I was checking Reverb for a new mando and noticed that the market is saturated with 1915 Gibson A's. What is the reason for this? Did something happen in 1915 that caused Gibson to push out a ton of instruments?
I was checking Reverb for a new mando and noticed that the market is saturated with 1915 Gibson A's. What is the reason for this? Did something happen in 1915 that caused Gibson to push out a ton of instruments?
1928 Gibson A; 2017 Clark OM; 2021 Trinity College OM; 2019 Taylor 210e SB DLX; Avalon L-10; 1986 Finnanzza violin
Yes, they were. 1915 was a good year for Gibson. They built 5940 numbered instruments.
5 years earlier, they were just starting to produce and sell on a large scale for the time, and built 2500.
The best years for that early permutation of the company were 1917, '18, and '19. They built over 6700 instruments in each of those years.
In 1920, sales were starting to slip, and they built 4440. By 1925, the demand for mandolins had decreased significantly, and Gibson was building lots of banjos. By the early 1930's, mandolins were out, banjos were out, and Gibson turned into a guitar maker.
To put things into perspective, Martin built only a few hundred instruments a year through most of the 1910's.
I thought they were bigger. It seems that came later. And I've long believed the rising popularity of the guitar post-WW-I led to the decreased interest in the mandolin. Curious to find out more I've done a little internet sleuthing. I'm sure someone has a book that will provide more information. Meanwhile, I found this; the excerpt begins when Frank Martin took over the company in 1888.
The company was still small, with annual production of less than 300 guitars. Martin soon introduced a line of mandolins, and sales of these instruments jumped to 150 per year and even came to surpass guitar production between 1906 and 1909 ... In addition to mandolins, the growing company capitalized on crazes for Hawaiian guitars and ukuleles, becoming one of the leading makers of the latter, after retooling an early design that sounded dull ... In 1922 the company also introduced its first standard guitar model designed for use with steel, rather than gut, strings, which required additional internal bracing ... By 1928 annual production of guitars had reached 5,215, up from 1,361 just eight years earlier. Ukulele production was more than double this figure. To keep up with the growth, the company's factory was enlarged in 1925 and again in 1927.
That seems consistent with the previous post. I wanted more detailed figures, but this is enough for this purpose. If someone has a copy of Longworth's “Martin Guitars: A History” and wants to share its contents, that would help.
As to the OP's question, it sounds like a coincidence. The late teens were a high point for Gibson production, and mandolins from that period show up regularly all over. Why one particular year would be represented more than any other has more to do with happenstance than design - that is, the luck of the draw. IMO, of course.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
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Going by the blue cover Longworth book (Third Edition) in 1915 Martin made approximately 145 bowback mandolins and 157 flatback models.
In 1920, which was the peak year, they made 1201 flatback mandolins and 289 bowlbacks.
Could be a little off and I didn't cross reference with the 2 volume set.
For comparison in 1915 they made 162 guitars. In 1920 they made 1,336 guitars. (This does not take into account any instruments that did not have serial numbers).
Brentrup Model 23, Boeh A5 #37, Gibson A Jr., Flatiron 1N, Coombe Classical flattop, Strad-O-Lin
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The Martin figures include only instruments marked "C F Martin"; in those years, they made a smattering of instruments for other firms, Ditson e.g.
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
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
Brentrup Model 23, Boeh A5 #37, Gibson A Jr., Flatiron 1N, Coombe Classical flattop, Strad-O-Lin
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