Re: Vintage Mandolin Info Very Much Appreciated
Encore was a Japanese export brand associated with Teisco, and mostly found on electric guitars; the Encore mandolins I found through Google were all electric solid-bodies. Teisco was in business as a separate manufacturer from the late 1940's until nearly 1970, when another Japanese company bought the brand. Encore instruments are still being sold in the US by JHS Inc., and are imports targeted to students/beginners.
The "Encore" brand has also showed up from time to time on domestically produced instruments, sometimes built in Chicago by Harmony; these would be probably built 1930-50, and wouldn't be related to this mandolin.
How an "Italian grandfather" ended up with an Asian-made bowl-back is an interesting question. The bowl is made from alternate maple and rosewood staves, which is a construction often found a century ago, but not that common now. The jack seems to indicate that there's a piezo-electric pickup installed, which could be verified by looking into the interior with a dental mirror.
Instrument seems to be in good shape, and an electrically-amplified bowl-back is unusual. Perhaps the Italian grandfather played in a cafe somewhere, plugging into a sound system; that would be my guess. Not a particularly valuable instrument, but nice enough. Japanese bowl-backs have a reputation as being "over-built," and thus less acoustically desirable, but you may find this one satisfactory.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
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Stradolin Vega banjolin
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Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
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