Pre 1901 Regal I think...

[darkdays]

Hello all! I came across a really cool old mandolin I had to pick up. I did as much research on it as possible and found out it is a Regal distributed by Wulschner and maybe potentially one of the Larson Brother built ones, the serial number on inside on the neck appears to be 5950. It has inlaid mother of pearl on the soundboard and the tailpiece and tuning board covers appears to be silver, screws are other equipment appears original along with the strings. Am I nuts in thinking I found something cool/valuable here?

[darkdays]

Clear shot of tag

[MikeEdgerton]

Am I nuts in thinking I found something cool/valuable here?

You might be a bit more excited than you're going to be. That was my next question, is there a Wulschner label and the answer is yes. You have a Wulschner Regal. Very few bowlback mandolins command high prices and they are generally branded Martin or one of a few Italian brand names.

[MikeEdgerton]

Bob Carlin's book Regal Musical Instruments 1895-1955 has some catalog pages and pictures of some of the Wulschner Regal mandolins. None are exactly the same as this one but some are close.

[Jim Garber]

Samuel Siegel, a virtuoso player at the time, endorsed Regal mandolins (among others). I believe that Regal was made, not just distributed, by Wulschner.

[LadysSolo]

Cool - I think yes, particularly if it came with that case and the case is original. Valuable - depends on what you consider valuable - I have purchased several bowlbacks in the last couple of years (I like bowlbacks,) all playable and solid, and I paid on average $200 for them. They are all worth that to me and since I like them they are valuable to me and not for sale. But high-dollar? Not really. I hope (for you) that yours is worth more than that, I really don't know.

[MikeEdgerton]

There are pictures of the inside of the Wulschner manufacturing building in 1901 in the Carlin book. The first mention of them being a manufacturer is in a catalog in 1896-97 if I recall. Unfortunately that has to be taken with a grain of salt as well as every distributor (including large catalog houses) claimed to be manufacturers

[Jim Garber]

Absolutely, Mike. I have to dig out my Carlin book and see what the transition of Wulschner and the Indianapolis Regals were to the later Chicago Company.

From Mugwumps.com:

Q: Can you help me locate some information about the Regal Company? They made the Octophone, an 8 string instrument. They also published an instruction book, tunings etc. If you can lead me to a copy or Xerox copy or something I would really appreciate it. D.W.
A: That's two questions in one. There were several Regal companies and trademarks; the first was Emil Wulschner & Son, Indianapolis, IN brand name in use c.1884-1901. New owners changed name to The Regal Manufacturing Company, 1901-1904. Lyon & Healy bought the rights to the Regal name and used it on instruments from 1905-1908. The next is in Chicago, IL 1908-1954 as the Regal Musical Instrument Company; this is the one that most people know, and the one that made your Octophone.

From Graham McDonald, "The Mandolin: A History":

“Emil Wulschner started the company in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1878 as a retail, and later wholesale, music business. By the mid 1890s Wulschner & Son had expanded into manufacturing Regal mandolins and guitars. ”
. . .
“Following Emil’s death in 1900, the manufacturing side of the company split off into a separate Regal Manufacturing Company and a year later was sold to a consortium of Indianapolis businessmen.”
. . .
“By 1904 they were out of business and Lyon & Healy bought what remained of the company assets, including the Regal name, which they registered as a trademark in 1906. ”
. . .
“In 1908 a new Regal Musical Instrument Company was created with Frank Kordick, a 20 year Lyon & Healy employee, as president. From the perspective of a century later it seems like a strange situation. The new company did not own the Regal name, but were allowed to use it and operated out of one of the Lyon & Healy factories in Chicago for several years until able to build a factory of their own.”

[brunello97]

The potential of this being a Larson mandolin is none.

It's a nice Regal mandolin. Enjoy it for what it is.

Somewhere I recall reading that when L+H acquired Regal they got a lot of mandolins in various levels of completion. These were marketed under a separate L+H name, maybe it was the Jupiter line or maybe the Lakeside line.

I need to dig out the source for that so I'm not spreading rumors.

Mick

[Randi Gormley]

That's a very pretty mandolin, there. I hope you play it with enjoyment!

"....tuning board covers appears to be silver, screws are other equipment appears original along with the strings.... " I will say I'm always surprised when someone says the strings are original as if that's a good thing. A lot like "i bought this cool chest from 1890 and the dead mouse in it dates back to then!" ugh. take those things off and replace them with ultra-lights. that'll raise the value at least to that of acceptable player's instrument!

[Jeff Mando]

" I will say I'm always surprised when someone says the strings are original as if that's a good thing.

OTOH, I was at an antique car auction years ago and they were selling a 1956 Thunderbird with only 51 original miles (yes, you read it right!) and the auctioneer was making a big deal about it still having the original tires from 1956......

In another situation I was the repairman at a vintage guitar shop and a man left his old lapsteel to be repaired for a wiring issue and he left specific instructions with my boss to NOT change the original strings. I didn't get the message and as a matter of course I changed the strings and when he picked it up instead of being happy I thought he was going to cry.........the strings were part of the charm of owning it for him......I felt bad and I'm sure he still hates me......

[darkdays]

Thanks to all for the info! I like the thing and the sound, so I am going to learn to play it. So I gather new strings are like new tires on a hotrod, so I will have that done. Is there any other maintenance or work I would need to have done on it to make it last/play well?

[brunello97]

As Randi said, ultra light strings only, hombre. Sizes .09-.32, made by GHS Strings (among others.)

Don't risk it with anything heavier, not even for a short period of time, no matter what anyone tells you.

It's a nice mandolin. Learn to play it... and enjoy it!

Mick

[allenhopkins]

...In another situation I was the repairman at a vintage guitar shop and a man left his old lapsteel to be repaired for a wiring issue and he left specific instructions with my boss to NOT change the original strings. I didn't get the message and as a matter of course I changed the strings and when he picked it up instead of being happy I thought he was going to cry.........the strings were part of the charm of owning it for him......I felt bad and I'm sure he still hates me......

Well, you don't fret strings on a lap steel, so they don't get worn by the frets or corroded by touching fingers. (Though if you damp the strings behind the steel, there's some hand-string contact.) Even so, strings don't last forever.

I have some 19th-century Autoharps with original bass strings, which I daren't replace because they don't make replacements that are wound most of their length, but unwound over the bridges -- not in the right lengths to fit these instruments. So I hold on to century-plus-old strings, but I can't say they exactly "sparkle" when strummed.