I was contacted about some advice on a Lyon and Healy mandolin and in the process I fell head over heels in love with it. The more I found out about it’s story, it’s life, the more I had to see and hear this beauty.
It had been bought by it’s original owner around the time of 1917, and he had lovingly played it until he died in 1940. The mandolin returned to it’s case, and remained there for the next 66 years. Not a good thing for an instrument to be unplayed for so long, I can hear you say but she was more beautiful than any instrument I had ever seen and she was crying out to be played. During the 1910-1920’s period it was very popular for mandolin orchestras and the instruments would not have been sold through shops but through sales men, that offered the instrument, teachers and a community of other players through the mandolin orchestras.
I had played and loved my other Lyon and Healy A for years, so I had some idea of what was coming but when it arrived it was no comparison. Infact, it looked different and felt different. The neck was wider, and the frets as crisp as the day it left the shop. The tailpiece was also different, and the spruce top was very pale and clean. The tone was very mellow but I felt it warm up in the coming weeks. The more I played, the more I needed to play and within a few weeks, she woke up to show her true sweet, and delightfully crisp tone. The bridge still has a crisp, sharp edge to it and the finish is as close to what it looked like when it left the shop as you could ever find. There is nothing in my collection that comes near it.
Here is the Lyon and Healy A next to a 1912 Gibson F4. The F4 does indeed have a woodier or smokier tone but the clarity and crispness produced by the Lyon and Healy is exquisite. The balance of bass and treble is superb across the strings, and the intonation up the neck is spot on. This A model has a wider neck than my other A although I am not exactly sure why? But that slight extra spacing makes a world of difference, and I much prefer it. Infact, to be honest the differences in weight and tone on the two Lyon and Healys is incredible. Since this is a very early model it is quite possible that there were some changes to dimensions in later years.
Lyon and Healy is a symbol
of perfection in design, and craftsmanship. The quality of material and
attention to detail is as impressive today, as when they were made.
Lyon and Healy also produced a mandola and mandocello version of this lovely
instrument but production of the mandolin line had stopped by the mid 1930’s.
If you have an old Lyon and Healy mandola or mandocello, I would love to hear from you and see a few photos.
Kieron