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Thread: A couple of curiosities

  1. #1
    Mandolin tragic Graham McDonald's Avatar
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    Default A couple of curiosities

    I have been looking through early issues of The Cadenza, the journal of the Banjo Mandolin Guitar movement in the US from the mid-1890s on, looking for pictures of the mandolin orchestras of the period. In the April 1897 issue (Vol 3, No.4) is this photo of Prof Isbell's Entertainers of St Louis MO who are using a couple of quite unusual instruments. The musician in the front on the left has a pear shaped, flat backed mandola, which would have been most uncommon in 1897 and next to him is a 12 string guitar-mandolin or mandolinetto, equally as unusual at that time.

    That edition of The Cadenza had the first ad for the new Howe-Orme guitar bodied mandolins with their cylindrically moulded soundboards, but there would seem to be little evidence for other guitar-mandolins before then. Everything else I have found suggests the (non Howe-Orme) mandolinettos hit the market around 1899 or so, so a 12-string version a couple of years before is certainly interesting.

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  3. #2

    Default Re: A couple of curiosities

    I'd like to know more about that pear shaped Mandolla. I just purchased a similar item off Ebay and am not sure just what it is or how to restore it. It's the same body share, but was set up with a Uke bridge glued to the top which I removed. the original bridge was with the item and unlike this example which has a trapeze style bridge and tailpiece, this one was metal and screwed into the top. There are no screw holes from an earlier tail piece and the bridge looks original to piece and the bridge screw holes and shape are worn into the top finish.
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    Brazilian rosewood back and sides, good quality construction but an "ebonized"pear wood finger board with significant splits and cracks. I'd love any info anyone can share. It was sold as a "Mandello". It just was too intriguing not to get!

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