In his long and distinguished career building the most revered archtop guitars in history, John D'Angelico built somewhere around between 245 and 300 mandolins, most of them not included on the ledger or lost to history somewhere. These mandolins came in three designs: plain, good, and scroll, with this mandolin from 1943, #167, being a great example of the scroll model.
These mandolins were inspired by (or designed after) the contemporary Lyon & Healy violin scroll models, featuring an asymmetrical two-point body shape, f-holes, and tonebars, much like the Gibsons of the time as well, not to mention an incredible hand-carved violin scroll.
Like most mandolins, the top is spruce (John used imported Sitka) and the sides and back were gorgeous domestic flamed maple. The ebony bridge and fretboard are in great condition, with the latter's block inlays standing the test of time.
The pickguard is a replacement, and underneath, the finish damage from the 'Rot' of the original is visible, but stable. This has also affected the binding, causing shrinkage and cracking that have been stabilized, but the visual wear is there.
The tailpiece, pickguard bracket, and tuners are all original.
Serial #167 comes with the original wooden D'Angelico made case.
