Re: Newbie found a mandolin
You appear to have a decent quality bowl-back, which may be fairly old. The marquetry pickguard and the slotted headstock suggest to me that it may be of German make, not surprising since that's where you found it.
Seems to be at least one separation between the ribs of the bowl, which is [A] not uncommon, and [2] not crucial. You can play the mandolin with daylight showing between a couple ribs, though in the long run you'd want to get them re-glued.
As Randi points out, your "action" (distance of the strings above the fretboard) looks really high, which would make the mandolin very difficult to play. I'd suggest that you immediately loosen its strings, and that you have it evaluated by a pro instrument tech. Common causes of too-high action are curvature of the neck and fretboard, deformation of the neck/body joint, or a too-high bridge. Bowl-backs should only be strung with extra-light strings, since they're more lightly built and braced than other contemporary types of mandolin, as a rule.
I'd also guess that your bridge is improperly placed. You've no doubt discovered that the bridge is "floating" -- not glued to the mandolin's top, held in place by string tension. You'll need to get the instrument properly set up, but the first priority is to figure out why the action's high, and correct it if possible.
Assume that the former owner didn't treat his mandolin with any particular care or respect. If you do better in that regard, and if the instrument can be properly set up, you might have a decent mandolin there.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
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Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
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