A Lute/Mandolin? Family heirloom.

[Myk Rian]

This belonged to my Grandparents, and I acquired it many, many years ago.
Any Luthiers here that can tell me about it? It needs a tuner, and other TLC. Patent OCT. 26 1885.
It's a Eugene Howard, who eventually went to Wurlitzer.
Here are some pics of it.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_kzsgJ5ep0HTUNXLUFKSE9sQzA
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_kzsgJ5ep0HdUk5Z19URUJBOWs
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_kzsgJ5ep0Hd2lsOVlTS1RXLVE
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_kzsgJ5ep0HY3I3WjR1VUtGLVk

[John Coloccia]

I don't know much about this particular instrument, but I would call it a mandolin, not a lute (even though the instruments are closely related). Were you thinking of fixing it up and selling it?

[Jim Creech]

It is a bowl back mandolin. I have seen and repaired a number of these. I also have one that is more like a lute in that it has 12 strings but I have not restored it yet. I have not seen one with the closed back tuners but it should be fairly easy to repair. If the truth were known, there are quite a few of these still around although most are relegated to wall hangers. They used to be quite popular.

[Russell Sansom]

The round backs are out of favor here in the U.S. In movies about Venice when you hear the background mandolin, it's inevitably a bowl back. You'll never hear one in a bluegrass band. If memory serves me, there used to be mandolin orchestras...quite a fad. The Germans were playing in little groups in the 60's when i was there.
FYI, the mandolin is tuned exactly like a violin. The mandola = viola, a 5th down from the violin. Yours looks pretty good ... the bowl. It might be worth restoring for your personal use if the finger board and the frets are in good shape. They don't sell for enough to restore them to sell. You would have to replace the full set of tuners. The spacing is somewhat standardized, because the maker had to buy the tuners just the way we do.

[george wilson]

I can't see the pictures.