Splendid concert mandolin built in 1933 by Egildo Emanuele, bearing the original signed label, in excellent condition of preservation and origin.
Emanuele is part of the Italian diaspora of Neapolitan origin who crossed the Alps at the beginning of the 20th century to come and work in France, among which were many wood craftsmen and luthiers who came to breathe new life into French instrument making. Apart from his origin, little is known about Emanuele’s activity, except what his work reflects of his taste and personality.
The mandolins we know of him are very similar in their appearance and construction to those of his contemporary Luigi Embergher, established in Rome: sober and refined, the emphasis is placed on the choice of woods and on playability rather than on flashy aesthetic elements. The instrument presented here has a tight-grained spruce top with a rosette decorated with mother-of-pearl motifs, and adorned with a parchment-shaped celluloid pickguard; the curly maple body is made up of 26 flat ribs alternated with ebony strips, held on reinforcements and varnished inside and out; the neck is also made of maple topped with an ebony fingerboard with an extension under the treble strings going up to the 29th fret, the slotted headstock is adorned with an ebony veneer. We find this superbly preserved instrument complete with all of its original parts and hardware, in perfect playing condition after we applied ourselves to the complete optimization of its setup. Also included with the mandolin its original purchase invoice dated to 1936, and a period piece of sheet music.
Sold in its original case painted in imitation rosewood.
