Mandolin
Maker
Lyon & Healy
Trade Name
George Washburn
trade name of Lyon & Healy
Date1925 ca.
Place DistributedChicago, Illinois, United States, North America
ModelWashburn Style E No. 2678
Serial No.8066
SignedPrinted in red and black on oval paper label, the model number and style written in black ink: [view of factory in red ink on background] MADE AND GUARANTEED BY / Lyon&Healy [logo] / WORLD'S LARGEST MUSIC HOUSE / CHICAGO, U. S. A. / WASHBURN / No. 2678STYLE E MarkingsRubber stamped in black ink on neck block: 8066DescriptionLyon & Healy was one of the first United States manufacturers to produce mandolins in the 1880s. However, by the 1920s, fashions had changed and they transitioned to flat-back instruments. Stringing: eight steel strings
Soundboard: two-piece spruce: medium grain widening toward edges; bear-claw figure
Back: two-piece Brazilian rosewood divided by light-dark-brown-light hardwood strips
Sides: one-piece Brazilian rosewood
Head: black-stained hardwood veneer over mahogany; integral with neck
Neck: mahogany; integral with head
Heel cap: ivoroid
Binding: ivoroid; trim on top and back comprised of ivory and black celluloid strips
Fretboard: black-stained hardwood bound in ivoroid; 21 nickel-silver bar frets under E and A; 20 nickel-silver bar frets under D; 19 nickel-silver bar frets under G; mother-of-pearl dots behind 5th, 7th, 10th; double mother-of-pearl dots behind 12th fret; black celluloid side dots behind 5th, 7th, 10th, and 12th frets
Nut: bone
Bridge: rosewood with inset bone saddle
Tailpiece: nickel-plated brass with scalloped upper edge
Tuners: two sets of worm-gear machine tuners with nickel-plated plates, steel rollers, and ivoroid plastic heads
Rosette: oval; three-ply dark-hardwood-light-hardwood-dark-hardwood strips adjoining ivory celluloid binding
Pick guard: tortoiseshell celluloid set into top on upper treble side
Lacquer: clear
Linings: kerfed mahogany
Neck block: mahogany
End block: mahogany with chamfered corners
Top braces: three spruce lateral braces with tapered ends, one above and two below soundhole
Back braces: three spruce lateral braces with tapered ends; spruce graft along center jointDimensionsTotal mandolin length: 588 mm (25-5/32”)
Back length: 296 mm (11-21/32”)
Width (at widest point): 232 mm (9-1/8”)
Rib height, at heel: 57 mm (2-1/4”)
Rib height, at widest point: 67 mm (2-5/8”)
Rib height, at end: 63 mm (2-15/32”)
Head length: 151 mm (5-15/16”)
Head width, top: 55 mm (2-5/32”)
Head width, bottom: 44 mm (1-23/32”)
Neck length (nut to ribs): 141 mm (5-9/16”)
Neck width, nut: 27 mm (1-1/16”)
Neck width, heel: 37 mm (1-15/32”)
Soundhole height: 44 mm (1-23/32”)
Soundhole width: 69 mm (2-23/32”)
Vibrating string length (nut to bridge edge): 329 mm (12-15/16”)
Scale length: 329 mm (12-15/16”) ProvenanceDonor acquired from a farmhouse in Lenox, Massachusetts, "where they rented rooms for Tanglewood concerts, ca. 1965."
Credit LineGift of Stuart M. Frank, 2015
Object number15001
On View
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