T.E. Bevan & Co., LD. bowl back mandolin

[trotm]

Hi all,

I purchased an old bowl back mandolin at a car boot sale in London. It has a cracked top but as it was cheap I bought it for a bit of fun.

(Pictures below)

On the top it is marked:

The Grosvenor
Tropical Mandolin

And on the inside:

T.E. Bevan & Co., LD.
Musical Instrument Specialists
Calcutta & Mussoorie

It is 60cm from head to tailpiece and 19cm at its widest.

Its quite loud for being so small but I have not played a bowl back before.

All I have established so far is that Calcutta is in India and since 2001 called Kolkata so it must date to before then…

Any information regarding this mandolin would be appreciated.

[allenhopkins]

It looks like a run-of-the-mill inexpensive bowl-back, made for export to a music dealer in India.

"The Grosvenor Tropical Mandolin Line" comes up empty on Google. The flared-top headstock seems vaguely familiar, but I can't place it. I'd guess British manufacture, or at least British distributorship, from the name.

I hope some other bowl-back experts will recognize features that I don't.

[brunello97]

As I was walking around Grosvenor Square....

Mick

iirc we've come across the Bevan concern before on imported Italian bowls. I need to check my files.