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Did someone hot-rod this, or was it actually a production instrument?

https://www.auctionzip.com/auction-lot/vintage-tiger-maple-banjo-in-case_A9A408B8CD/

Eastman for sure. Guessing it's an MD314. I think but am not quite sure that Eastman oval-hole Fs have been discontinued.

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It's certainly worth that much. Maybe not much...

Most interesting. I have seen the World's Largest Music House orange label before. It is *not* photographically documented in the Washburn book. Neither is the Ditson label.

Do both of these...

Well, I did call it a "cheap factory mandolin" but I'm only too happy to be corrected.

Thanks for weighing in, Mick; your expertise far exceeds mine. Google searching wasn't turning up anything about who Genovesi might have been, just examples of this stamp showing up on mandolins and...

Do you intend to try to have it made playable before giving it to your friend, or will you give it as is?

The most obvious thing it's gonna need is a bridge, and after that a new set of strings,...

Made in Catania, Sicily, for export (that's why it is stamped on the soundboard). Stamp is faded, but it reads "L. Genovesi, Catania." After WWII Catania became a major production center for...

whoops

Here are photos of No. 2136, including closeups of the tailpiece cover and the price tag.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CddPU59BJyRior8UA

So, upon refreshing my memory on a few points:

There were 3 headstock styles for Style C mandolins:
Stairstep: 1917–20
Deco: 1921–23
Straight: 1924 and later
(all time periods approximate) ...

Without the Washburn book handy I'd say it's from '23 or '24 and has a short scale. There are a couple of features we haven't gotten into yet, but I'll look up the info when I have a moment. I...

Maybe $800 as is? You might consider putting the electronics back in, given that you haven't patched those holes.

A Loar signed Gibson F5 was stolen over a year ago and has yet to be recovered.

Yes, preferably photos in which the mandolin isn't obscured by a shadow.

Said Style A is now here. The serial number does indeed begin with 10, but there is some whitish gunk splotched over the third digit on the label. Looks to me like either a 6 or a 0 but there isn't...

Yeah, I don't see anything that screams customization or personalization. It would be cool to own something that once belonged to Greg Leisz, but these can be had for less than $5K....

Friend of mine had his Loar stolen from his storage unit a year ago. He was all paid up; he suspects that the storage folks had hired a shady character. The instrument is still missing.

Interesting, although I kinda wish the point were smaller. At 15" I'd be tempted to try mandola strings on it.
...

Fantastic!

The shop doesn't have the guitar for sale ... maybe it's staying with the owner?

I'm a longtime fan of Frank Ford's packing advice: http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musician/GenMaint/Packing/packing1.html

You can get my contact info by following the Emando.com link in my signature. Email or text me the photo and I'll post it here.

Try reaching out to CMSA: https://classicalmandolinsociety.org/

Mandolin orchestras were phenomenally popular in the United States from 1880 through the mid-1920s. Most major cities had at least...

Cool. Someone posted a 1913 A1 yesterday with that tailpiece cover on it ... must've been replaced at some point.

A '50s Gibson tailpiece would use the post-1948 sans serif logo, not a script logo.

Is this tailpiece cover actually a Gibson product? If so, in what period would it have been used?
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