A friend sent me pictures of his Grandfather's mandolin and when I saw them, I knew we had something unusual.
First, it's a pocket or travel mandolin rather than a full-sized mandolin. The body measures 11" x 5.5" and about 1.5" in depth. It is also not a piccolo mandolin because it's scale length is nearly 14".
Second, it has the most extensive use of MOTS I have ever seen. Peg head overlay, fret board, sides and back are all MOTS.
Third, for a MOTS instrument, the bling is really pretty nice; metallic gold, white and black binding looks good.
It has no label or visible markings.
It also has a fitted hard-shell case.
What I know about his Grandfather is, he was in the Navy, and later became an embroiderer. My guess is, this is from his Navy days. My friend greatly values this instrument as a family heirloom. I hope to see it one day to give it an in-hand evaluation. I'll upload some pictures in the next few posts, in addition to this one.
I have to admit, this instrument really interests me on several fronts. Any information you can offer (age, builder, country/region of origin) would be appreciated.
Bookmarks