Bowlbacks of Note

[Plamen Ivanov]

Hello Jim,

You are right about the two things. I haven`t noticed the payment details. It might be Puglisi, but I`m not quite sure. I`m inclined to think, that it`s rather a copy. No, I haven`t seen nor played this particular instrument. But I may try to contact him for details. I don`t know where exactly in Bulgaria the seller is located. If he is settled in Sofia I may ask him for a closer view at the instrument.

Good luck!

[mandolinoman]

Hi, Plamen

It seems like that all the Puglisi mandolins that were built years ago had only butterfly designs on the mandolins. #Maybe there were other designs, besides the butterfly design.

All my best friendly regards,

George

[Jim Garber]

George:
I am not sure if you think it is a Puglisi or that it is not -- it is a little unlcear to me what you are saying.

I have seen photos of a mandolin with almost this eaxact decoration that was labelled Puglisi. The double butterfly pickguard seems pretty common, tho i have seen other Puglisis with different butterflies and with different ornamentation altogether.

Jim

[Bob A]

Regarding the Australian Calace, it seems to me the bridge is identical to the (Australian) Calace I bought several months ago. I had been (very mildly) concerned that it was not original to the instrument, but either it is factory original, or the same (Australian) luthier made a replacement.

Given the price, I should have waited.

Does anyone know the function of the two holes in the soundboard?

[Plamen Ivanov]

Hello George and Jim,

Yes, the butterfly in any appearance is very typical for the Puglisi mandolins, but that doesn`t mean it`s necesserily a Puglisi mandolin, because the butterfly decoration could be seen on many other types of mandolins. Besides there are a lot of plain Puglisi mandolins or decorated with flowers, birds, etc. I`ll let you know if I succeed in making a contact with the seller of this particular one. Still don`t believe it`s a Puglisi, although very similar.

Good luck!

[sailaway]

so there is now another Australian Calace listed on eBay -- is this similar to bob A's Calace? (with sleeve- guard...) Does anyone know anything about this Calace ? (Since I am missing CMSA in phila. due to the abomination of work , I might as well spend money on a new mandolin! )

[Jim Garber]

This one seems to have the same characteristics including pickguard (dual butterflies), headstock shape, outer body binding and rosette inlays as the one below that was sold on ebay Germany in May of this year. That one was labelled a Puglisi, I believe.

Jim

[mandocaster]

Well, I got the Willy Hums mandolin delivered today. #All in all in good shape, although the tuners are pretty worn.

Hard to say how it sounds with 30 year old East German strings on it. #The action is a tiny bit high, but usable.

One unexpected surprise was a stencil on the case of the original owner. #

It reads -
Volkskunstensemble "Fritz Heckert" #Karl Marx Stadt DDR

45 singers, 15 musicians, solo recitation. Probably not the hippest band in the DDR.

An internet search yielded a little info. #In 2003 the band had an anniversary concert. #My German is pretty rusty, though.
Fritz Heckert Concert

[raffaele]

I just wanted to say...to anyone who may be interested in finding out anything about my Calace thats currently on ebay....I'm no expert on Mandolins....but if you can point me in the right direction....I'm more than happy to answer any questions that you may have about it...if I possibly can....

[Plamen Ivanov]

Hello Jim,

The one, that you posted is a Puglisi, no doubt! The one, that we discussed is really very similar, even the same. Most probably it`s a Puglisi too.

Good luck!

Here is another plain Puglisi on ebay.de I think the price is too high for this one. And most probably will meet the same fortune as the previous one. Puglisi Mandolin

[Martin Jonas]

This one is allegedly labelled "Fratelli Vinaccia", but looks incongruous to me. #Anybody else? #

This Ferrari is interesting in view of the discussion of Alban Voigt we had a few months ago: This one has the Voigt address on the label, the same as the Ceccherinis. #In fact, I've only just seen one of these Ferraris earlier this week at Hobgoblin's London shop. #Didn't appeal to me and was overpriced, but maybe somebody has experience with these?

As we were talking in the other thread about Embergher clones, here's a no-name one that looks pretty similar to my mother's Miroglio, but with the Embergher-style scroll scratchplate (although it looks rather crudely copied on this one, and probably painted on rather than inlaid).

Martin

[Jim Garber]

Martin:
I clicked on the Vinaccia one but all that came up is a de Meglio being sold by Ian.

Jim

[Martin Jonas]

Oops, wrong link, sorry. The right link is here.

Martin

[Eugene]

That mass-produced Sicilian/German celluloid butterfly, the rosewood fingerboard...nothing looks like it conceivably coulb be Vinaccia here...except maybe the bridge. My money is on the label either being a forgery or having been pirated from a wrecked Fratelli Vinaccia.

[Jim Garber]

That Embergher close looks like a cartoon of an Embergher pickguard. Strange.

One question I have... those tortoise armguards that these mandolins have (like the one in the Ferrari mandolin) are they actual tortoise-shell?

