Description
A very nice example of a late 3-point F4. Single piece maple back, single piece top, pickguard with 2 violin/chin rest hardware clamps. Sterling silver engraved tailpiece appears to be original/custom work.
Bridge patent date April 21 1896 corresponds to patent 558619, the original compensated bridge patent
Near-invisible repair to tip of peghead. Torch & Wire peghead inlay is unusual with a few "flames" unscraped, a "mistake" seen occasionally on some Gibson inlay. I've since had the missing flames revealed, so you can see both versions in the pictures below
Said to have come from a player in New York, the initials "APK" that appear on the tailpiece cover could correspond to "Annabell Kilgore", an orchestral player from that region and time whose photo appears in an early Gibson catalog
Owned by Dan Beimborn, operator of the Mandolin Archive. This mandolin appears on the cover of my CD titled Torch and Fire
