Mandolin
Maker
Gibson
Date1904 ca.
Place MadeKalamazoo, Michigan, United States, North America
ModelA-4
Serial No.3121
SignedOval-shaped white paper label with black printing, outlined in black with double circles: (curved) Gibson Mandolin= Guitar Mfg. Co. Ltd. / Nº 3121 [photo of Orville
Gibson and a lyre-Mandolin] Patented February first, 1898. / Trademark / Kalamazoo,
Michigan, U. S. A.
DescriptionThe Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Company's initial success was based on a new style of mandolin invented by Orville Gibson in the 1890s. Using a slightly arched back, in contrast to the traditional bowl back (pejoratively called "potato bugs" and their players "potato buggists"), Gibson developed two new styles—the Style "A" and "F" mandolins—that still set the standard for the mandolin industry. The Style A-4 has the most ornate trim of the pear-shaped Style A instruments. The Style F, by contrast, has a scrolled upper rib and distinctive "points."
The black, French-polished lacquer, gently curving lines, and abstract mother-of-pearl inlay of NMM 6192 show the strong influence of the Art Nouveau movement that was sweeping through the American decorative arts, 1890-1914.
Dimensionsoverall length: 65 cm
maximum body width (at center): 26 cm
ProvenancePurchased from Gruhn Guitars, Nashville, Tennessee, 1998.
Published ReferencesAndré P. Larson, "Recent Acquisitions," America's Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter, Vol. 26, No. 1 (February 1999), p. 6.
André P. Larson, "Mandolin (A-4) by Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1905," South Dakota Musician, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Fall 1999), pp. cover, 19.
Credit LinePurchase funds gift of Norma and Joseph M. McFadden, 1998
Object number06192
On View
Not on view