Jim

[bratsche]

Anybody know anything about this one? It's nice-looking...

bratsche

[Martin Jonas]

I have no knowledge of it, other than that it looks in good condition and its decorations and scratchplate are typical American. For what it's worth, the level of decoration and the number of ribs suggests it wasn't an entry-level model. The label reads "Thiebes-Stierlin Warranted / Smith Academy, St Louis". A quick web search shows that Thiebes-Stierlin were a St.Louis-based company and the web site of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources says:

The six-story Thiebes-Stierlin Music Company Building was constructed in 1904 as the third and final retail home of a prominent music firm in St. Louis. Located on the city's old "Music Row" on Olive Street, the firm not only sold sheet music and instruments but also manufactured pianos, mandolins, guitars and strings. Today Thiebes-Stierlin also is remembered for carrying sheet music specifically directed to African-American musicians.

If that's true, they were an actual manufacturer, not just a distributor. That doesn't explain why the name "Smith Academy" is also on the label. That's a St. Louis boys' school (T.S. Eliot went there). Some endorsement deal, perhaps, or maybe it's not actually a manufacturer's label but an inventory label and Thiebes-Stierlin built this mandolin for the school orchestra.

Martin

[Martin Jonas]

This Ferrari is interesting in view of the discussion of Alban Voigt we had a few months ago: This one has the Voigt address on the label, the same as the Ceccherinis.

This has now finished, and I'm baffled. Am I missing something? £166 for the Ferrari, without a bridge, without a nut, with one fret missing, at least some visible warping of the top and who knows what other defects. It seems it's not just two bidders egging each other on -- four different bidders were willing to pay £135 or more for this basket case, when only last month this lovely de Meglio fetched only £30.

I don't know what reputation Ferrari may have, but if people are really interested, the one at Hobgoblin has a bridge, a straight neck and is playable (though not exactly pristine) for about twice the price of this wreck. As Hobgoblin are currently asking for £465 for a very questionable de Meglio, I feel there is a lot of guesswork involved in pricing all around.

Martin

[Bob A]

Two interesting prospects at present on ebay.

Vega Lansing Special Is named for a mandolinist of the era, not the town.

Our own Ian has a nice Stridente
that needs some neck work. It looks to be a worthy project.

The Vega might be a real bargain. I've seen one languishing at $995; I've not played this model, but if they put half the effort into it that they did in their Pettine Special model, it would be a wonderful instrument.

[Martin Jonas]

That fake Vinaccia went for £185. Cheap for a Vinaccia, but far too much for what it appears to be.

Here is a very peculiar bowl. No indication of great quality: fittings and decoration are bog-standard interwar or postwar Catania, but the shape is dizzingly narrow. I first thought that the photo might be distorted, but the peghead and bridge are in normal proportions and the scale length looks to be standard 330mm (so presumably not a piccolo).

We've seen this daring set of matching mandobass, mandocello and mandolin before, with a much higher starting bid. Clearly, it remained unsold and is now offered without reserve. They look to be intriguing instruments, but in fairly poor condition.

Finally, here is some poor soul who seems to be under delusions about the value of his bowlback. An unlabelled 10-rib entry level instrument in poor condition (is that a block marker at the 5th fret or a missing chunk of fingerboard?) -- can anybody else see why the seller might have been offered £250?

Martin

[Eugene]

Vega Lansing Special Is named for a mandolinist of the era, not the town.

The Vega might be a real bargain. I've seen one languishing at $995; I've not played this model, but if they put half the effort into it that they did in their Pettine Special model, it would be a wonderful instrument.

Other than the engraving on the head plate, this piece is identical to an entry level Vega I sold to a Cafe member (Jeff) who then sold it on eBay at ca. $250-300 (I don't recall details). #I've seen a number of "Lansing Specials" with remarkably little consistency of decorative style (this one is the least fancy of the lot). #Rather than being a Pettine-like specific model, I'm suspecting that George Lansing might have pushed Vega on his students and had any such of Vega's regular production equipped with a bit of Lansing personalization.

[Eugene]

Here is a very peculiar bowl. #No indication of great quality: fittings and decoration are bog-standard interwar or postwar Catania, but the shape is dizzingly narrow. #I first thought that the photo might be distorted, but the peghead and bridge are in normal proportions and the scale length looks to be standard 330mm (so presumably not a piccolo).

Nope, not a true piccolo, but this style is sometimes erroneously called piccolo. More properly, they are called "pockey mandolins," comparable to the pochette of the bowed realm. This one actually is pretty typical.

[John Bertotti]

I like that vega. So is it wrong to want a second Vega. I can't imagine it would play any better than the one I have it just has a little more ornamentation. Would there be enough sound quality difference to justify two Vegas? John

[etbarbaric]

I have a Vega Lansing Special, and while it clearly doesn't rise to the level of the Pettine Special, I don't think I'd count it as equivalent to an entry-level Vega either.

And there's nothing wrong with wanting more than one Vega... really...

Eric

[bratsche]

Another nice Vega went for $312 the other day. AND it had been used by the seller to play Bach! I was jealous. The dark top really appealed to me. But then, I have no idea what they sound like, or if it would have had a mellow voice to match its looks. Best not to buy an instrument solely based on looks. Which is always my excuse, and why I'll probably never get up the nerve to join the Order of the Bowl. Sigh.

bratsche