Levin Mandolins

[brunello97]

Discussions of these very nice looking Swedish mandolins show up from time to time here, so I thought they deserved their own with an easily searchable title, that maybe can build some density of information. Here is an Aristokrat, from 1946:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Very-Rare-1946-L...A16%7C294%3A50

A healthy asking price, but a great looking mandolin.

Mick

[johnl]

That's a nice looking mandolin. This website for a vintage instrument store in Sweden has posted lots of info on Levin. Here's a link to the mandolin section:

http://www.vintage-guitars.se/Levin_mandolins.htm

[brunello97]

Great website, John, thanks for the link. I didn't know the company's history went back so far, including lines of bowlback mandolins. I wonder if these were made in Sweden or imported? Their two-point archtops from the early 30's (models 460 and 380) look very good.

Mick

[bluesmandolinman]

thanks John for the Levin link
I am surprised how many different models Levin offered !

[johnl]

It looks like all the Levin instruments were built in Sweden until Martin bought the company in the early seventies (and it looks like they actually built some Martin guitars in Sweden). The company history is here:
http://www.vintage-guitars.se/Levin_history.htm
They went through a lot of the same ups and downs as the U.S. builders (including the wood shortages during WW2).
There's also some good pics of Levin mandolins in the 'sold' section of the vintage-instruments site:
http://www.vintage-guitars.se/gallery.htm#BMM

[Bert Deivert]

I have a blond one too from 1946, gorgeous and with great sound! Would consider selling if these are the ballpark figures. Mine is in Sweden though. Good for Europeans! or visitors!
cheers
BERT

[John Kinn]

Have an excellent Levin mandola from the fifties. Great sounding instrument!

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

Where the heck have I been, I thought I was up on all the cool mandolins out there. Those Levin's are beautiful. come to think of it I remember seeing a fancy Goya a few years back..most likely a Levin product.

[brunello97]

I am with you, Michael, on being enlightened here. I hadn't seen any pre-war Levins before John's post. The two-point f hole models are sublime. I think we are talking the prices up right here, but perhaps they really deserve to be better known options to the the Martin/Gibson/L+H troika. As with the heyday of the GreatLakesRim builders, you would expect the wood selection to be exquisite. My wish-list has grown longer......

kinnjohn, can we get you to post a picture of the Levin mandola?

Mick

[brunello97]

Since this thread is gaining some momentum, here is a 1949 Levin on the Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ayphotohosting

I am not sure if I can discern the model type from the Vintage Guitar site: (Konsert? Safir?) Nonetheless the price is >Martin <Gibson which speaks of either its scarcity, quality (or both.) Or perhaps the wishful thinking of the seller. But I think these are sleepers-no-more. A trip to Sweden might be in order.....

Mick

[Sheryl McDonald]

Just last month I acquired a 1939 Levin oval hole (model 335) from Bernunzio's. It's not nearly as mint as the one pictured here, but I love it's sound (and it's vintage look).

The front of it is my avatar. More pictures are at this link - http://picasaweb.google.com/sherylmc/LevinMandolin#

[brunello97]

Just last month I acquired a 1939 Levin oval hole (model 335) from Bernunzio's. It's not nearly as mint as the one pictured here, but I love it's sound (and it's vintage look).

The front of it is my avatar. More pictures are at this link - http://picasaweb.google.com/sherylmc/LevinMandolin#

Very nice! I like the L+H archtop inspired headstock and the Gibson A lines of the body. Not to make it seem like the design is derivative, only that Levin had their eyes and ears open to the quality instruments of the preceding era. Good taste, design restraint, quality materials and craft. No wonder Martin sought to acquire the company.

MAS arisin'.

Mick

[Jim Garber]

Not too much to add to this but the Aristokrat was the top of the line and, given the quality, I don't think that that price is out of line, tho like many European instruments in the US is relatively unknown to us Yanks.

[John Kinn]

Here's my Levin mandolaI'm not a very good photographer):

[brunello97]

A couple of Levins back on the ebay including the Aristokrat noted above and a 'Palermo' model.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...E:B:SS:US:1123

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...E:B:SS:US:1123

Interestingly, the Palermo ad includes an photo of the Levin shop.

Mick

[Jake Wildwood]

Levins are great mandos... I tend to think of them as "sensible" instruments!

[jefflester]

Up for auction again:

1946 Levin Aristokrat on Ebay

[Stefan Jadefjord]

Nice thread! Here is a photo of my Levin 325 from 1943.



I live in Sweden and I bought this from a friend for about $330

[moepower]

Here's my Levin 325 circa 1942. A little bit battered and is missing the tail cover, but it puts out superior sound compared to newer mandolins I've tried.

[John L]

I have a Levin mandola - 1949 I believe based on several on-line serial number lists. The middle one, obviously, but the other two instruments are also from Sweden - Hagstroms

[pfox14]

There are few makers outside the US that could be consider a premier builder and Levin is one of them. Very high quality instruments.

[jdchapman]

There's a 12 string up on ebay right now, in Europe.

[tonydxn]

Here are some photos of a nicely-preserved Levin Model 340 from 1943 (s/n 142475). Difficult to take a photo of the flamed birch back and sides which does justice to the beautiful wood. The fretboard is walnut.



Rather poor sound sample here
https://youtu.be/SwARgx7Fgws

[NickR]

Levin used Romanian spruce in the 1930s for carved top guitars from the Carpathian mountains. A Czechoslovakian guitar brand was called Tatra- the highest part of this mountain range- in Slovakia itself but I'm not sure if the wood was from there! Dick Knight, the celebrated British archtop maker- I have his last mandolin, said that when wood came in from central Europe you had to be extremely careful in sawing it- as much of it was full of metal from the huge battles that took place in WWI! I assume that WW2 cut off supplies of wood to Levin which may have made life difficult getting good wood- as most of Europe was engulfed in war. Nice looking instrument you have there and I have seen good Levin mandolins go for sensible prices.

[Charles E.]

There are three levin mandolins in the classifieds at the moment, including this Aristokrat........

https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/134157#134157

Seems that Mr Page is selling off a pretty large collection of vintage mandolins, guitars, banjos and ukes.