Well, getting there! Readers know from my book and PDF on the mandolins that there were probably just a total of five harp mandolas built by the Larsons (plus a possible prototype).
4 were ensconced in collections when the 5th turned up and I was able to snag it. Soon after I published my article, two of the owners coincidentally (?) decided to part with theirs.
One offered theirs through Bernunzio’s, where Bob Hartman eventually bought it, though selling directly to a friend of his.
Another was offered on eBay several times at top dollar but passed. I finally made an offer and they bit. (With its damaged and crudely repaired headstock, I’d say I was more than fair.)
I think I’ll keep the fancy one (matches my Style 35 mando) and offer the other for sale shortly (the best condition of the five, actually).
Curiously, the scales of the two I’m holding (with identical bodies) are a half inch different.
| Bernunzio> Hartman> Anon |
Plain | Fancy | |
| Serial # | 402 | 403 | 405 |
| Scale length (inches) | ~16.5 | 16.3 | 15.8 |
And yes, I am still waiting for a third Dyer ‘cello to turn up!
