Gibson Style A Carved Top Mandolin (1920)
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Gibson Style A Model Carved Top Mandolin (1920), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 58513, Sheraton brown top, dark stained back and sides finish, birch body, spruce top, mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This is a well-worn example of the just pre-Loar era Gibson Style A Mandolin, looking quite used more than a century on but still a fine player. The serial number penciled on the white label indicates this one was shipped out in early 1920, when "Master Loar" was an endorsing artist but not yet fully on staff at Kalamazoo. A typical period feature is the dark but very thin "Sheraton Brown" varnish finish overall. The top is spruce with a fairly bold grain, the back and sides are birch and the neck Honduras mahogany with a heavy unbound ebony fingerboard. The pickguard is long gone, and the bridge and tailpiece covers are replacements
The Style A was the company's base-line carved-top mandolin, still with all the sound quality of "the Gibson" (as it was advertised at the time) without much in the way of decoration beyond a bound top and 3-ply soundhole ring. The "browntop" mandolins of the late 'teens and early 1920's may not be the prettiest of the old "paddlehead" Gibsons but they are often the best sounding. This one is a solid centennial survivor, a very playable mandolin with a very low, comfortable action and powerful, ringing tone. It remains 105 years on an enduring testament to the exceptional work of the original Kalamazoo, Michigan Gibson factory.
Overall length is 26 1/2 in. (67.3 cm.), 10 1/16 in. (25.6 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 mandolin shows a decent amount of general wear and light repair (it is 105 years old, after all!) but remains an excellent player's instrument. The finish remains largely original, a some dents, dings and scratches mostly to the top, particularly around the treble edge which has a lot of chipping. The finish on the back and sides has some overall light polishing out, especially on the lower side where some additional finish patching has been done. This is all likely related to some fairly extensive re-sealing on the back/side seams, some of which are not perfectly lined up around the bottom edge on either side of the tailblock. There are some areas of loss down to the wood on either side of the nut on the back of the neck.
All the seams are solid, with noticeable re-sealing to the back edge. The only crack repair is to the back just off the treble side edge where a small piece of the back appears to have been cracked off and reglued less than perfectly. There is some pretty obvious touch-up in this spot as well. The tuners remain original, the tailpiece is original but the sliding cover is a modern replacement, as is the adjustable bridge. The oft-missing elevated pickguard is indeed long gone. The original frets have been recrowned and are quite playable and despite the litany of cosmetic issues this is a very nice playing and sounding mandolin, a centennial survivor still in the original HSC Overall Very Good + Condition.
This is a well-worn example of the just pre-Loar era Gibson Style A Mandolin, looking quite used more than a century on but still a fine player. The serial number penciled on the white label indicates this one was shipped out in early 1920, when "Master Loar" was an endorsing artist but not yet fully on staff at Kalamazoo. A typical period feature is the dark but very thin "Sheraton Brown" varnish finish overall. The top is spruce with a fairly bold grain, the back and sides are birch and the neck Honduras mahogany with a heavy unbound ebony fingerboard. The pickguard is long gone, and the bridge and tailpiece covers are replacements
The Style A was the company's base-line carved-top mandolin, still with all the sound quality of "the Gibson" (as it was advertised at the time) without much in the way of decoration beyond a bound top and 3-ply soundhole ring. The "browntop" mandolins of the late 'teens and early 1920's may not be the prettiest of the old "paddlehead" Gibsons but they are often the best sounding. This one is a solid centennial survivor, a very playable mandolin with a very low, comfortable action and powerful, ringing tone. It remains 105 years on an enduring testament to the exceptional work of the original Kalamazoo, Michigan Gibson factory.
Overall length is 26 1/2 in. (67.3 cm.), 10 1/16 in. (25.6 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 mandolin shows a decent amount of general wear and light repair (it is 105 years old, after all!) but remains an excellent player's instrument. The finish remains largely original, a some dents, dings and scratches mostly to the top, particularly around the treble edge which has a lot of chipping. The finish on the back and sides has some overall light polishing out, especially on the lower side where some additional finish patching has been done. This is all likely related to some fairly extensive re-sealing on the back/side seams, some of which are not perfectly lined up around the bottom edge on either side of the tailblock. There are some areas of loss down to the wood on either side of the nut on the back of the neck.
All the seams are solid, with noticeable re-sealing to the back edge. The only crack repair is to the back just off the treble side edge where a small piece of the back appears to have been cracked off and reglued less than perfectly. There is some pretty obvious touch-up in this spot as well. The tuners remain original, the tailpiece is original but the sliding cover is a modern replacement, as is the adjustable bridge. The oft-missing elevated pickguard is indeed long gone. The original frets have been recrowned and are quite playable and despite the litany of cosmetic issues this is a very nice playing and sounding mandolin, a centennial survivor still in the original HSC Overall Very Good + Condition.