Summary
1909 manufacture date (traditional estimates)
1910 shipment date, according to Spann's Guide to Gibson
Mandolin, Style F4
Serial 9100
Factory Order number: 1027
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.
About the date:
Bridge patent date April 21 1896 corresponds to patent 558619, the original compensated bridge patent. Patent 934678 was filed in June of 09, and issued in Sept of 09 for the subsequent bridge style. Patent 916906 covers the raised pickguard, and was applied for in 1907, issued March 30 1909
Near-invisible repair to tip of peghead by Troy Harris. Torch & Wire peghead inlay seen in some pictures is unusual with a few "flames" unscraped, a "mistake" seen occasionally on some Gibson inlay. The missing flames have since been revealed, so you can see both versions in the pictures below. This instrument appears with photographs and an article in The Fretboard Journal
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 his CD titled Torch and Fire
