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good day y'all!
i am trying to find out more about this mandolin it has "marcelli" written on the tailpiece. i find the headstock quite curious as it appears to be more like one of a lute. i read that marcelli was only responsible for the tailpiece. so who build this mandolin and how can i date this instrument?
it would be splendid if someone here could tell me something about this mandolin.
greetings,
nilu
Marcelli is a brand of tailpieces often found on German-made instruments; I have a "pocket" mandolin with the brand name "Holdrio" that has a Marcelli tailpiece. Its label indicates it's made in Germany.
The slotted headstock on yours does suggest central-European, rather than Italian, manufacture, but I leave it up to the real bowl-back experts to do a better ID on it.
Peghead looks German; also looks like someone lopped off something at the end. Soundboard trim and wood looks second-rate. A low-end German copy of a Roman-style mandolin.
If it was Italian, the tailpiece would indicate 20th century; the earlier ones had 4 pegs for the string loops, usually. My guess is first quarter 20th century, maybe a bit later.
Don't mistake me for an "expert".
It is either German (as was suggested before) or Czech. I've seen a couple of instruments with similar pickguard and hole shape that were made in pre-war Czechoslovakia.
thank you for the information and insight. I appreciate it.
Yes, they used “Marcelli” only, because is Italian name. Sounds romantic. Producer was Richard Dick (RiDi) from the famous German music manufacture city Markneukirchen in Saxony (Germany). Maybe you find a small brand “Tannhäuser” on your Mandoline. Tannhäuser is the name of an opera of Richard Wagner. 1920-40 I think it’s from. Look in my Galerie. I will post next time few more photos. Bye for now. If you’ve questions you can ask. Andy
The headstock of your mandolin should like this one. It may well be that Meinel & Herold of Klingenthal made your mandolin. There are differences but this firm made mandolins with this style of headstock.
https://reverb.com/item/12605720-fin...lino-mandoline
Here is one thread on this firm:
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...nel-amp-Herold
What's enjoyable about this mandolin is that it appears to be a low end German-ic copy of a Sicilian copy of a Roman mandolin.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob A
The exuberant design collaging of the Catanians sometimes brought together the Calace / Cristofaro 'Stile Liberty' scratchplate flourishes and asymmetrical soundholes with the "Roman" slotted peghead, narrow fretboard and v-shaped neck profile.
Fun to see that second generation design aesthetic passed north of the Alps, even on a modest bowl like this.
Mick
Nilu dear, you can check my album. I added few pics today. https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/a...p?albumid=2239
Quite a lot of differences between the two mandolins....One of the more pronounced is the neck profile, very V shaped on the OPs and rounded on yours. Makers stamp is not present on the OPs as well as a very different headstock. While Markneukirchen seems a valid supposition, what else leads you to think the OPs is from this particular MNK maker?Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam-Andy
Mick
You right, there is a lot of difference, but it's this MARCELLI. I think only this manufacture used this name. Seems is the same font. I can't see it proper, but he write, he can read Marcelli. This Tannhäuser-stamp, in my mandoline it's very weak, almost not to see. I used photoshop, otherwise you could not read it in my photo. He should check it proper. But I will check again all infos.Quote:
Originally Posted by brunello97
bye for now.
From a basic web search there seems to be quite a range of mandolins bearing a "Marcelli" branded tailpiece, from the so-called "pocket mandolins" to the "bulge back" German models to quite plain bowls-ordinaire.
This thread began in 2016 in which the OP joined in also requested similar information on the instrument.
Martin Jonas, our good friend and resident sage on German mandolins, weighs in with a trustworthy view on the Marcelli tailpieces.
Mick
You're right Mick, someone wrote me this: I suspect that MARCELLI was not one of the typical fantasy names of a manufacturer in Markneukirchen, so that the instrument looked more Italian, but the manufacturer of the tailpiece. I have the identical tailpiece with MARCELLI lettering on one of my Wilhelm Kruse mandolins and have also seen it on a KuSteMa mandolin (Kurt Stengel from Markneukirchen) that I had here for repair. This tailpiece may have been obtained in large quantities from another company.
See my Post #2, also this search; the "Marcelli" name has shown up dozens of times, on the tailpieces of a variety of mandolins.