Gibson Style A-1 Carved Top Mandolin (1916)
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Item # 10571
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Gibson Style A-1 Model Carved Top Mandolin (1916), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 37998, natural top, natural back and sides finish, birch body, spruce top, mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This is a very nice player's example of the mid-'teens Gibson Style A-1, now well over 100 years old but still with a lot of life to it! It has had a decent amount of repair and finish work over the decades but still looks good and plays perfectly. Typical original period features include a nicely ambered natural finish top, early style "reverse" mounted Handel tuners, "The Gibson" engraved tailpiece cover, and the carved one-piece ebony compensated bridge.
The A-1 model was a slight step up from the plainer "A" with just a touch more in the way of decoration: a pearl "The Gibson" logo on the headstock and two half-herringbone sound hole rings. This makes the A-1 a bit more elegant visually but has no effect the sound which remains excellent as ever, fairly bright for a 'teens "A" with a nice woody ring. Ready for another century of play, this old "Pumpkin top" has seen a lot of maintenance over the years but remains an enduring testament to the work of the original Gibson factory.
Overall length is 26 1/2 in. (67.3 cm.), 10 1/16 in. (25.6 cm.) across at the widest point, 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 105+ year old mandolin is an excellent player and relatively clean looking overall but does show a decent amount of well-executed repair work, some dating back many decades. It has been neatly refretted and the fingerboard rebound; one oddity of this is there are no side dots. There is a noticeable crack repair to the upper rim, solidly sealed but visible with the area around it polished out lighter than the adjacent areas. The top has one sealed grain crack by the curve of the upper edge. Several seam areas on the back/side edge appear resealed as well.
The original very thin varnish has been cleanly overfinished on the top, headstock face and the back of the neck. The back of the headstock is the only area remaining mostly original. The back and sides of the body were refinished many decades ago and have some typical checking. Overall there are dings, dents and scuffs but no heavy wear. Despite this catalog of variable finishes the instrument looks nice, lacking the darker cherry stain to the back and sides that Gibson used originally and with the one upper side repair plainly visible.
The frets are new, the neck nice and straight and playability is excellent. The tailpiece, tuners and bridge are original, the bridge top has been lowered a bit and the pickguard is long gone. While having had an obviously somewhat checkered history since 1916 this remains a fine player's instrument with a sweet, full sound, housed in a modern HSC. Very Good + Condition.
This is a very nice player's example of the mid-'teens Gibson Style A-1, now well over 100 years old but still with a lot of life to it! It has had a decent amount of repair and finish work over the decades but still looks good and plays perfectly. Typical original period features include a nicely ambered natural finish top, early style "reverse" mounted Handel tuners, "The Gibson" engraved tailpiece cover, and the carved one-piece ebony compensated bridge.
The A-1 model was a slight step up from the plainer "A" with just a touch more in the way of decoration: a pearl "The Gibson" logo on the headstock and two half-herringbone sound hole rings. This makes the A-1 a bit more elegant visually but has no effect the sound which remains excellent as ever, fairly bright for a 'teens "A" with a nice woody ring. Ready for another century of play, this old "Pumpkin top" has seen a lot of maintenance over the years but remains an enduring testament to the work of the original Gibson factory.
Overall length is 26 1/2 in. (67.3 cm.), 10 1/16 in. (25.6 cm.) across at the widest point, 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 105+ year old mandolin is an excellent player and relatively clean looking overall but does show a decent amount of well-executed repair work, some dating back many decades. It has been neatly refretted and the fingerboard rebound; one oddity of this is there are no side dots. There is a noticeable crack repair to the upper rim, solidly sealed but visible with the area around it polished out lighter than the adjacent areas. The top has one sealed grain crack by the curve of the upper edge. Several seam areas on the back/side edge appear resealed as well.
The original very thin varnish has been cleanly overfinished on the top, headstock face and the back of the neck. The back of the headstock is the only area remaining mostly original. The back and sides of the body were refinished many decades ago and have some typical checking. Overall there are dings, dents and scuffs but no heavy wear. Despite this catalog of variable finishes the instrument looks nice, lacking the darker cherry stain to the back and sides that Gibson used originally and with the one upper side repair plainly visible.
The frets are new, the neck nice and straight and playability is excellent. The tailpiece, tuners and bridge are original, the bridge top has been lowered a bit and the pickguard is long gone. While having had an obviously somewhat checkered history since 1916 this remains a fine player's instrument with a sweet, full sound, housed in a modern HSC. Very Good + Condition.