What do you think?

[G7MOF]

Just got this sweet Lyon & Healy from the 20s but was wondering if the tail piece is correct. There are no signs of any other screw holes in the body.

[Charles E.]

Looking at the Washburn book by Hubert Pleijsier, that mandolin is a style B and should have the ornate, engraved tailpiece.

Lyon and Healy did use the tailpiece on yours on their twelve string bowl back "American Conservatory" models.

So not sure what to tell you, it could have been swapped out at some point.

[Charles E.]

After looking at your photo, something was bugging me and it has to do with the headstock. At first glance it looks ok but when you look closer, it is too wide at the top and the profile of the double scrolls is off. Also the soft shoulders by the lowest tuners are wrong.

Perhaps some other members familiar with L & H could weigh in.

Could you post some more photo's?

[atetone]

For some reason I can't open the image but I would like to be able to see what those issues are that Charles E is referring to.
Could someone post an actual picture?
Too technical for my old brain.
Thanks

[rcc56]

That mandolin looks identical to one that was advertised on Reverb by a shop in Dawsonville, GA, USA. It is an anomaly.

It does not look like any other Lyon and Healy I have seen. The shapes, proportions, and trim are all different from what is normally seen on a style B.

I propose that the mandolin was hand-made by an individual rather than produced by the L & H factory, or that the instrument was heavily modified.

Can you provide us with a clear picture of the label? Also, is there a back brace visible through the sound hole? There appears to be one on the Reverb mandolin, and that also would not be normal on an L & H style B.

[G7MOF]

This was the one on reverb but bought recently from the classified ad section on M/C.
The label is to faded to photograph clearly but is identical to the L & H of that period.
It wasn't sold to me as an L & H and i purchased it for a fifth of the Reverb price.
The tuners are right for it and it is all solid woods.

[G7MOF]

This is the clearest photo I can get of the label.
Sorry it won't turn round for some reason.

[Charles E.]

I don't know about the label but that rosette was not made by Lyon and Healy. I think it is a copy in the style of L & H.

How does it sound?

[G7MOF]

It sounds wonderful but looks somewhat tatty.
I'll put some time in on it and get it looking good.

[multidon]

Yes, I am certainly not a Lyon and Healy expert. But that rosette looks way to rough for that maker. Probably a hobbyist “tribute” with a reproduction label. That tailpiece was an off the shelf item commonly available at one time, while the proper Lyon and Healy lyre was not commonly available, proprietary really, so it makes sense this is what would be used. Could still be a nice instrument if youngot it for the right price, and it does have the “look” from a distance.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Here's the label pic. the right way up.

Regarding the mandolin being a 'copy' - why not at least get the headstock dimensions correct ?. As for the t/piece,that could simply be a replacement ?.

As rcc56 says - " It is an anomaly." I would say that the Rosette inlay work looks pretty crude.
Having said that - my personal criteria would be 'does it sound good ?' & apparently it does. The rest wouldn't bother me ''if the price was right'',
Ivan

[Ray(T)]

I don’t think its possible to evaluate the size/shape of the headstock from that photo. For starters, it’s not taken “head-on” but from slightly above. This would tend to make the headstock larger/wider the degree of which depends on the focal length of the lens used.

I would concur that the ring around the soundhole does look rather crude; almost as if it was added later.

[G7MOF]

When it was on Reverb it was silly money around $2700.
After all the info you guys gave me I'm glad I didn't pay that much for it. Someone must have bought it though!