

[journeybear]

I wish you'd shown that view of the headstock before. Logos changed over time, and I believe this style appeared in the 1930s. But the shape is of an older variety, and the finish is a clear indicator of its age.

[JeffD]

Looks like a nice player mandolin. Though of finite monetary value, it has infinite value to make you happy for the rest of your life.