1935 marwin jewel by harmony mandolin great conditi

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$212.50 (16 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Mar-20-2012 17:01:50 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

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[BradKlein]

I had a chance to check out this mandolin in person. The seller seems like a decent person though not knowledgable about mandolins at all. The instrument is playable, but doesn't put out a lot of sound. I'm not convinced it was made by Harmony or that it comes from 1935. But I like the paint job and I'm going to put a bid in just as a lovely thing. And I have deep pockets... not much money in them, but deep pockets.

[Dobe]

Just went for 4 bills. I was a little tempted around 3 , looked like a top crack though. Glad I passed.

[BradKlein]

Well, as I mentioned, I can't be sure of the details, but it's well worth the price it sold for. (I was outbid.)
A very unusual, good looking mandolin, in very fine condition.

[MikeEdgerton]

... I'm not convinced it was made by Harmony or that it comes from 1935....

Well, you can borrow mafia money and bet the ranch that it was built by Harmony. That's a Harmony date code stamped inside so that you can take that to the bank. However, you are correct to suspect the date. It is not from 1935, it's from 1940. The S40 stands for the Second half of 1940. Harmony date codes are unique and all telling.

[MikeEdgerton]

The second stamp is also very "Harmony Like". Generally if this was being built with a harmony brand (Harmony or Stella, perhaps others) The number on the left would be followed by an H for Harmony or S for Stella (in later years most were just stamped H no matter what). It has been put forth that the number on the left was the model number, the number on the right was a batch number. I don't think that's been proven yet but it does make sense. In this case it isn't their brand so they left it blank I would guess.

[MikeEdgerton]

And a final note, I was very enamored with the headstock.

[P.D. Kirby]

Very unique but is does have a crack that runs right up the middle of the top. You can see it pretty clearly in the shot of the Bridge. It would make far a cool beater or conversation piece maybe even a player if you fix that crack.

[MikeEdgerton]

That isn't a crack it's inlay.

[MikeEdgerton]

My mistake, you're talking about the top. Yes, there is a crack there. That doesn't look all that serious to me, fairly easy fix. I'd also note that bridge needs some attention as well. With something like this you wouldn't necessarily buy it for the sound or the playability. Both might not be stellar. It's the cool factor. Probably one of the nicest Harmony products I've ever seen.

[BradKlein]

Well, you can borrow mafia money and bet the ranch that it was built by Harmony.

Ha! That's when you know that your MAS as gotten out of hand!

Yes, the top crack is trivial, and the back stripe is just paint on the plywood, not inlayed at all. Also distinctive is the VERY thick plastic binding. It's a looker alright, and nicer than the occasionally seen Marwin 'Star' which must have been a lower grade than the Jewel.

[MikeEdgerton]

As hard as it is to accept, supposedly Harmony didn't use anything but solid woods up to the end. Their across town competition Kay sold laminated bodies as a feature.

[BradKlein]

As hard as it is to accept, supposedly Harmony didn't use anything but solid woods up to the end. Their across town competition Kay sold laminated bodies as a feature.

Well I'm not going to borrow mafia money but I did examine the instrument fairly closely, and I have many years of pro woodworking experience. That said, I have been wrong before, including an Oahu rosewood guitar back that I'd have sworn was solid, and turned out to be 3 ply laminate with (apparently) flitch sawn rosewood on both sides.

Here's what the Harmony Database has to say:
"Q - Is my Harmony guitar made from solid woods or laminated ?
A - If your guitar is an acoustic, please read this and tell everyone about it : ALL Harmony acoustics were made from solid woods, even the lowest of the lower grade student model, made from solid birch. Ok, there is some rare exceptions to this rule, for some very late models produced a couple of years before the close of the factory in 1976. Kay was known for mastering the laminated techniques, Harmony for using only solid wooods.
- If your guitar is an electric, most models produced after 1960 (and all cutaway) have a laminated top and/or body. Older "full box" archtops designed from acoustic models still were made from solid woods. An exception to those rules is the late H68 "Artist", built from acoustic H1310 bodies, all solid."

[MikeEdgerton]

Some of the last Harmony instruments made just before the factory shut down were definitely plywood. I've never seen anything this old that was laminated. Kay actually advertised the fact that their instruments were laminated and thus less prone to cracking. For them it was a feature. Don't feel bad about that rosewood Oahu, I've seen guys buy an old guitar thinking it was rosewood when it was a faux finish. These guys were pretty good at faux finishing. In later years they got real lazy.

[mandrian]

Hi,

I was going through the mandolins on EBay UK on Monday and saw that this mandolin had just been posted. It triggered my memory of this thread which must have stuck with me as I loved the Art Deco headstock. A quick check revealed it is the self same mandolin from the same buyer at that time. He had got the top crack properly repaired and was selling it with a new hard case.

Anyway, I bought it and it arrived today. It looks and sounds great proving you don't have to spend too much money (in this case £350) to get a a really nice mandolin.

Brad, thanks for tip, albeit I followed it up 3 years later!

Regards