I popped into a local acoustic music store last weekend and they were fitting a bridge to what I think was called a "Mandolette." I wrote down what was on the label and searched when I got home but came up empty. I don't have the note here so I'm going by memory, which works less well every year!
At first glance I thought it was a largish Lyon & Healy... maybe a mandola. On the second glance I noticed that it had 10 tuners... 5 per side. The guys who were working on it hadn't noticed that fact, but they are banjo/guitar guys so any more than 6 tuners probably looks like a lot! The mando is in good shape with an intact label that reads something to the effect of "Worth Mandolette Company, Chicago, ILL." with #216 (I think) written on both the label and inside toward the tail block.
The tuners have black tuning buttons, the body is rosewood with maple or holly accents, and the pickguard looks pretty typical of a L&H/Washburn bowlback from the early 1900s. The tailpiece is missing most of its fingers so they were going to replace it, but the original only had fingers for 8 strings so it was not customized for the additional strings. It looked like a bone or ivory nut with slots filed for all 10 strings, but the treble-side pair almost look like they were filed wider than the others as if it had a bass pair above the E strings.
Has anybody heard of such a beast? If it was number 216 there must be a few others around but I'm not seeing Worth listed here or on Mugwumps. Maybe they started building with #200? I didn't measure the scale length... I wish I had, but are there any ideas how would this thing likely been strung and tuned?
I'll try to get back over to the store this evening and get some pics and measurements. I've got an hour to kill while my daughter is in dance class and it's only a few blocks from the store so I usually go tune and open up their instruments for them. If anybody has some information I could give them to pass along to the owner it would be great.
Paul
"... beauty is not found in the excessive but what is lean and spare and subtle" - Terry Tempest Williams
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