Antique OLIVER DITSON 1920 ' S Era Eight - String GUITAR - MANDOLIN
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:3949372 |
It seems to be pretty rare, but I've identified this antique stringed instrument as a "guitar-mandolin", and it matches very closely Item No. 181 in the "Mandolins" section (page 27, I think) of the 1922 Oliver Ditson catalog of "Banjos, Tenor Banjos, Banjo Mandolins, Guitars, Mandolins, Mandores, Taro-Patches, Tiples, Ukuleles, Ukulele Banjos, with Necessary Accessories." A copy of the catalog can be found online at http://ditson-ukulele.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/1922-ditson...-catalog.pdfAssuming this model is identical to the one in the catalog, it would have cost $8 new in 1922, and here's the description verbatim from the catalog:"Beautiful imitation rosewood back and sides, hand polished, spruce top, celluloid guard plate, inlaid edge and sound hole, imitation mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard with pearl position marks, machine head, nickel covered shell pattern tailpiece."I'm no expert on musical instruments, but let me tell you what else I know about it. First, it measures about 21-1/2" in total length, and the body is about 3" deep and a little over 8" wide at the widest point. It has a blue label visible inside the sound hole, which has an image of a guitar and a mandolin, and the words "From the Stringed Instrument Studios of the Oliver Diston Company, Boston, New York, Philadelphia."It is in used and worn condition, as you can see in the pictures, and it has only one of its eight strings, but it seems to be extremely restorable if you're looking to use is as anything more than a display piece. I say this specifically because the head and neck appear to be in excellent and functional condition, with the tuning pegs all present and the tuning mechanisms apparently working just fine.So it's the body that has some issues, and here are my observations on those.First, the bridge is missing, you can see where it was glued on. Second, the scallop shaped tailpiece has eight punched-out hooks to hold the strings, and one of the hooks has broken off.Third, there are pieces missing from the white bead that runs around the whole front edge of the body.Fourth, there are veneer delamination issues, the most serious being the checking or cracking that has occurred on the front in the area below the sound hole. There are also some lesser veneer cracks around the sides. I like to think these issues can be solve by clamping and gluing, but I haven't tried it and you'd have to do it just right, so I can't make any guarantees.Finally, commensurate for its age, it has some surface scuffs and scratches, which are most noticeable on the back and sides of the body.I've tried to take pictures from every angle I can think of, so please look closely and don't be afraid to ask questions, especially if you think there's anything I might have missed.International Buyers – Please Note: Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying. Customs fees are normally charged by the shipping company or collected when you pick the item up. These fees are not additional shipping charges. We won't under-value merchandise or mark the item as a gift on customs forms. Doing that is against U.S. and international laws. COMBINED SHIPPING: See our seller list for other interesting and unusual items, in fact bid on several and you might save on shipping and handling. If you buy multiple items, and if it's feasible and cost-effective for us to ship the items together, we will gladly consider requests to combine shipping at a reduced cost. Just e-mail us, and we can provide combined shipping cost estimates on a case-by-case basis. Depending on weight and other considerations, we typically offer full shipping rate for the first item, then 50 cents or $1.00 per item. And if you are purchasing multiple items, please make the payment as a single payment, rather than trying to pay for each item separately. Oh, and this may sound obvious, but we can't reduce the shipping charges for items on which we offer free shipping.
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Please note also that, due to Paypal's ridiculously over-protective "Confirmed Address" policy, we no longer honor requests for shipment to third party addresses, and we reserve the right to refuse to ship to unconfirmed addresses, especially overseas. If you have any questions about this, please contact us prior to bidding so we can review your options. If you have any complaints about this, please contact Paypal.
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING COSTS: If the eBay auto-calculator is not responding, or if you think our shipping costs are too high, please contact us prior to bidding to determine your shipping options and costs. Repeat, prior to bidding, please. Because of Paypal's proof of delivery requirements, we can't always offer the cheapest forms of international shipping, but we might be willing to bend our rules on a case by case basis, so long as you agree that you have no recourse to file claims against either us or Paypal in the event of loss or damage in transit.
SALES TAX: Maine residents, please also include sales tax in the amount of 5.5 percent of the winning bid amount. This should calculate automatically at checkout, and the only way to avoid it is to send us a copy of your current Maine Resale Certificate. Upon receipt, we'll send you a customized invoice with the sales tax deleted.
FEEDBACK: Because of abuses we've experienced in the past, we have totally given up on the eBay feedback system, so we neither give nor expect feedback. Please, therefore, do not contact us after the auction asking us to leave feedback. If you ever have a problem with an item you purchase from us, please contact us directly about it before giving negative feedback or seller ratings, and especially before invoking eBay's dreaded Grand Tribunal in processes like "Return Requests" or "Opening an Item Not as Described Case." No one is perfect, and we occasionally mis-describe something, or an item arrives late or gets damaged in the mail, but we are always quick to respond to a problem and set it straight in the most mutually agreeable way.
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PAYPAL: Let us preface this by saying that Paypal has never been our preferred method of payment, but we realize it is now basically the only form of payment that eBay allows. For international orders, therefore, we now accept payment only by Paypal, unless you initiate some other form of payment that we agree to in advance. Repeat, in advance, please.
Please note also that, due to Paypal's ridiculously over-protective "Confirmed Address" policy, we no longer honor requests for shipment to third party addresses, and we reserve the right to refuse to ship to unconfirmed addresses, especially overseas. If you have any questions about this, please contact us prior to bidding so we can review your options. If you have any complaints about this, please contact Paypal.
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING COSTS: If the eBay auto-calculator is not responding, or if you think our shipping costs are too high, please contact us prior to bidding to determine your shipping options and costs. Repeat, prior to bidding, please. Because of Paypal's proof of delivery requirements, we can't always offer the cheapest forms of international shipping, but we might be willing to bend our rules on a case by case basis, so long as you agree that you have no recourse to file claims against either us or Paypal in the event of loss or damage in transit.
SALES TAX: Maine residents, please also include sales tax in the amount of 5.5 percent of the winning bid amount. This should calculate automatically at checkout, and the only way to avoid it is to send us a copy of your current Maine Resale Certificate. Upon receipt, we'll send you a customized invoice with the sales tax deleted.
FEEDBACK: Because of abuses we've experienced in the past, we have totally given up on the eBay feedback system, so we neither give nor expect feedback. Please, therefore, do not contact us after the auction asking us to leave feedback. If you ever have a problem with an item you purchase from us, please contact us directly about it before giving negative feedback or seller ratings, and especially before invoking eBay's dreaded Grand Tribunal in processes like "Return Requests" or "Opening an Item Not as Described Case." No one is perfect, and we occasionally mis-describe something, or an item arrives late or gets damaged in the mail, but we are always quick to respond to a problem and set it straight in the most mutually agreeable way.
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