1920s Calvert Parker "Peerless" (New Hampshire) Flatback Mandolin

Overview: Who can argue with the adorable nature of this little beastie? Folks see it in the shop and are immediately taken by it, whether they play mandolin or not. This is the third or fourth Calvert Parker mandolin I've worked-on and this one needed the most of all of them but turned-out to be a little sweetheart. It's not as loud or as punchy as a bigger-bodied flatback mandolin from the same time but the small body, fret access, and looks more than make up for its more spidery, bowlback-style sound.

This one was made under the "Peerless" brand and has a New Hampshire label in the soundhole. It's spruce over maple, infinitely quirky, and obviously cute.

Repairs included: I reset the neck (with bolt reinforcement hidden at the neckblock inside), leveled and dressed the frets (which involved pulling all of the frets out and reseating them and then leveling/dressing), added side dots, repaired some seams, refit the original bridge for better compensation and height, cleaned it up, and set it up. It's playing spot-on and is ready to go.

• Weight: 1 lb 3 oz
• Scale length: 13 1/4"
• Nut width: 1 1/8"
• Neck shape: medium V
• Board radius: flat
• Depth at first fret: 0.77"
• Depth at seventh fret: 0.87"
• Body width: 8 7/8"
• Body depth: 2 1/4"
• Top wood: solid spruce
• Back & sides wood: solid maple
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: ebonized maple
• Fretboard: ebonized maple
• Neck wood: mahogany
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16”
• String gauges: 34w-10
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: narrow/low

Condition notes: Everything has been sorted on the instrument except for some loose brace ends on the back. These are tucked into the kerfing and due to the nature of the instrument, I would need to completely disassemble it to solve this problem as they've warped out from original. Fortunately, they're glued in the center and are performing their job adequately. I could fill under them if desired, but there's no need. Aside from that, there's mild wear and tear throughout the finish from handling and storage. The fretboard extension needed to be bumped-up a bit and so it has an obvious shim I installed. There's a little gunk at the neck joint area from a previously-botched glue-up in the past. The fretboard has a little discoloration here and there. The tuners work fine but are not the best (as usual for most '20s tuners) and work best tuning up to a note -- forget tuning down to the note -- just go below and then back up. Aside from the side dots, everything else appears original to the instrument.

It comes with: It has a chip case.

Consignor tag: NILS