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Thread: ID of mandolin with dollar or Asclepius logo

  1. #1
    Likes quaint instruments poul hansen's Avatar
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    Default ID of mandolin with dollar or Asclepius logo

    Hello, do you recognize this. Supposedly bought in the USA.

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    Kentucky KM-805..........2 Hora M1086 Portuguese II(1 in car)
    Hora M1088 Mandola.....
    Richmond RMA-110..... .Noname Bearclaw
    Pochette Franz Janisch...5 Pocket............Alfredo Privitera pocket
    Puglisi Pocket 1908........Puglisi 1912.......Puglisi 1917
    3 Mandolinetto ..............C.Garozzo
    1 Mandriola...................Cannelo G. Mandriola...Böhm Waldzither 1921
    Johs Møller 1945............Luigi Embergher Studio 1933
    Marma Seashell back......Luigi Embergher 5bis 1909

  2. #2
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: ID of mandolin with dollar or Asclepius logo

    Quote Originally Posted by poul hansen View Post
    Hello, do you recognize this. Supposedly bought in the USA.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Built in Chicago, Ill USA most likely by either Harmony or Regal. They both built a similar instrument for decades. Could you post a picture of the back and inside the sound hole. Are there any numbers stamped inside?

    These were made "for the trade" many times with no label so they could be marked by the retailer, distributor, or music teacher that sold them.

    They are on eBay weekly.

    I would think the logo was added after the fact.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

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    Default Re: ID of mandolin with dollar or Asclepius logo

    Thank you
    I haven't bought it yet, Trying to ascertain if it's a bargain. ;-)

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    Kentucky KM-805..........2 Hora M1086 Portuguese II(1 in car)
    Hora M1088 Mandola.....
    Richmond RMA-110..... .Noname Bearclaw
    Pochette Franz Janisch...5 Pocket............Alfredo Privitera pocket
    Puglisi Pocket 1908........Puglisi 1912.......Puglisi 1917
    3 Mandolinetto ..............C.Garozzo
    1 Mandriola...................Cannelo G. Mandriola...Böhm Waldzither 1921
    Johs Møller 1945............Luigi Embergher Studio 1933
    Marma Seashell back......Luigi Embergher 5bis 1909

  4. #4
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: ID of mandolin with dollar or Asclepius logo

    It should be all solid woods but they were beginner grade instruments. Obviously I have no idea what they might be worth where you live but in the US you would probably be overpaying at $100.00. I think it's a Harmony based on the way they screwed on the pickguard. Go down through this list and you will eventually start seeing similar instruments and the prices they sold for (always in green). If there is a line through the amount it sold for less. They made this same mandolin for a lot of years. In the 50's and 60's Harmony made them with the Stella brand name as well.

    These are the current eBay auctions. These prices are what folks are asking for them, not what anyone has paid for them.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

  5. #5

    Default Re: ID of mandolin with dollar or Asclepius logo

    It is a Harmony mandolin made after 1933 or so. The same basic mandolin was made for another 40 years. That style of tuner which I think is a Kluson version is from the early 40s. How much does the seller want? These mandolins can be bought very cheaply but often they do not play, so the cost is dependent on condition. This one from 1934 has struggled to find a buyer but the neck has a nasty curve. I know the year as I have the original ad from the Sears catalogue:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/30477893449...Bk9SR9SVx-a9YQ

  6. #6

    Default Re: ID of mandolin with dollar or Asclepius logo

    This one which is very eye-catching and is in good order although the neck joint may be of concern and it has been for sale for ages. It has that faux striped finish but like yours and the other one I posted, its body is all birch. As you are in Denmark, there will not be many around but I don't think that increases the value by much. Mine had a crack on its back and was missing its bridge and failed to sell for $100 but it came town to $25, so I bought it and mended it and spent quite a while filing the little brass frets to eliminate buzz but it plays very well now and sounds great. As mentioned earlier, a great student level instrument but the sound is better than one might have anticipated:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/31413958795...Bk9SR9SVx-a9YQ

  7. #7
    Likes quaint instruments poul hansen's Avatar
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    Default Re: ID of mandolin with dollar or Asclepius logo

    Thank you all for your time.

    Not much of a bargain then.
    Kentucky KM-805..........2 Hora M1086 Portuguese II(1 in car)
    Hora M1088 Mandola.....
    Richmond RMA-110..... .Noname Bearclaw
    Pochette Franz Janisch...5 Pocket............Alfredo Privitera pocket
    Puglisi Pocket 1908........Puglisi 1912.......Puglisi 1917
    3 Mandolinetto ..............C.Garozzo
    1 Mandriola...................Cannelo G. Mandriola...Böhm Waldzither 1921
    Johs Møller 1945............Luigi Embergher Studio 1933
    Marma Seashell back......Luigi Embergher 5bis 1909

  8. #8

    Default Re: ID of mandolin with dollar or Asclepius logo

    I bought mine because I just thought my low level skills could mend it and I have a nasty habit of buying sad looking mandolins but most are fine with a little attention.

  9. #9
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: ID of mandolin with dollar or Asclepius logo

    To be honest, as excited as some folks can get over them, these aren't stellar instruments. I have a friend that took one of the Harmony arched top f hole mandolins from the 30's and rebuilt it and it actually sounded ok but it still wasn't great. When I was young those instruments were still available new and we bought them because they were the cheapest way to get an instrument. New many weren't real playable but we had no other choice. When guitars and mandolins started flooding into the US from Japan (around 1968-69) we started buying those and Harmony and the rest eventually went out of business. Harmony saw these as commodities and I've always wondered if there was ever an employee at Harmony that was there to make sure the instruments were playable and sounded good. Maybe in the early years but I doubt it the later years.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

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