Re: Regal A-style questions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Tim Gillane
I have a flatback Regal mandolin, most probably from the 1920s or a smidge earlier (it was my grandfather's, I believe). it has a beige Regal label with a crown on it inside. There's what's left of a round Regal decal (dark green or black and ivory) on the head. The tailpiece appears to be chromed, and there are letters where it attaches that read "B__ Brand Patented NMS co." there's a some rust, so some letters are obscured. Does anyone know anything about the tailpiece? Would I find the model or a serial number somewhere on the mandolin (didn't see one)? The dots on the fingerboard look like mother of pearl.
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Well. I think it's an A-style, but I know zip.
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Re: Regal A-style questions
I'd say late '20s to mid '30s based on the label and the headstock logo. The tailpiece probably says Bell Brand under the rust, and it's plated in nickel (not chrome). Bell tailpieces can be found on a lot of old mandolins; like Grover, Waverly and Kluson, they made hardware for a lot of different builders.
Regal didn't typically mark their model numbers on their instruments except for the most expensive ones. It appears to be identical to this model from a 1932-3 Continental catalog:
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However, the item number is Continental's, not Regal's. It was very common in those days for the same instrument, sometimes under the same brand and sometimes under several different ones, to appear in five different catalogues under five different numbers.
Re: Regal A-style questions
Referring to Bob Carlin's Regal Musical Instruments, 1895-1955, the inside label looks 1920's. On p.68 he has a catalog reprint page from Progressive Musical Instrument Co. in NYCity, showing three mandolins; the #2923 ($24.00) has a tailpiece similar to yours. The tailpiece could well be labeled "Bell Brand," as stated above. The pictured "lute mandolins" are labeled "Perfacktone," which was a Progressive Music nameplate, and some are ID'ed as Regal-built. The catalog is "circa 1928," according to Carlin.
It's not the #2923 model, which is described as "genuine rosewood...heavily inlaid top," but it seems to be a type of tailpiece that could show up on Regal-built instruments.
Re: Regal A-style questions
I don't think the bridge is original to this instrument. It might be but I doubt it.