Re: Found this Bohmann mandolin
Agree, probably an 1890s. And not cheap to fix. Needs to be completely disassembled, repaired, and put back together. And when it's done, its market value will be quite low, much less than you spent. Hard to tell from the photos exactly what is needed, and what quality of wood was used.
But OTOH, Bohmann was probably the USA's first mandolin builder, and there are interesting details here: shape of top, size of body, position of cant. This was the beginning of the experimentation in the new world that took a new direction away from the Italian designs. To me, this would probably be worth restoring, just for the historical value, and you'd probably get a pretty nice mandolin out of it. The best of Bohmann's instruments were pretty good, and the relatively simple appearance of this instrument doesn't mean much.
Exploring Classical Mandolin (Berklee Press, 2015)
Progressive Melodies for Mandocello (KDP, 2019) (2nd ed. 2022)
New Solos for Classical Mandolin (Hal Leonard Press, 2020)
2021 guest artist, mandocello: Classical Mandolin Society of America
Bookmarks