Gibson A-Junior Snakehead Carved Top Mandolin (1925)
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Gibson A-Junior Snakehead Model Carved Top Mandolin (1925), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 80166, brown stain finish, birch back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with ebony fingrboard, molded plastic hard shell case.
This is a great-playing and sounding original A-Junior mandolin from the mid-1920s, just after the "Loar era" at Gibson but still embodying many of "Master Loar's" ideas. This lovely example of Gibson's mandolin craftsmanship was built in late 1925 (based on the factory order number) but the serial number indicates it was not shipped until about a year later. By that time the company's focus had started shifting primarily to banjos, and mandolin sales were slowing to a crawl.
"Snakeheads" are generally considered the best-sounding roundhole "A" style mandolins ever made, revered for their unmatched tone and projection compared to earlier or later A-models. Although the A-Junior was the lowest priced model offered this one certainly bears this out. They are nicknamed for their Loar-designed peghead that angles inward towards the tip, a feature inexplicably abandoned by Gibson a couple of years after this one was made.
The A-Junior was Gibson's lowest priced carved top mandolin in the 1920's, designed primarily for sale to beginning students. The top and back are still fully carved like the higher priced models, as the instrument was designed to still sound "Gibsonic" at the lowest price point. To this end it has no ornament at all but is still built to the same standards as the company's higher end instruments.
While this basic A-Junior lacks some of the other advanced features of the era (it does not have an adjustable truss rod or height-adjustable bridge) it does sport Loar's slimmer neck profile and sleeker peghead shape. The finish is a clear lacquer coat over an overall brown stain; this is the period when Gibson was switching from varnish to lacquer finishes and the results were sometimes inconsistent. This one is shinier than earlier examples but appears all original, the back and sides may have been polished out at some point but do not appear oversprayed.
There is no binding at all; the same tortoise celluloid pickguard as the higher grade models is secured by a side bracket still using up the old lever-action clamp. The tailpiece has a simple "clamshell" cover plate and the tuners are plain openback strips. Even this most basic "A" model is a very fine instrument, with sonic and playing improvements carrying over from "Master Loar's" tenure still evident in the later 1920s, and nearly 100 years on making for a very fine sounding (if plain looking) mandolin.
Overall length is 25 3/4 in. (65.4 cm.), 10 1/4 in. (26 cm.) wide, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 14 in. (356 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/16 in. (30 mm.).
This close to 100 year old mandolin has seen some use since new, but remains an excellent player with a lively sound. The lacquer-over-varnish finish appears original with some possible polishing out on the back and sides and a few small touchups. The finish overall is still shiny with typical checking to the top and fairly minor dings, dents, and scrapes overall, most notable on the back. There is some wear-through to the unbound edges and more heavily to the wood on the back of the neck. The top remains cleaner than many, largely free of the typical pick wear. There are no visible cracks.
All hardware remains original and complete including the tuners, tailpiece and pickguard. The neck has remained true for 95 years and the original frets are very clean, probably polished out a bitt but showing hardly any wear. This an excellent example of Gibson's plainest 1920s A Model, cleaner than many and still an excellent players instrument nearly a century on. It is housed in a modern molded HSC...it likely originally came swathed in chipboard. Overall Excellent - Condition.
This is a great-playing and sounding original A-Junior mandolin from the mid-1920s, just after the "Loar era" at Gibson but still embodying many of "Master Loar's" ideas. This lovely example of Gibson's mandolin craftsmanship was built in late 1925 (based on the factory order number) but the serial number indicates it was not shipped until about a year later. By that time the company's focus had started shifting primarily to banjos, and mandolin sales were slowing to a crawl.
"Snakeheads" are generally considered the best-sounding roundhole "A" style mandolins ever made, revered for their unmatched tone and projection compared to earlier or later A-models. Although the A-Junior was the lowest priced model offered this one certainly bears this out. They are nicknamed for their Loar-designed peghead that angles inward towards the tip, a feature inexplicably abandoned by Gibson a couple of years after this one was made.
The A-Junior was Gibson's lowest priced carved top mandolin in the 1920's, designed primarily for sale to beginning students. The top and back are still fully carved like the higher priced models, as the instrument was designed to still sound "Gibsonic" at the lowest price point. To this end it has no ornament at all but is still built to the same standards as the company's higher end instruments.
While this basic A-Junior lacks some of the other advanced features of the era (it does not have an adjustable truss rod or height-adjustable bridge) it does sport Loar's slimmer neck profile and sleeker peghead shape. The finish is a clear lacquer coat over an overall brown stain; this is the period when Gibson was switching from varnish to lacquer finishes and the results were sometimes inconsistent. This one is shinier than earlier examples but appears all original, the back and sides may have been polished out at some point but do not appear oversprayed.
There is no binding at all; the same tortoise celluloid pickguard as the higher grade models is secured by a side bracket still using up the old lever-action clamp. The tailpiece has a simple "clamshell" cover plate and the tuners are plain openback strips. Even this most basic "A" model is a very fine instrument, with sonic and playing improvements carrying over from "Master Loar's" tenure still evident in the later 1920s, and nearly 100 years on making for a very fine sounding (if plain looking) mandolin.
Overall length is 25 3/4 in. (65.4 cm.), 10 1/4 in. (26 cm.) wide, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 14 in. (356 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/16 in. (30 mm.).
This close to 100 year old mandolin has seen some use since new, but remains an excellent player with a lively sound. The lacquer-over-varnish finish appears original with some possible polishing out on the back and sides and a few small touchups. The finish overall is still shiny with typical checking to the top and fairly minor dings, dents, and scrapes overall, most notable on the back. There is some wear-through to the unbound edges and more heavily to the wood on the back of the neck. The top remains cleaner than many, largely free of the typical pick wear. There are no visible cracks.
All hardware remains original and complete including the tuners, tailpiece and pickguard. The neck has remained true for 95 years and the original frets are very clean, probably polished out a bitt but showing hardly any wear. This an excellent example of Gibson's plainest 1920s A Model, cleaner than many and still an excellent players instrument nearly a century on. It is housed in a modern molded HSC...it likely originally came swathed in chipboard. Overall Excellent - Condition.