Circa 1921 Lyon & Healy Style A Mandolin

$3,450.00

The most iconic "non-Gibson" American mandolin design, the Style A was Lyon & Healy's top mandolin model and was priced accordingly (about the same as Gibson's F-4). This example has a nicely figured one-piece curly maple back, and it's original tuners, pickguard, and tailpiece. As you can see from these photos, it saw a lot of playing hours, probably over many years. It's been professionally refretted, and the bridge has an ebony shim. Note that the little metal leg rest, that collapsed into the body, is now missing. Much of the varnish on the back of the neck has been worn through to the mahogany itself, and the whole mandolin has a patina of serious use but no abuse, as there are no cracks or breaks or big nasty dings. Best of all, it's a very responsive mandolin that rings with a rich throaty tone, and at the lightest touch.

UPC 140517
Year 1923
Top material Carved Spruce
Back sides Carved Figured Maple
Fingerboard Ebony
Neck material Tropical Mahogany
Bridge Ebony
Total frets 24
Scale length 13 7/8"
Finish original varnish
Nut width 1 1/8"
Binding celluloid
Tuners Original
Case type Hardshell
Serial number 666
SKU LYOSTYLEA-666

The Gryphon Advantage: This instrument has been personally setup by a member of our repair staff. Gryphon’s sustained commitment to quality ensures that no instrument not at optimal playing condition is sold. This comes with a lifetime discount on future repair and customizations.

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Acoustic guitars, mandolins, and banjos are still the mainstays at Gryphon, as they have been for over 45 years, though our inventory of steel guitars and ukuleles continues to grow as well. In recent years an important part of our growth has been in instruments by very small companies and individual makers, as we continue to keep one foot, or at least several toes, outside the mainstream music industry.