I bought this mandolin in December and before posting it, I had wished to take it to my repair expert who is also a luthier. However, he has been very ill since I made the purchase, and now we are in the grip of the Coronavirus, I have no idea when he can do the work to convert it back to right had play and fix a few other issues, like the separation in the back and possibly make a new bridge.
Anyway, the mandolin was originally sold in the USA and the best pictures are all here when it was still right hand playing:
https://reverb.com/uk/item/5702834-v...deco-headstock
My first observation is, that the seller did not know his way around a ruler, the scale is exactly 13 inches. This mandolin has never had the large vulcanised fibre guard as there would be an insert- or tell tale signs of one and they cannot be found. Furthermore, the tailpiece is not a replacement for the lyre version- it has not carried one. If it had, there would be signs on the top and a hole on the end for a screw, as that version of the tailpiece extends down further than the hinged example we see- which was used by Lyon & Healy. There is what I believe is called a "stringer" on the top and the back. The back is two piece. The headstock is a slightly different shape to others and the top and back do not have such a pronounced arch.
The seller in the UK told me that this was an apprentice piece, made for passing out as a fully fledged craftsman and presumably, this was made to prove his skills. Unfortunately, he put the documents into the case of another mandolin he sold and they were not returned. There is a label which is extremely faded/worn and it looks like this one- which is from a mandola worked on by Jake Wildwood. Again, it is not typical. The Waverly tuners suggest about 1923 or 1924, and we know that the 13 inch scale also dates these instruments.
Anyway, it is slightly enigmatic, it has a good tone- I can play the odd chord and notes but I am having to wait to get it into hands far more skilled than my own. Here is the style of label:
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