1940's Mandolin sold by Eatons

[Phebus]

Hi,
I just bought this no-name mandolin from an eighty-one year old man. He said his mother bought it for him when he was eleven (1943) from the Eatons Department Store Catalogue. It has a mahogany neck, top, back, and maybe maple sides. It sounds nice and bright and has no buzzes, just need to lower the action a bit!
Does anyone know who built mandolins for the Eatons Co. at this time? I found out a company called Suprema made guitars and mandolins for Eatons, but I couldn't find this model.

[MikeEdgerton]

Very nice. Are there any numbers stamped inside?

[Phebus]

No, no numbers, symbols or labels that I can see anywhere. Do you know anything about those "broken up" f holes, I've never seen them before.

[Cary Fagan]

I didn't know Eaton's sold mandolins. My mother used to drag me there when I was a kid. I imagine the catalogues exist somewhere.

[jasona]

Looks like a Kaycraft as a first impression

[Clockwork John]

Looks like a Kaycraft as a first impression

That was my thought as well.

[MikeEdgerton]

I actually had a very similar neck on a 30's Harmony I owned years ago. The segmented f holes were used by all of the Chicago builders at one time or another as well as whomever built the Strad-O-Lins. It doesn't look like a Kay to me. Harmony, maybe Regal but barring a catalog page identifying the maker it's all speculation.

[Phebus]

Hi thanks for the input. I found this pic of a Supertone mandolin from the 1940s and it has a very similar headstock and f holes. but different body shape and no banding around the fingerboard.

[MikeEdgerton]

That shape is actually different. Your's is the smooth classic A style body, that one has the wierd little bumps on each side. It is however probably built by the same builder, and I believe we have a catalog page of the one with bumps here someplace.

[MikeEdgerton]

Yup, here it is. From a Catalog page identified as a page of Harmony mandolins. Supertone was a Sears brand. Sears didn't make any instruments, they bought them from builders like Harmony that made them for the trade, the same way Eatons would have.

[Jim Garber]

Yes, those that Mike posted are Harmony models. I recall similar shape under Vagabond model name as well.

[MikeEdgerton]

That was your catalog page Jim

Give credit where it's due.

[Jim Garber]

I had a feeling it looked familiar

I will check to see if I can find similar catalog pages to the OP's mandolin. I think the key is the body shape and the style of f-holes, As we know even among the segmented ones they are different -- I think we found that even among the Strad-O-Lins.

[Jake Wildwood]

As soon as I saw the tip of the headstock I thought Harmony, as soon as I saw that finish on the body I thought Kay, and as soon as I saw the type of tuners I thought Regal since they used those Klusons a lot in the 30s.

Still, I think considering the oddities of the design my best guess would be Harmony. Curious!

[Greenrumour]

Hi,
I just bought this no-name mandolin from an eighty-one year old man. He said his mother bought it for him when he was eleven (1943) from the Eatons Department Store Catalogue. It has a mahogany neck, top, back, and maybe maple sides. It sounds nice and bright and has no buzzes, just need to lower the action a bit!
Does anyone know who built mandolins for the Eatons Co. at this time? I found out a company called Suprema made guitars and mandolins for Eatons, but I couldn't find this model.

<Removed by Moderator>

[Frankdolin]

Seriously?

[NickR]

It may be one of the Canadian makers or possibly one of the big Chicago makers but without any photos, it is just a guess at this stage. R S Williams is probably the best known Canadian maker- here is what is probably a 1930s or 1940s catalogue page:

http://www.ontariotraditionalmusic.c...#&gid=1&pid=14

From what I have seen of this firm's output, they look very similar to the Chicago maker's products