Re: Sacrilege?
As discussed, National made some of its earliest guitars of "German silver," a shiny copper/zinc/nickel alloy -- other than the resonator cone, always aluminum, either spun or stamped. There's an outrageously engraved "presentation grade" German silver mandolin in the Brozman book.
Later Nationals were either nickel/chrome plated brass, or steel (and a few wooden ones, like my National Havana). The steel bodied ones (mostly Triolian or Duolian) had painted finishes, either "polychrome" often with painted or stenciled Hawaiian scenes, or "walnut sunburst." My Triolian mandolin is the latter.
The nickel or chrome plated instruments often were engraved with floral patterns, or had Hawaiian-motif scenes sandblasted into the plating's surface. My Style 0 guitar has the faint outlines of palm trees and a man in a canoe, still visible on the back.
Faux wood painting was also common on aluminum instruments, like my probably-Pfretzschner aluminum bass fiddle. I've often considered stripping it down to shiny aluminum, similar to Everett Allen Lilly's bass when he played for the Charles River Valley Boys, but never get around to it. The aluminum bowl of my Merrill mandolin, however, is left "natural" and engraved.
Concur in Jim G's evaluation of vintage National mandolins vs. the new RM-1. I wouldn't trade in my Triolian, but I'm pretty sure the RM-1's a more versatile instrument. I'd never take the ol' Triolian to a Celtic session, for example.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
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