Re: Any ideas regarding manufacturer and age of this Mandolin?
It's a turn of the century (a little before or after 1900) Lyon and Healy built entry level mandolin. It was built for the trade to be sold by a retailer, school, or teacher as their own. Thousands of instruments were built without labels. The number of dots doesn't point to anything specific, it was just how it was ordered. The decor was readily available from jobbers and probably used by other builders as well. Barring finding an exact and very detailed catalog page you probably won't get much closer than that. These are not that unusual. It's worth more as a family heirloom. Have someone that knows mandolins set it up and replace with parts that are close and play it. That's where the real enjoyment should come in.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
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