Gibson Style H-1 Model Carved Top Mandola (1910), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 9797, natural varnish finish, birch back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This well-used 115+ year old example of an early style Gibson H-1 Mandola shows noticeable wear but still has a lot of life left in it! The H-1 was the "basic" model of mandola, the middle-pitched instrument of the mandolin-mandola-mandocello trio. Compared to mandolins, mandolas from any era are fairly rare, although more were made in the 1910's than later periods this is still a fairly scarce item well over a century on. The H-1 lacks the decorative elements of the higher priced H-2 but is structurally the same. The headstock face has no ornament except the "The Gibson" inlaid in pearl, and the single-bound top has two half-herringbone soundhole rings with the inner edge also bound in ivoroid.
This H-1 is an early example made around early/mid-1910; it would be one of the last ones carrying the original label with Orville Gibson's portrait staring out of the soundhole and a 4-digit serial number written in pencil. At this point Gibson's carved-top mandolin family instruments were becoming the most influential in the world but in some ways had not yet been fully perfected. The neck angle is somewhat shallower and the bride lower than later construction; while this is often held to be sonically inferior design we find this mandola to have a rich and sweet sound, less strident than many later examples but still with plenty of volume.
Other typical period features include a natural "pumpkin top" varnish finish top over lightly cherry stained back and sides, a tailpiece with the early "Pineapple" shaped Gibson-engraved cover and the Handel-made strip tuners used on all Gibsons of the period. The top is carved from spruce over birch back and sides, there is an unusual swirly grain pattern to the top below and behind the soundhole that later Gibson inspectors might have rejected, but as it would be hidden under the pickguard they let it through. The 3-piece V-profile neck is Honduras mahogany fitted with a heavy bound ebony fingerboard. While not the cleanest of these we have had this is a lovely sounding and fine playing example of this rare earlier style Gibson mandola, ready to play for another century at least.
Overall length is 28 1/4 in. (71.8 cm.), 11 1/16 in. (28.1 cm.) width, and 2 in. (5.1 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 15 3/4 in. (400 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/16 in. (33 mm.).
This Mandola has seen some life with wear and repair along the way, but considering it was already in use well before the First World War it has held up pretty well. The original very thin varnish finish looks to have been lightly overfinished and/or polished out over most of its surface, excepting the back of the neck with general wear over the entire instrument. There is typical very fine checking still visible with a large and varied collection of chips, dings, scratches and scrapes over the entire instrument. The top finish has a nice amber patina with some deep scrapes above and behind the fingerboard extension and a worn-through spot above the string s behind the bridge. There is some rub wear to the wood on the back of the neck and the unbound back edge of the body.
Despite the amount of wear on the instrument there are no visible cracks to the top, back or sides. The back/side seams do not appear to have opened and been resealed in a few spots a many have. The tuners and rear early tailpiece remain original; the elevated pickguard is long gone and the ebony bridge is a modern adjustable unit adapted to the shallower neck angle
The instrument still carries the original thin 1910 frets; trued with less wear on them than one might expect. The bone nut is original as well. Even with the wear and repair this is an attractive instrument and a very good player, a rare find in an early mandola with a warm and lovely sound. It is housed in a nice early pattern OHSC. Overall Very Good Condition.
