looking for info on recently acquired family mandolin

[kooljoe]

I recently received an old family mandolin that originally belonged to a great-grandfather. When I look up about Brandt bowl back I don't see anything with this block style scroll which makes me wonder if that makes it special or if it's because it was actually so common/ordinary that it's not worth seeing when you look for them.

Also, it is worth trying to fix up the cracks in the face and learning to play it or is this an instrument that is just worth keeping as a family item?

Thanks in advance for any info/help!

[MikeEdgerton]

The Mugwumps Encyclopedia of Musical instrument makers lists

Brandt, John Chicago IL Wm. Lewis or Lyon & Healy circa 1898

Brandt may have been a builder or may have been a brand name. It's in pretty rough shape and would probably never be worth the money it would take to restore it or even repair it. It's value lies in what it brings to you as a family heirloom. If that value is high enough then have it repaired.

There are some past threads about these mandolins on the cafe. They can be found here.

[mrmando]

I am pretty sure John Brandt was a person, not just a brand. That scroll is a version of "Roman"-style headstock copied from Luigi Embergher. Brandt later developed the violin-style scroll that ended up being used on the Lyon & Healy Style A. He obtained US Patent No. 609531 (8/23/1898) for that design, which you can see on the Brandt mandolin in this thread:

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...hn-brandt-1899

[Timbofood]

The family “Cool Factor” is priceless! As a playable instrument not so much. Were it me, it would become valued art on the wall. Spend the restoration money on something else to play, unless you must play Great Grandfathers Mandolin. If you are so drawn to it that you must restore it, do it with a glad heart and don’t think about the financial side ever again! Love it one way or another.

[allenhopkins]

A Brandt-designed Lyon & Healy Style A headstock, with a much more refined scroll but the same basic tuner arrangement, is pictured on p. 120 of Pleijsier's Washburn Pre-War Instrument Styles. (The Style A was a flat-back, rather than a bowl-back, mandolin.) Brandt's patent drawing for his headstock/tuner arrangement is reproduced on p. 123.

Pleijsier describes Brandt as "one of the many smaller instrument makers in Chicago" in the early 20th century. A Brandt mandolin is a bit of a rarity, but not super-in-demand (cf. Larson Brothers for super-in-demand rare instruments).

IMHO this mandolin's value is dependent on your evaluation of its family history connection. I inherited a B & J Victoria bowl-back, found in my grandfather's attic. It needed some top crack glueing, otherwise pretty sound. I wanted to play an instrument that my granddad's second wife had played, so I got it fixed up, and 45 years later I still play it now and then. Was it worth the cost of the repair/restoration? Heck, I don't care; it was worth it to me.

[kooljoe]

Thank you all for great responses! I'll definitely be looking into getting an estimate for repair to get it fixed up. I'm excited about the idea of learning to play mandolin since I have an old family one. And if it doesn't work out then I think it's still very cool to have and be able to pass on to other family in the future!

[Timbofood]

Good for you kooljoe! If it means something to you, the reward of playing an instrument with family history, will be something special! Good luck, take your time, it will be fun to learn the instrument.