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Some of those details I hadn't considered, and many design elements are extremely inconsistent (such as the drilled f holes vs comma f-holes) that seem to appear and disappear across the eras, and...

Sorkin music was founded in Philadelphia in 1914 and moved to New York in 1935. Here is an article from a 1935 edition of music trades that advertises this:

208050

They were a distributor and...

Charles Robinson has written about Richter guitars here:

https://www.leavingthisworld.com/richter-mfg-co-guitars-c-1920-1943/

Nat Adams has added some details as well:
...

This is almost certainly a United built mandolin:

https://reverb.com/item/62791152-vintage-stadium-mandolin-blonde-birch-regal-harmony

They built guitars under the Stadium name, it has a United...

I have found three articles in Svoboda (the main Ukrainian language newspaper from New York) that reference Paul Homenick as a mandolin maker. I've had them transcribed and professionally translated:...

I've reread the 1935 Metro catalog and there is a $9 Strad mandolin on the preceding page that seems to correspond to the Junior, so the pressed top instruments pre-exist the Fretted Instrument Co's...

With a small bit jump of logic it can all be tied together. This is a very good article on the history of the Tonk Brothers:

https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/tonk-bros/

towards...

Marwin was listed in their 1951 catalog:

http://www.vintaxe.com/catalogs_main/catalogs_american_marwin.php

they also retailed harmony in that catalog as a seperate line:
...

From Music Trades April 1954:

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From Music Trades February 1977:

207303

S Nathaniel Adams has Marwin listed as a brand of Barth-Feinberg from the 1940s-1960s.

It doesn't seem to have been discussed anywhere on here before, Acoustic Music have posted the 1936 Gretsch catalog (the 1933 has been discussed here) and it is the first and only catalog I am aware...

After my last attempted at a 1930s levin mandolin turned into a complicated wild goose chase IÂ’m not going to try on this one, but I doubt IÂ’ll see one of these long scale (looks longer than a...

I had an Orpheum Ideal archtop guitar with that same overlay that was definitely built by Harmony as it was exactly the same spec as a Cremona and had a fall 1937 Harmony date stamp in the f-hole.
...

Binding rot is common to most New York guitars from the 1950s. Both my United built archtop and Sorkin built solid body have it to varying degrees.

Interestingly it doesn’t seem to affect...

Mark Saltzman who bought the Strad-o-Lin name from the Homenick Brothers said they primarily built acoustic mandolins in the factory that Sorkin bought from them. If they didn't make the mandolins...

The earliest date evidenced date I have seen for a Strad is 1932 in this thread by Graham Mcdonald.

He includes a catalog page from 1933 with it:

202995

The detail that stands out (aside...

I discussed this on here in one of my old posts so I'll quote that:

That is the later revision on the stairstep tailpiece, - my earlier one (about 1956) only has a number marking on it and is presumably made in USA. The later one is built from two parts and riveted...

There has been quite a lot has been written about United / Sorkin guitars recently:

https://www.vintageguitar.com/38097/united-guitar-corporation/
...

Another detail I've found is an advert in this 1935 Russian Mutual Aid Magazine.

It is annoyingly truncated and the picture that accompanied it won't show for copyright reasons but the text...

My Premier Scroll guitar has metal inlays that look about the same size:

201669

That was made by Premier themselves after they bought the Homenick mandolin factory. I believe that they are made...

Actually looking at it again, I'm almost certain it's the same one. Strange all round.

Someone on the Fender Tenor Tele group on Facebook has one that they say they bought from a used shop, can't say for definite that it's not the same one though.

My dream is for fender to do a gold...

It looks like a few of these Squier tenor teles appeared in various places online in January to not much fanfare. I wonder if they were planning a production but shelved it because they were so...

I suppose the catalogs aren't to be trusted as they seem to have used the same photo for the model P-344 (Stradolin Adjustable Bridge) $13.90 (1935) and the H-2013 $20.00 (Stradolin Artist...