Re: Help dating an old Sicilian mandolin
I'm with John on this....these MOR Italian / Sicilian mandolins can be very nice players...if they are playable...and have a bright "shimmering sound" as our friend, Martin Jonas, so wonderfully put it.
A little more background: this mandolin is very much in the Vinaccia-n tradition. The body shape, scratchplate shape, and the "open book" style headstock were very influential. The Vinaccia family had a long and storied history of mandolin making from the 18th-20th c. and their designs were very influential in Italy, Sicily and the US.
The woods? Likely a rosewood (what Euro folks refer to as palisander) bowl and a spruce top.
Often the necks were made of some softwood with a thin veneer covering. I can't really tell from your photos.
That said, the string height / action on the mandolin looks rather beastly in the third of your photos.
This can be devilishly difficult to correct. If at all possible.
Before dropping your 200E on a repair, I'd be sure to check with your luthier to make sure they have a strategery for addressing what is likely an issue with the mandolin's neck having rotated up out of position.
We've seen all to many of these otherwise modest, but delightful mandolins in this condition.
...And John has repaired many of them, but may have a different take than mine on the feasibility of this repair.
A few more photos...side views in particular as well as sighting down the neck....would help get a better idea of condition.
Mick
Ever tried, ever failed? No matter. Try again, fail again. Fail better.--Samuel Beckett
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