Acme Bowlback- L & H?

[NickR]

This sold the other day for $250- but it's quite a beauty and is worth a view by others. I am taking the easy option by suggesting it was made by L & H.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Acme-Profes...p2047675.l2557

[MikeEdgerton]

Yeah, I'm not sure. It does look nice though. The seller had no clue as to how old it actually was and he should turn off Auto-correct or at least proof read. The engraved tailpiece cover kind of sets me back a little from L&H but I have no other alternatives to point to.

Up for Sale is

Acme Professional Mandolin
Vintage 1900's with Original Case!

I can not find a lot of info on the moado but what little info there is I
believe it was made in the mid 1900's. It is in very nice condition concertinaing
it's age. The original case is inclined. One of the latches is not functional.
Thank you for looking!

For posterity:

[Charles E.]

The headstock and it's inlay are wrong for L&H.

The other brand names I know associated with L&H are Washburn, American Conservatory and Tonk Brothers. Never heard of Acme being associated with them.

Pretty mandolin though.

[Jim Garber]

I believe the Acme Professionals were built and sold by Stewart & Bauer in Philadelphia. Only Chicago connection was that Stewart built banjos for Sears at one point.

[NickR]

Yes, it looks like Jim has hit the nail squarely on the head. Here's one that is even more of an eyeful!

https://billsbanjos.com/Acmemandolin.htm

[rcc56]

Yes, probably Stewart and Bauer. There's not much info available on Bauer. We know that he partnered with the ailing S.S. Stewart in 1898, and continued the S.S. Stewart operation with Stewart's sons after the elder Stewart passed later in that year. Within a few years, Bauer had complete control of the Stewart name, and Stewart's son's made an unsuccessful attempt to go into business for themselves.

After some research, I'm not sure where the Stewart and Bauer instruments were made. Banjos made after 1902 or so bear no resemblance to earlier Stewart instruments in either construction or design. Some of the later banjos bear characteristics of instruments made by Rettburg & Lange and Weymann.

And the Stewart company made few, if any mandolins at all before the Bauer partnership. My best guess is that Bauer either had at least some of the instruments built for him by another manufacturer, or that he gutted the old Stewart factory and employees and moved his own people in.

I did notice that the heel carving on the ebay mandolin is similar to the crude floral carving I have seen on several late Stewart banjos. It bears no resemblance at all to the high quality carving we see on 19th century Stewart instruments.

Whoever built it, that's a nice looking mandolin.

[brunello97]

Here's a not-very-high-quality image of an Acme mandolin catalog page. Jim might have one in better resolution.

Mick

[fatt-dad]

my Acme Professional Banjo was built by Stewart. It's branded Sears.

I'm with Jim.

f-d