Neapolitan mandolin
Maker
C. F. Martin & Co.
Distributor
J. A. Handley
(Martin dealer)
Date1917
Place MadeNazareth, Pennsylvania, United States, North America
Model6A
Serial No.5208
SignedBranded on back of headstock: [lettering curved downward at each end] C.F.MARTIN & Co / ―∙― / NAZARETH, PA.Branded on neck block: [lettering curved downward at each end] C.F.MARTIN & Co / ―∙― / NAZARETH, PA. / 5208
MarkingsInlaid in abalone on headstock: F. G. C.
Printed on paper label with gold border affixed to inside of bowl: FROM / J. A. HANDLEY / LOWELL, MASS.
DescriptionNMM 3852 is a variant of the Style 6 Mandolin, often referred to as the Style 6A, that was made to the specifications of Joseph A. Handley, who distributed the instruments. Handley had suggested the pickguard be moved to the treble side of the soundhole. NMM 3852 also bears the initials of probably the first owner on the peghead in abalone. The 42 fluted ribs and Martin’s typical broken pediment peghead reflect the influence of the Vinaccia family style.
Joseph A. Handley was born in New Hampshire, ca. 1869, and his family moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, when he was a child. His father, Thomas, was a machinist who was disabled in 1880, requiring the children to work to support the family. Joseph worked in a bobbin shop at age 11, while his siblings worked as a mule spinner, in a variety store, in a cotton mill, and in a carpet mill, reflecting Lowell’s employment opportunities in the textile trade. By 1910, Joseph was working as a music teacher in Lowell, and by 1930 he was working in the same profession in Southborough, Massachusetts, about 36 miles from Lowell.
Soundboard: two-piece spruce, fine grain broadening toward the flanks
Bowl: 42 rosewood staves, inner 40 ribs narrow and fluted, divided by ivory stringing
Clasp: rosewood; continues to base of neck with decoratively cut section with festooned shape below neck; ivory binding trimmed with single strips of light and dark hardwood purfling
Head: mahogany veneered with rosewood on front face; simplified broken pediment shape with two inward scrolls
Neck: mahogany; integral with head
Binding: ivory; dark hardwood and ivory 5-ply purfling; purfling finished with same varnish as body
Fingerboard: ebony bound in ivory; 20 nickel-silver frets; abalone flower inlaid behind 1st fret; abalone slotted diamond between two abalone diamonds behind 3rd and 7th frets; abalone flower between two abalone slotted diamonds behind 5th and 10th frets; abalone slotted diamond between two abalone lozenges behind 12th fret; single abalone lozenges behind 15th and 17th frets (one behind 15th fret slightly larger); imitation tortoise-shell plastic side dots behind 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 15th, and 17th frets
Nut: ivory
Bridge: ebony; ebony lozenges on ends; every other set of string notches offset (compensated); not fixed to top
Pegs: two sets of nickel-plated steel worm-gear machine tuners with ivoroid heads and floral-engraved nickel-silver plates on back side of head
Tailpiece: nickel silver with foliate-engraved, festooned cover
Rosette: elliptical with dark hardwood-light hardwood-dark hardwood-ivory-dark hardwood purfling on each side of abalone; finished with same varnish as body
Pick guard: tortoise shell to treble side of soundhole
Varnish: slightly yellow
Bowl lining: gray paper
Top braces: spruce grafts along center joint and near neck; spruce brace above soundhole; spruce brace below soundhole significantly thinner on bass side; burn mark on inside at bend position
DimensionsTotal mandolin length: 615 mm (24-1/4″)
Top length: 308 mm (12-3/16″)
Maximum body width: 200 mm (7-7/8″)
Maximum bowl height: 122 mm (4-13/16″)
Head length: 159 mm (6-1/4″)
Head width, top: 68 mm (2-21-32″)
Head width, bottom: 57 mm (2-1/4″)
Neck length (nut to ribs): 147 mm (5-25/32″)
Neck width, nut: 30 mm (1-3/16″)
Neck width, heel: 40 mm (1-9/16″)
Soundhole height: 43 mm (1-11/16″)
Soundhole width: 68 mm (2-11/16″)
Vibrating string length (nut to bridge edge): E: 332 mm (13-1/8″); G: 334 mm (13-5/32″)
ProvenanceAccording to Martin & Co. records, construction of this instrument began March 29, 1917; it was shipped on May 1 of the same year. There was a $1.50 extra charge for the inlay on the headstock, F. G. C., who was the original owner.
Published ReferencesJoseph R. Johnson, Mandolin Clubs and Orchestras in the United States (1880-1920): Their Origin, History and Instruments, M.M. Thesis (Vermillion: University of South Dakota, 1987), p. 160.
Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Object number03852
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