This post features a Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Company cover and letter from 1919. While this blog primarily examines musical stamps, I also like to share other items of postal history. I particularly like items that connect to the music industry. For example, here is a stampless cover from the Breitkopf & Härtel publishing company from 1843. Another is this advertising cover from the Chickering Piano Company from the late 1850s.
The Gibson company is one of the great American manufacturers of guitars. It has its roots in the innovations of Orville Gibson in the 1890s, who created a new form of the mandolin and guitar. His designs come from the construction of the violin, where the top and back are slightly arched outwards (convex). This is a very sturdy construction and made his instruments louder than the more typical guitar and mandolin designs of the era. A group of businessmen bought his patents and started the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Company in 1902. Later, of course, the company would also become famous for its electric guitars, specifically its “Les Paul” model. It remains a large instrument manufacturer to this day.
For these reasons ephemeral material from the company including catalogs, documents, and advertising covers are of interest far beyond typical philatelic items. While this cover is rather plain, it is of interest to me, in part, because it comes with original documents inside related to a purchase of a mandolin. The mundane details, outlining the installment purchase of an instrument, are indicative of the Gibson business model from the early twentieth century. It represents one reason that Gibson became such a powerhouse company. For this reason, it fits into my collection of musical philatelic items. It is also an interesting piece of American musical and business history.
The Cover
In relation to other covers from musical instrument manufacturers, this Gibson cover is quite simple. It is a corner card, bearing the name of the Gibson company and its location in Kalamazoo, Michigan. One of the great things about this cover is the clear cancellation stamp reading Kalamazoo, with a date of March 14, 1919. The location of Gibson in Kalamazoo is so famous, that this clearly marked cancellation is quite wonderful to have. Also clearly visible is a time stamp for 6:10 PM. The postage stamp is a 1918 three-cent Washington issue. It was probably violet originally, but has faded to a gray color now.
The typewritten address is very clear to read. The cover was originally to Mr. Arthur E. Conant of New London, Connecticut. According to the 1921 New London directory, Conant was a machinist and lived with his wife Ethel at the same address on the envelope: 43 Willetts Avenue. Further investigation reveals that the two married in 1913. According to census records, Arthur Conant was born in 1875. The two had one child, a daughter, whose name is “Louise” in the 1930 census, but “Harriet L.” in the 1940 census. Of course, this is not unusual in census records, perhaps the “Louise” is the middle name. Based on the ages in the census record, Louise (or Harriet) was born in 1918 or 1919.
The Letter
Quite wonderfully, the cover comes with its original letter (see an excerpt below). Essentially, it is a form letter on Gibson company letterhead that reveals that Arthur Conant purchased a mandolin from the company on an installment plan. This was a very common practice in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Musical instrument manufacturers and dealers knew the price of a new instrument might scare away a customer. However, a monthly payment schedule might make an instrument, which was largely a luxury, seem less expensive. Such arrangements are still typical on instruments as well as other big ticket items such as automobiles.
In this instance, the monthly payment was $7.20, though the letter itself does not say how many months. The remaining text of the letter (five paragraphs) is largely a series of admonitions about the importance of keeping to the payment schedule. It refers to this agreement as a contract and that if the terms are not kept, the instrument can be taken back. Perhaps this reveals a not uncommon experience of customers missing the monthly payments.
The Instrument
Before we go further, it is of interest to consider the instrument that Conant purchased. In the letter it clearly says a Style F-2 mandolin with the specific serial number of 49303. At the time, the F-2 model was a professional-grade instrument. Only the F-4 mandolin was above it, and the only difference was the F-4 had fancier decoration on the headstock. The F models had a wonderful “scroll” shape to their bodies, whereas the simpler A mandolins were teardrop shaped. The F-2 model made its initial appearance in 1902 and was made until 1934.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
In the decades around the turn of the twentieth century, the mandolin was incredibly popular. There was a real craze for mandolin music and people of all social classes and backgrounds picked up the instrument. One reason it was so popular is that it was a social instrument. Amateurs would use the instrument to play in mandolin orchestras or mandolin clubs, gathering once a week for a rehearsal and then staging concerts. It is very possible that Arthur Conant was a member of such an ensemble (though I have yet to find such proof). There are still active mandolin groups and you can learn more on the website for the Classical Mandolin Society of America.
The Dealer – Fred J. Bacon
At the time that Conant bought the mandolin, it was not likely that he could purchase it directly from Gibson. Like other manufacturers, Gibson had a network of dealers across the country who actually would have made such a sale. The company would have then followed up with the letter above. Of tremendous interest inside the cover, is a document that shows the month-by-month payments and ending with the note “Paid in full.”
The letterhead for the document reads Fred J. Bacon, “teacher of banjo and mandolin, dealer in musical merchandise.” This was another common arrangement, for a music teacher, perhaps without a storefront, to represent the company and sell Gibson instruments to their students. However, what is so terrific is that Fred Bacon is a famous banjo player and manufacturer of the instrument. In fact, during the time of this transaction, he was in the process of establishing his own manufacturing facility in Groton, CT. He would produce some beautiful professional grade banjos that remain highly sought after by collectors. You can read more about him here.
Regarding the transaction, it is wonderful to have this extra document. It reveals that the price for the F-2 mandolin and a case was $98.75. Conant put ten dollars down and then there is a credit of $8.75 for an older mandolin. Then payments start in April of 1919 and continue until February of 2020 when the instrument has been “paid in full.” At the end, it is signed by “Mrs. F. J. Bacon,” or Bacon’s wife Cassie who was known to be a vital part of his businesses.
Final Thoughts
These documents are a wonderful example of the way in which the musical instrument business worked in the early twentieth century. It reveals the relationship between the manufacturer (Gibson), a dealer representing them(Bacon), and the customer (Conant). The letter and receipt document the business terms for an installment plan that made it possible for amateurs to own instruments.
Finally, if you have never heard a mandolin orchestra, it is worth checking out! Here is a wonderful example with the mandolin soloist Avi Avital:
