some help with an old bowlback mando

[jayalva]

can anyone tell me more about this mando, it has a star on the headstock and some paintings on the body..it plays just fine and has only one small crack in the body which i'm repairing

any info would help!

thank you

[Jim Garber]

Looks like an American Conservatory to me. Made and sold by Lyon & Healy. I think the painting and the star are not original. Looks like a model 602. This is from a 1909 L&H catalog.

[jayalva]

man thank you so much, is there any more info you can tell me about it?
out of all the mando's i have and play this one def has some character to it

[Jim Garber]

My very first mandolin was an American Conservatory bowlback. It wasn't until I found out that bowlbacks were not too cool that I traded up to a Vega cylinder. American Conservatory was Lyon & Healy's mid-grade line tho there are a few pretty fancy ones at the upper end. They are very nicely made instruments similar to the higher end Washburns. Yours was prob made around the first decade or so of the twentieth century.