1935 Gibson F7 Mandolin #92010

Summary

1935 manufacture date (traditional estimates)
1935 shipment date, according to Spann's Guide to Gibson
Mandolin, Style F7
Serial 92010
Factory order number unknown

Description

Joe Spaan says this was originally shipped from the Gibson factory on September 10, 1935 to the Durden Music Company in downtown Athens, Georgia. It appears to have been #7 in a batch of 10 identical F-7 mandolins produced in mid-year 1935. It has Waverly tuners with the engraved base plates and metal buttons. It came in its original pink lined, red ribbon, F shaped hard case with many old music set lists and odds and ends. This one seems to be pretty much all original and it was believed to have been purchased new by John "Tennessee" Smith according to his family. He and his brother "Smitty" Smith were members of a group known as "The Sunshine Boys" and a few other groups. The Sunshine Boys formed in the late 1930s as a country and gospel music band in Macon, Georgia and later in the Atlanta area. They also did some gospel songs as a duo known as the "Smith Brothers". They also moved to Los Angeles for a few years around 1945 and were in some Western movies with Smiley Burnett, Eddie Dean, Lash Laurie, Charles Starrett and the Durango Kid where they sang Western and gospel songs and played music in the movies.

Categories

Source

From Dan Beimborn.
Dan Beimborn is the designer and operator of the Mandolin Archive. Descriptions and photographs are copyright Dan Beimborn unless otherwise indicated, and may not be reproduced without permission.