# Music by Genre > Orchestral, Classical, Italian, Medieval, Renaissance >  mandolin identification needed

## dave17120

Hi Guys..... sorry I have been absent for so long.... various reasons, not least of which is the amount of work I have...  :Smile: 
So, I have an Italian mandolin with oly a small part of the label left.... the name appears to begin with Em.... and the second line MI... might suggest Milan??
Anyone got any ideas...??? 
Thanks iin anticipation..... Dave

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## vic-victor

Looks like the remains are of the small round label, while there was also the larger square one, judging by the glue marks. Could be a dealer's one. Ist could be Istanbul  :Smile:

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## dave17120

Istanbul???? here is a photo of the whole instrument..... Dave  :Smile:

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## vic-victor

Why not? There are very few words in any language that start with IST and Istanbul is by far the most common.  Could be something like  Emiroglu Mustafa Istanbul. Or Emircan Musikasy Istanbul or something along these lines. It doesn't mean they made the instrument, which is oblviously Italian, but it could well be sold via dealer in Istanbul.

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## derbex

Good looking instrument, although I'm a bit unsure about the fret markers.

Does the bridge being over the scratch plate have any affect on the sound? I have seen a few like that and it has always put me off, maybe wrongly?

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## brunello97

> Why not? There are very few words in any language that start with IST and Istanbul is by far the most common.  Could be something like  Emiroglu Mustafa Istanbul. Or Emircan Musikasy Istanbul or something along these lines. It doesn't mean they made the instrument, which is oblviously Italian, but it could well be sold via dealer in Istanbul.


*IST*rumenti is the Italian word for _instruments_ so it might be an alternative option if this isn't referring to a Turkish establishment.  This looks like a Neapolitan mandolin, Vinaccian in style, so my guess is this from a Milanese dealer.

Nothing in my files with Em_ The only thing I have close with a first name beginning with E is a label from E Ferrari in Milano, but it is a different shape, typeface etc.  Looks like a possible hint of another name below the "Em_" 

Here's the E Ferrari label just for conversation. The E could for Ermenegildo, like the Neapolitan Ferrari.

Mick

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Jess L.

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## JeffD

> although I'm a bit unsure about the fret markers.


Wow. That could take some getting used to.

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## Beanzy

Emporio. ?
Istrumenti ?
Musicale?

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## brunello97

> Emporio. ?
> Istrumenti ?
> Musicale?


So you're thinking "Mu" rather than "MIL"?

Makes sense to me.....getting this instrument out of Milan, in addition to Istanbul.  :Wink: 

Mick

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## Bruce Clausen

There'd be room for a dealer's full name at the top, first name perhaps Emilio.

Istanbul needs a dot over the capital I in Turkish.

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Jess L.

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## Jim Garber

I agree with Sr. Brunello. No Milan or Istanbul. This looks like possible allieve of Vinaccia or at least a copy thereof. I also think it quite possible that that roundish label is a retailer and not the shop in which it was built. Just my 2 lire.

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Jess L.

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## dave17120

Thanks all..... I had nothing even vaguely similar in my archives either..... and the fretboard..... yes, well.... new unused one I made for another instrument, cut down, so the markers were in the wrong place.... so I 'adapted' and added more mop, and ended up with a much shorter scale than usual.... as I am sometimes asked for instruments for ladies with smaller hands.... :P

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## August Watters

as long as we're speculating. . . .

perhaps "Ist" could be "Istria" -- part of Croatia, but formerly part of Italy ??

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## brunello97

> as long as we're speculating. . . .
> 
> perhaps "Ist" could be "Istria" -- part of Croatia, but formerly part of Italy ??


Now _that_ is cool.  In a historical manner, that is.  Actually, it didn't become part of modern Italy until after WW1, presumably after this mandolin was made.  

While part of the Venetian empire long long ago, Istria was part of the Austrian Empire through the 19th C. up until the Paris peace talks. Just finished reading "Paris 1919" by Margaret Macmillan.  Considerable discussion on just how badly the Italians wanted Trieste and Istria after the war and how much they leveraged other settlement negotiations in order to achieve this.

Mick

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