1953 Mandolin made in Paris by Deslaurier
Over the weekend I bought a 1953 flat back mandolin, made by P. Deslaurier in Paris. Model is "Renato." Serial number 111. Back and sides are birds-eye maple and top is spruce. Fingerboard rosewood. Came with a nice wood case as well. A great flea market find in Antibes France. Anyone heard of these? Not finding much online.
Re: 1953 Mandolin made in Paris by Deslaurier
And a few photos of the Deslaurier "Renato" mandolin
Re: 1953 Mandolin made in Paris by Deslaurier
Nice find! Is that Birds Eye maple on the back? Please let us know how it sounds and plays, particularly with that neck profile.
A general web search turns up some references to P Deslaurier in relation to other instruments as well: snare drums and horns, for instance.
Might he have been a Parisian instrument dealer? This one has the look of some of the mandolins we have seen from the various Mirecourt builders. I have a catalog or two from there in my files and can check when I get home.
Jim or somebody might have quicker access and an opinion or two.
Nice case, too. And I enjoy that '50s era typeface used on the label. Reminiscent of "Futura" one of my favorites.
Mick
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Re: 1953 Mandolin made in Paris by Deslaurier
I have a feeling that he was a dealer as well. There are also references to horns and other band instruments. Note the labels inside and outside the instrument. Many of the wooden stringed instruments sold in this era in France were actually built in the French colonies such as Vietnam.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
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Re: 1953 Mandolin made in Paris by Deslaurier
Likely to be Mirecourt built rather than Vietnam. Vietnam instrumnets nearly always had some unusual fancy features, like carved headstocks and the like.
Re: 1953 Mandolin made in Paris by Deslaurier
I agree with my esteemed colleagues that this is probably a dealer with a store brand added. The headstock looks identical to those from the Jérôme Thibouville-Lamy (JTL) shop. How do you know it is 1953, BTW? The jpegs I have are from earlier samples and the catalogs are from the beginning of the last century.
Jim
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Re: 1953 Mandolin made in Paris by Deslaurier
I am not knowledgable about French mandolins at all.
Here's a similar bowl back one though:
https://new.liveauctioneers.com/item/44968155
and here's some general info on French makers:
http://www.mandolinluthier.com/frenc...lin_makers.htm
very interesting!
Re: 1953 Mandolin made in Paris by Deslaurier
Thanks for the feedback. And yes, probably a distributor of instruments, not the maker. The paper label inside the mandolin has the date stamped as 1953.Originally Posted by Jim Garber
Re: 1953 Mandolin made in Paris by Deslaurier
Thanks for the JTL information. I have sent them photos to see if they can identify my mandolin.
Re: 1953 Mandolin made in Paris by Deslaurier
Mick - Thanks so much for the quick reply. It is birds eye maple on the sides and the back. Rosewood fingerboard and what looks like a spruce top. I have ordered a new set of strings but even the old ones that were on it sound pretty good. Plenty of volume if a little bright sounding (compared to the F4 Gibson I have at home in Maine). And yes, let me know if you turn up something similar to mine in your files! Mark
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