Re: Help finding age of Fratelli Indelicato Mandolin
Mandolins were coming out of Catania as far back as the ‘00s apparently.
G Puglisi Reale was certainly working (and exporting) mandolins and guitars in the ‘10s and earlier. We’ve seen text in German on some of their labels.
We’ve had discussions here about whether the mandolins of many Neapolitan labeled vendors were actually ‘made for the trade’ in Catania and sold elsewhere.
DeMureda, Lanfranco, Ferrari, etc. may very well have had been from Catania makers as complete instruments or ‘finished’ in Napoli…like ur-Northfields.
The design and detailing is often Sicilian in character.
Not unlike the oceans of Sicilian wine shipped north and labeled as ‘Tuscan’ etc.
Catania was heavily bombed during WW2 with much destruction.
Only a few producers survived. It is during the post war boom in instruments that we see some the more familiar Catanese makers / conglomerates really get into the export business under their own labels.
But it has been going on for a long, long time.
Based on the ‘modern’ type font on the OPs bowl, I’d guess anywhere from late 30s to early 50s. The detailing, tuners, finish could narrow that late 40s to early / mid 50s if I were to try harder.
Mick
Last edited by brunello97; Feb-22-2023 at 9:30am.
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