This A-style, f-hole mandolin has a sunburst finish over an arched solid spruce top. The sides, back and neck are made of maple, stained to the color of mahogany. The fingerboard is bound rosewood with pearl dot markers.

Washburn M-1S/1S #97100018

Washburn is an old name. At the end of the 19th century, the Lyon and Healy company bragged that more guitars were sold under their Washburn brand than all others combined. A fire at their huge factory in Chicago at the beginning of the twentieth century virtually ended guitar production and had nearly the same effect on their mandolin line. The Washburn name was kept alive through the first decades of the twentieth century only by labels that appeared on instruments made mostly by other manufacturers, and was virtually forgotten long before the present owners of the trademark began selling Asian-made instruments in the U.S. and elsewhere. Learn more about the history of Washburn (and virtually every other company that ever made a guitar in the U.S.) in Tom Wheeler's "American Guitars An Illustrated History", the definitive guide to American guitar manufacturers. All American manufacturers are described in separate articles, appearing in alphabetical order. Although this book is mainly about guitars, many of these companies also made mandolins, banjos, even harps and violins. This book is three hundred and seventy pages of indispensible information for every stringed instrument collector.