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Thread: Late 30s Marwin Triumoh

  1. #1

    Default Late 30s Marwin Triumoh

    The seller states: "This is NOT a Harmony mandolin." Perhaps, if he believes this so strongly, he can tell us which firm did build it? We know that in the late 30s some Marwin mandolins were made by whoever made Stradolin mandolins but this of not one of them.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/12589615242...Bk9SR6jJmpT1YQ

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  3. #2
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Late 30s Marwin Triumoh

    If wishes were horses beggars would ride. It was built by Harmony. The good news is that it's all solid woods. I imagine there is most likely a date code or model number stamped inside someplace.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

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

  4. #3

    Default Re: Late 30s Marwin Triumoh

    I think the seller has been confused by a Worthpoint listing for one. The headline states:
    1933 MARWIN TRIUMPH HARMONY MANDOLIN VERY ORNATE!
    The description also states: "PLEASE DO NOT CONFUSE THIS INSTRUMENT WITH INFERIOR HARMONY INSTRUMENTS MADE IN THE 50'S AND 60'S.
    I think this seller has taken this to mean that these were not made by Harmony but that statement was intended to tell prospective buyers that the 1930s made mandolins were better than those made a few decades on- Harmony is in that headline. I don't know how true this might be because Harmony made different versions of the Monterey and some were higher grade maple bodied with spruce tops rather than the birch versions and may have been as good- I don't own one from this later era.

  5. #4
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Late 30s Marwin Triumoh

    The hysterical part of all of this is that the Harmony mandolins made in the 50's and 60's were pretty much exactly the same as the Harmony mandolins made in the late 30's. The logo might have changed in some cases but not on all. The Batwing was probably the first change to their line in decades. Just before they closed the company in the 70's a few things changed. I have owned several over the years.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

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

  6. #5

    Default Re: Late 30s Marwin Triumoh

    I agree that the higher end Harmony mandolins from the 60s were almost certainly as good as those in the 1930s. The big difference was that the third party sales were for just a few big companies and the various elaborate frills you see in the 1930s for the retailers had ended, so far less variety on offer but the basic build quality would have been the same, I am sure. In the 1970s you can see Harmony trying to make economies in an attempt to stay afloat but that was not to be. I have six Harmony mandolins from the 1930s and not one has a date stamp -the two S S Stewart Monterey derived archtops have the same number inside which probably relates to the order for B & J which owned the brand. As they were all sold by third parties they can be dated from catalogue ads.

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