The teens and ’20s Gibson
mandola came in four models: Styles H-1 and H-2 were teardrop-shaped, carved
top, carved back, with the oval soundhole.
There was no such thing as a Style H-3, but the Style H-4 was
essentially a larger version of the famous and fancy F-4 mandolin, being 29”
long if you count most of the white celluloid tailpin and tuned to CGDA from
low to high, one-fifth lower than a mandolin.
This truly outstanding instrument measures 11” wide at the lower bout,
having a scale length of nominally 15 7/8” (a mandolin is, conversely, around
14” in scale), having a nut width of something like 1 7/32” – meaning that it’s
slightly wider than 1 3/16th” and slightly smaller than 1 4/16th”. The lordly (and, consequently, almost never
seen) Model H-5 was a completely different creature, having twin f-holes, an
elevated fingerboard and other Lloyd Loar-inspired features that are unique to
the that short period in the 1920s when the world of fretted instruments was
turned on its ear. The beautiful tuners
on this glorious H-4 are original open-gear, 4-on-a-plate with floral engraving
and a line border, and having 8 matching crème ivoroid buttons.
There are no seam separations,
however the crème binding on both sides of the
fingerboard is, in
one very small area, chipped where the bolt that connects the pickguard to the
lower treble side of the fretboard is attached, and in addition though it would
like to the binding does not quite reach the nut on both bass and treble sides
of the neck. There is, as well, because we believe in full disclosure, a tiny
separation of the crème neck binding at the lower bass corner of the bottom of
the fingerboard. On the back of the headstock is a pressure stamp that reads
“Made in the U.S.A.” which
means that when it was brand new it was originally shipped to a dealer in
Canada. Do to have been (gasp!)
played, there is evidence of arm wear in the lower bass bout of the face and a
small triangular area of leg wear (or something, we’re not going to speculate)
on the upper treble side just under the heel cap.
The top is in fine fettle - it shows
no deflection whatsoever. The elevated tortoise shell celluloid pickguard that bears the “Pat.
Mar. 30 ‘09” stamp is solid and so is the chrome-plated side clamp which, in
this period of the late ‘20s is a simple L-connection. Its two-piece adjustable
ebony bridge is original and it proffers the “Jan. 18, ‘21” patent stamp on its
base. Its oval soundhole is capped in crème, the three-ring soundhole rosette
is made up of an oval of alternating crème and angled black, a middle ring of
yellowed celluloid (or “yelluloid,”) and then another black bordered border of
alternating crème and black. The tailpiece cover is the standard slide-on “The
Gibson” engraved style with the floral pattern. The varnish finish shows
normal signs of aging and playing – the former causing crazing lines (finish
checks or craquelure) over nearly all surfaces including the sides and back of
headstock, an incipient seam separation centered on the lower bottom of the back
of the headstock, the latter taking the form of rubbed-to-“matte” finish on the
back of the neck; scuffs and dings overall, finish wear in places from body
contact, some fret wear that our workshop’s grind-and-polish will largely
remove, and string changing marks on the single-torch inlaid ebony headplate.
We present to you one of the most
beautiful of all Gibson mandolin-family instruments – striking, stately, regal and loyal as a
wholly legal beagle. That Florentine scroll, that adjustable truss rod (that
works just fine in both directions), that comfortable V-shape neck, those two
large body points, that it has all its original parts, finish and no cracks –
plus the thunderous, all-enveloping sound of the old, the bold and the present
price of gold adds up to an experience that few mandolin players have
experienced in their entire lives. If ever there were a Gibson H-4 mandola
worthy of your splurging, this would the one to dive deeply for. You would
never regret it.