1915 Gibson H-1 Mandola 31642, FON 8204
1915 Gibson H-1 Mandola 31642 FON 8204 with “golden orange” finish on top; this mandola is in extremely fine original condition (except for missing pickguard); no cracks, warpage or flaws with optimal playability. Original Geib and Schaefer case is included and while showing some wear, still grades to very good condition. This instrument also has an excellent sound, quite impressive with the volume, clarity and resonance of much more expensive models.
Features of 1915 Gibson H-1 31642 are consistent with factory specifications for that model and year, and in fact appears almost exactly as described in the 1914 Gibson catalog “I” (my comments inm parenthesis):
“Straight grain, graduated spruce, top (sounding board); golden orange finish; thoroughly air seasoned maple rim and back with dark mahogany finish (actually the wood here is birch, an excellent and highly underrated tonewood) ; highly polished throughout; Mexican mahogany reinforced neck (reinforced with ebony, not the metal rod of later Gibson models); veneered headpiece with “The Gibson” in Pearl; ivoroid bound Ebony extension fingerboard with 21 oval, narrow frets; Pearl position dots inlayed on fingerboard and upper edge of neck; ivoroid bound oblong sound hole inlay with two rings of fancy colored woods; ivoroid binding inlayed on outer upper edge of rim; elevated guard plate or finger rest with German silver clamp; fine quality nickel machine head; bone nut; and “The Gibson” nickel silver tailpiece.” At some point, this mandola was upgraded with an original Loar-era adjustable bridge. We suspect this might have been done at the factory during that era, based on where we located this instrument.
It is quite rare to find a mandola this nice and this “ready to go,” still in the possession of the family of the original owner. We hope you consider taking ownership for the next 111 years of service, hopefully this time spent making joyful music. $3250 plus cost of shipping.