Re: Bowlback- Harmony? Supertone
Originally Posted by
Richard500
The illustrator indicates, as well as I can see from the page, that guitar and mandolin share identical decoration, and likely same manufacturer. Of course, as an engraving, this may not represent reality, but you might get identification if you also post on a vintage guitar forum, for all four Ivies.
Good marketing gimmick!
As a proponent of public university education (of which I am employed) I find the Ivy League pricing very funny...particularly if they really are the same instruments...which now Nick has unfortunately debunked.
This would make an interesting link to another thread on the history of Mandolin Orchestras where Robert Margo raises interesting questions viz relative social class and mandolin orchestra participation...and by extension the instruments used.
Contemporary students at The East Southeast New Jersey Junior College of Mining, Aeronautics and Dance might not be bum rushing the Sears catalog for a Harvard model.
That said, the collegiate branding approach is preferable to the "Hegemony" line that Ditson was marketing maybe 10 years earlier post Spanish American War: Victory, Conquest, Empire.
I think they opted out of the "Domination" model. Wisely so.
I've owned a few Empires of my own.
They were Vega-made mandolins. Very nice.
Mick
Ever tried, ever failed? No matter. Try again, fail again. Fail better.--Samuel Beckett
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