This weeks mandolin that won't get a bid or buyer

[journeybear]

Aha! Orchids and the like. Maybe some Spanish moss. There ya go! The more, the merrier. Maximum coverage.

[Sue Rieter]

Aha! Orchids and the like. Maybe some Spanish moss. There ya go! The more, the merrier. Maximum coverage.

It could look pretty good out on the patio. Not in New England, though.

[Jim Garber]

In case you forgot what it looked like

Sort of cat shape and it reminds me of this wonderful painted uke by Robert Armstrong:

[Sue Rieter]

That's cool in so many ways, Jim. I love it.
Thanks for sharing.

[journeybear]

It could look pretty good out on the patio.

Backyard, maybe. Backside of the outhouse, maybe. Nope, not a conversation piece.

[Ranald]

Am I remembering correctly that there was a scene in Five Easy Pieces of Jack Nicholson character playing piano on the back of a pickup truck. Or was that another movie?

You're right, Jim. Little did Jack know he was starting a trend!

[Jim Garber]

Am I remembering correctly that there was a scene in Five Easy Pieces of Jack Nicholson character playing piano on the back of a pickup truck. Or was that another movie?

You're right, Jim. Little did Jack know he was starting a trend!

Here it is:

[journeybear]

Well ... not a pickup truck, exactly, and not in tune, either, but a memorable scene indeed!

[Jim Garber]

Well ... not a pickup truck, exactly, and not in tune, either, but a memorable scene indeed!

I am no expert (to say the least) on trucks and I never said it was in tune. Or did I?

[journeybear]

Oh, no, sir, just a bit of jollity. No need to pay it no nevermind. You did get the gist of it right. I don't remember much of this movie other than Jack's character's recipe for toast.

My goodness! Whoever shelled out a Grant for this hunk of junk sure got his money's worth in palaver over here!

[MikeEdgerton]

I'm watching this one, if it sells I'm going to have to start dumping projects,

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175542951392

[Charles E.]

Not showing up.

[Jim Garber]

This one?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175542951392

[keith.rogers]

I'm guessing at some point enough offers will have been made that the seller decides to accept something more realistic. Or, leaves in a huff. Doesn't look like there's much history, and none as a seller.

[Charles E.]

Looks like a mandola?

[journeybear]

That is the most cockamamie, frustrating, off-putting presentation of a mandolin for sale I have ever seen. Doesn't get around to showing wood until the fourth photo, nor a full-frame photo until the last one, #20. No verbiage whatsoever. And he's arbitrarily added about ten years to its vintage. Suddenly near the end we have a strong candidate for Oddball Of The Year.

[keith.rogers]

I asked (via eBay contact) "What does it say on the label?" and got back 2 separate replies:

On the inside it says. March 30 06

On the piece that is in my hand it says pat July 4 1911

Intentional or not, presenting too much fuzzy detail might let some buyer construct a mental image of a thing that is worth the asking price.

[Jeff Mando]

Years ago at a flea market, I saw an old trunk for sale. I asked the seller how old it was. The seller said, "we did a little research and pulled out a big legal pad with handwritten patent numbers and dates, another book picturing antiques, telling us about others he had seen, etc., he went on and on, but he finally concluded with the BEST we can figure it was made sometime between 1492 and 1974!!!" I think he was serious, too! Whenever I drive by that flea market I think of him.

[Sue Rieter]

That is the most cockamamie, frustrating, off-putting presentation of a mandolin for sale I have ever seen. Doesn't get around to showing wood until the fourth photo, nor a full-frame photo until the last one, #20. No verbiage whatsoever. And he's arbitrarily added about ten years to its vintage. Suddenly near the end we have a strong candidate for Oddball Of The Year.

I got ripped off (not on Ebay) by someone in this same area of Ohio. Likely coincidental, but the presentation and language was similar. Very off-putting.

[Jeff Mando]

Looks like a mandola?

Yep. A project at best and certainly not for that price. Terrible photos, but the bridge foot top crack is a concern, among other things. The seller has only been on eBay for a year and all his feedback is from buying. None from selling, FWIW. Most of his listings are for video games. No judgement, but his chest of drawers has a bag of Pedigree on top of it and underwear hanging out of the drawers with coins on the floor that haven't been picked up? His buddy holding it for the pictures seems to have elaborate neck tattoos, again no judgement....but I see red flags.

PS I did offer $150 plus shipping and it was rejected.

[journeybear]

I asked (via eBay contact) "What does it say on the label?" and got back 2 separate replies:

On the inside it says. March 30 06

On the piece that is in my hand it says pat July 4 1911

That March 30 '06 is printed on the upper edge of label and refers to the design patent date, AFAIK, not the manufacture date. That proves it was built after that date, nothing more. Same with the date on the bracket.

Furthermore, if it were actually a 1906, it would have one of those small pickguards affixed to the surface, yes? Not a big one (missing) with a bracket. Looks like a teens H-1 to my tired eyes. My 1916 H-2 is very similar. But his has no fleur-de-lis.

The seller really should have done more research before listing it.

[Jim Garber]

Looks like a mandola?

By the fretboard extension, I am guessing...

[Jim Garber]

The seller really should have done more research before listing it.

Very funny... It looks from the photos that he found it in a barn and took photos immediately, not even washing his hands.

[journeybear]

Did a number on the metal though. Almost removed the number in the cleaning process.

[rcc56]

My best guess from the poor pictures is that it's a sheraton brown H-1 mandola, built between 1918 and 1921.
Cross-grain fractures such as the one above the bass foot of the bridge tend to be serious, and should be handled by an expert.
Expect more repairs to be necessary than what can be discerned from the pictures.
Observe that the plating on the tailpiece cover has been ruined.
The bridge appears to be a mandolin bridge from a later period.

The asking price is more than double what the instrument is worth in its current condition.