5-String mandolin?

[jkcornwell]

Hello,

I recently bought a book of Carolan tunes for mandolin (Turlough O'Carolan for Mandolin
By Hans- W.F. Landau) and the cover feature what appears to be s 5-string, bowlback mandolin. Most curious are the strings: they appear to be conjoined, and held in place by something similar to the bridge pins on an acoustic guitar. The only reference to the cover image says that it's courtesy of Guerima Instruments, Markneukirchen (Germany I assume).

Is anyone familiar with this type of construction? Is it even a mandolin? I'd love to know more if anyone has information.

Thanks!

Jason

[allenhopkins]

It's a five-course, ten-string mandolin, often called a mandriola. These are not too uncommon, and I'm not surprised that it's German-made. In the US, Oscar Schmidt Co. in New Jersey made a fair number of them. The use of "bridge pins" to anchor the string loops is something I haven't seen before; usually metal tabs or posts are part of the tailpiece, with generally one post for each string, rather than doubling them up. Notice, however, that the string loops encircle the protruding part of the "pin," rather than being inserted into the instrument body and held in place by the pin, as in a steel-string guitar.

Markneukirchen, in Saxony, is a centuries-old locus for instrument manufacture, especially violins, mandolins and guitars. A quick Google doesn't yield info about a Guerima instrument manufacturer or dealer, though.

Perhaps an odd choice for the cover of a book of Irish tunes, but publishers often just pick a stock photo of the featured instrument.

[Jacob]

Maker is Guriema.