Original Purchase Order for 1920 A-2

[Capt. E]

Thought I would post this rare document that came with my A-2.



Posted it under another thread in "Equipment"
The mandolin is in near mint condition with all original fittings and the original case.

[pfox14]

wow! that is very cool

[MikeEdgerton]

Yup, very cool.

[brunello97]

Very interesting "Repo" language in the fine print.

Mick

[Martin Jonas]

Also a nice touch to see that whoever filled it in did the same as I tend to do throughout January: forget about the change of year (or decade, in this case). As it was only three days into the 'twenties, perhaps understandable.

Martin

[brunello97]

I rotated this around in PS and it appears to have written on it "Cancelled 6/22/20 by __________ agt. (agent?) for Gibson Co.".

Paid in full? Or defaulted? Any ideas, Mon Capitaine?

Mick

[f5loar]

I'd say since it was with the mandolin it was a paid in full and then cancelled. A 6% interest rate was pretty hefty for that time.

[goaty76]

I guess this shows pretty accurately where serial numbers started in 1920.

Phil

[brunello97]

I'd say since it was with the mandolin it was a paid in full and then cancelled. A 6% interest rate was pretty hefty for that time.

Well, that makes sense. If the buyer defaulted, the only way Gibson could "cancel" the contract was to get the RepoMan to get it back. Could have been repo-ed by a teacher / agent for Gibson, but the simpler solution seems likely.

Mick

[Capt. E]

I also believe it was Paid In Full. The most interesting thing is the date/serial number match. The serial number for the first A-2 manufactured in 1920 was certainly over 54900.

[brunello97]

Well, we've certainly learned the distinction between SN and FON for production years and possible dates of sale. I'm away from my copy of Joe's book--have you checked on that?

Hmmm. Cap'n you've made me wonder still: "Cancelled" vs "Paid in Full" seems like a curious distinction in terminology. Almost reads like a promissory note rather than a purchase order and maybe was this returned to the purchaser after the terms were complete? The lack of a PO number on the ticket is also curious given the amount of detail filled in elsewhere. Fascinating piece of Gibson history--which I hope we'll get some more insight by keeping the thread bumped.

Mick

[Capt. E]

Then again, this salesman may have been selling a batch of existing stock manufactured several months earlier. I need to look inside and see what the factory order number is. Will report back...

[Capt. E]

OK...cannot see a factory order number on the inside of the heel. There are three A-2's in the Archive in the serial number range: 54839, 54903, 54914. That gives us a good picture of the batch. They are all identical to mine in finish etc and factory order numbers are unknown on all of them. Could it be they were not so marked? Is there a place other than the inside of the heel where one might be stamped?

Interesting that there is a H-2 Mandola listed with serial number 54912

[Mike Black]

Interesting that there is a H-2 Mandola listed with serial number 54912

That's mine. But I think that the serial number is listed wrong. It looks like it's 54812 to me.

[Gop]

OK...cannot see a factory order number on the inside of the heel. There are three A-2's in the Archive in the serial number range: 54839, 54903, 54914. That gives us a good picture of the batch. They are all identical to mine in finish etc and factory order numbers are unknown on all of them. Could it be they were not so marked? Is there a place other than the inside of the heel where one might be stamped?

Interesting that there is a H-2 Mandola listed with serial number 54912

Very interesting...I have a late 1919 A-2 serial 53706, also lacking a FON on inside heel.

[brunello97]

Another Gibson "purchase order" / promissory note has shown up with this mandolin on this thread.

Interesting that it is stamped "Paid in Full" rather than written "Cancelled"…..

Mick

[Capt. E]

Another Gibson "purchase order" / promissory note has shown up with this mandolin on this thread.

Interesting that it is stamped "Paid in Full" rather than written "Cancelled"…..

Mick

Different form. Not Gibson. Sold in Minneapolis. Seems to be for an A4. Four years later...price $100.00

[brunello97]

Check. My bad. Payable to the "Howard, Farwell & Co." , not directly to Gibson. Looks like they were a piano store / music emporium.

Mick

[Capt. E]

Summary: In 1920, an A2 sold for $55.00 from Gibson. In 1924 an A4 sold for $100.00 from a music store. Probably no difference in prices one or the other. The salesman still needs his percentage.
Today, my A2 might sell for $1980 in a shop and the A4 (with truss rod) might go for $3600. Both 36X the original price. How does that sound?

It is great to see these historical documents. Great to see the names of the original buyers and where purchased.

[brunello97]

This inflation calculator suggests that 100$ in 1924 would translate to ~$1387 today.

Even at an ebay price of half your $3600 guess, I'd say they were holding their value.

Mick