Henry L. Mason Style 20 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Lyon & Healy, c. 1900, made in Chicago, serial # 7013, natural varnish finish, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, spruce top; Spanish cedar neck with ebony fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
"Henry L Mason" is a rather obscure name in guitar history. We don't know if he was even a real person, but instruments with this name on them were distributed in the mid/late 1930s by Coast Music in California in some numbers. These 1930s "Mason" models were essentially just re-branded Kalamazoo instruments supplied by Gibson.
This guitar is something completely different. It is a small "standard" size rosewood instrument that appears to date to the 1900-1910 era, and based on certain construction features was almost certainly made by Lyon & Healy in Chicago. The "Henry L.Mason" logo is also marked "Boston" on the semi-circular stamp on the backstrip, so the exact relationship to Coast in California is unclear. Whoever the mysterious Mr. Mason was, his name seems to have gotten around!
This guitar is generally similar to turn-of-the-last-century Washburn models, in both style and construction. The thin spruce top is X-braced, which is somewhat unusual for this era and marks this as a higher grade instrument. The Brazilian rosewood body is quite small, well under 12 1/2" at the lower bout. The top is bordered with half-herringbone marquetry and bound, the back is bound as well. The soundhole and backstrip have full herringbone trim, with additional rosette rings and a bound soundhole edge. The ebony bridge has a Washburn-style rearward slope but Martin-like pyramid wings.
The Spanish cedar neck has a delicate slim soft V profile, with an ebony fingerboard devoid of inlay and an original ivory nut. The volute on the back of the neck is a distinctive Washburn feature of this period, and the strongest indicator that whoever originally sold this guitar, Lyon & Healy built it. The slotted headstock has a Brazilian rosewood overlay, and mounts very early versions of the beautiful New York made inlaid Handel tuners famous for use on Gibson mandolins.
The backstrip is marked with a "Harvey L. Mason" logo in a semi-circular surround, looking very much like the period Washburn "belt" logo stamp. "20' (possibly the style number) is stamped on a back brace nearby, with a serial number on the neck block. With beautiful Brazilian rosewood back and sides and the discreet but fancy-in-detail marquetry work this is a very classy instrument, quite small by later standards but a high grade guitar nonetheless. Strung with NylGut strings it also is a fine playing instrument with a very strong tone, richer than one would expect for its size. Overall this is a very nice example of a fine grade period parlor guitar.
Overall length is 36 3/4 in. (93.3 cm.), 12 3/16 in. (31 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 in. (10.2 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 1/4 in. (616 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.).
This guitar shows some wear and old repair but remains in excellent playing condition, especially for being well over 100 years old. Overall the finish has light dings, dents and scrapes but no heavy wear. The top shows evidence of an added French polish over the original varnish on the lower bout treble side, in an area where three spruce grain splits have been repaired. One runs from the treble wing of the bridge to the outer rim of the lower bout and the other two are adjacent just beyond the treble wing of the bridge. These have been sealed and cleated. There is also a sealed center seam separation between the bridge and the tailblock.
The rosewood back and sides are crack free, except there appear to be two very discreet sealed cracks on either side of the endpin running about an inch long each. 3 small holes have been patched on the back rim above the endpin from a tailpiece added at one point. The original ebony bridge has been reglued and the saddle has been replaced with a recent bone piece.
Internally the bracing and very thin bridge plate appear all original. The neck appears to have been reset and the heel cap replaced. This guitar plays very nicely with Nylgut strings, we would NOT recommend steel string on this instrument due to its age and very light construction. It comes in a well-fitted modern hard shell case. Excellent - Condition.
