Topic: NMD and NMBD
I recently went to the UK and came back with these. A Birmingham made Melody Major Mandolin Banjo dated about 1920 and a London made J.G.Winder Mandolin dated 1896.
They had belonged to my late uncle and I remember playing them as a youngster and when I mentioned them to my cousin she said her daughter had them, had unsuccessfully tried to sell them and they were kicking around in a shed. I went to see them and the mandolin banjo was presented to me in a hard case, dripping with water and supposed black but white with mould. I feared the worst and opened it with some trepidation....... the neck was adrift, but only unglued, the strings rusted away, but the skin was good. I threw away the case and have repaired the neck and the wooden back which was also coming unglued.
The mandolin was in better condition although there was a split down the front and most of the frets were longer than the width of the neck, again a bit of gluing and plenty of lemon oil on the neck and untreated front face of the instrument. Some of the frets had to be trimmed and the hard case is at a local cobbler being re-stitched.
I also got a violin but that is still with my sister in the UK as I could not get it in my suitcases.
