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Willie-O Mandolin maker: label with no name? (27) RE: Mandolin maker: label with no name? 10 Jun 09


That link doesn't load, Virginia. The listing at eBay is probably expired.

Always interesting to seek out the provenance of an old instrument.
The logo is a good clue, but more context is needed.
Here are the first questions:
1. What country did you acquire the mandolin in?
2. Name and location of previous owner "muso"? Any idea how long he/she owned the instrument for, if (let's say he) was original owner, or where his other instruments were typically acquired--a favourite music shop or two perhaps, or a preferred maker/brand as going by the rest of his collection?
3. Body style & materials: "flat back, pear-shaped" suggests it is an A-style body. These can have either f-holes or a round sound-hole on the top, which is it?

Is the top flat or carved (concave like a chair bottom, and/or with decorative ridges evident)? One common type of flat top is the "bent" top, as seen in this example currently for sale at the 12th Fret in Toronto:
1926 Martin Style B

Are the sides and back mahogany, rosewood or something else, maple perhaps? (The vintage example above is Brazilian rosewood)

Decorative touches: what kind of position markers, if any, are inlaid into the fingerboard, and at what fret positions? (dots, diamonds, floral patterns, or what have you?) likewise, is there any inlay on the peghead?

Shape of peghead--is it shaped like a paddle (wider at end then where it meets the fingerboard, as on the Martin example above) or "snakehead" (narrower at end--these are considered more desirable)
And how is the peghead shaped at the end--a straight cut, or something more fanciful such as on the example Martin (which is not at all typical of Martin mandolins BTW)

Good luck.
W-O


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