What do you think this is?

[delsbrother]

Mando body, long neck, four (?) strings, 1912.

[PT66]

I think it is an early "tenor guitar". I have seen four stringed instruments with round wooded bodies tuned like tenor banjo but all wood, no skin head. This was probly tuned the same.

[bradeinhorn]

that poor little girl was born with an accordian instead of arms

[scgc.om]

An early tenor guitar - in 1912 . . . I highly doubt it. Both Martin and Gibson introduced tenor guitars the same year - 1927. Their intent was to woo some tenor banjo players over to the guitar. Tenor banjos were not a big craze (i.e. worth wooing) till the 20s.

[Jim Garber]

Could be a Pollman mandolin-banjo like this one:


These were made in the banjo era, late 1800s.

[mandolooter]

thats a cool pic what ever it is, how cute! Sure look like banjo tuners from this angle.

[mandolirius]

<that poor little girl was born with an accordian instead of arms>

You're completely mistaken about that. She was born with a concertina instead of arms.

[JEStanek]

Even more tragic!

Goldtone still makes a Banjola.

Jamie

[allenhopkins]

Could be a Pollman mandolin-banjo...
These were made in the banjo era, late 1800s.

Pollman made 'em with four- and six-string necks as well as the five-string version.

Patent dates are in the 1890's. He called the five-stringers "mandoline banjos."

[Jim Garber]

I didn't look at the link in the original post. I didn;t realize that the postcard might be from Portugal ... or is it?

Then again, it doesn't look like any Portuguese instrument I know of. Oh wait, a card written to Portugal maybe from someone visiting in America, maybe New England -- large Portuguese immigrant community. Could be a Pollman instrument then.

[brunello97]

I didn't look at the link in the original post. I didn;t realize that the postcard might be from Portugal ... or is it?

Then again, it doesn't look like any Portuguese instrument I know of. Oh wait, a card written to Portugal maybe from someone visiting in America, maybe New England -- large Portuguese immigrant community. #Could be a Pollman instrument then.

It doesn't look like a US stamp on the postcard, and the date stamp also appears day-of-month first, Euro style.

Painfully cute kids.....

Mick

[jtauxe]

I'm guessing that the instrument on our left (their right) is a wooden tenor banjo. I have two banjos that I have made that look very much like that, except that they ahve 5 strings. I've been contemplating a 4-string version, and if I built it it would look much like what she is holding.