This standard Style A mandolin is not only extremely fine sounding, but it is also exceptionally handsome having the black finish face, medium brown sides and back, a black ebony veneer headstock overlay with no logo on it as is common to the Style A-; the back of the neck is mahogany, the back and sides are plain maple and the top is carved spruce. This has the oval soundhole, bound in yellowed ivoroid, and encircled on the face by three rings of crème-black-crème. The bridge is one piece of ebony, compensated at the top, the slide-on tailpiece cover is etched “The Gibson” with a floral pattern. There is normal signs of use and wear including a multitude of string changing marks on the headplate, hand-wear on the back of the V-shaped neck, scuffs, scrapes, scratches, dings and nicks, the tortoise shell colored pickguard is crumbling along its inner edge but we feel we can probably restore it to the mandolin. The pickguard (Pat. Mar. 30, 09) retains its side clamp with the July 4, 1911 patent stamp. We looked at the finish under black light and there is no indication that it has ever been oversprayed, so we will postulate that it may have, in the past, been buffed up to shiny.
The pickguard that's shown in the enclosed photos is not presently on the mandolin. That's because, as celluloid is wont to do, it disintegrates upon contact with, um, air - and this one has begun a second music school degree in decomposition. The clamp is still fine, but one would have to have a new flatplate pickguard made for the original clamp to bring back the elevated fingerrest. One thing I do want to say about this mandolin is that it sounds "wonderful good" as Erik Darling used to say. It has a ringing, open, woody sound that sustains for an exceptionally long time. It's a clean old thing and certainly pleases us - it will probably please you as well.
We've lost our minds! and now you can get this for a $300 Discount. WAS $2056 with a Cash Price of $1995 but now: