Stradolin Arch Top Mandolin, c. 1938, made in New York City, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, solid spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, original black chipboard case.
Overall length is 25 1/2 in. (64.8 cm.), 10 1/4 in. (26 cm.) wide, and 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 13 1/2 in. (343 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/16 in. (30 mm.).
This is a nice clean example of a better-grade Strad-O-Lin mandolin from the 1930's. The origin of these has been a bit of a mystery for years, but early Strad-O-lins like this were built by a small New York maker named Hominick Bros. and sold mostly through local jobbers. This is a very well-preserved instrument in very nice all original condition, including the tuners, tailpiece and cover, bridge and pickguard.
There are two old grain cracks to the solid spruce top running from the bridge area back, neatly sealed up with no overspray to the original finish. The lacquer is quite well preserved overall with a nice patina. There are some scrapes and dings mostly to the edges and light handling marks overall. As with all Strad-O-Lins this mandolin offers a lot of sound for the money, with a bright ringing tone on par with many more expensive instruments from the period. This is a really nice if comparatively low budget genuine vintage pre-WWII F-hole mandolin with a fine sound. Ready to gig, includes the original chipboard case in surprisingly good condition. Excellent - Condition.
