c. 1893 Joseph Bohmann Bowlback Mandolin, Lowenstein Collection. UNRESERVED. The oldest of the Bohmann instruments in this auction, this mandolin represents Bohmann's early work with more conservative construction and design brought with him from Europe. This mandolin, made of rosewood, maple, ebony, and spruce, even has traditional fret markers which Bohmann would very soon after abandon in favor of his odd-shaped abalone markers. It mimicked the other bowlback mandolins around during this period, though the quality of construction is clearly superior. It is all original with the newly patented Bohmann tuner system intact and working perfectly.


Always the great promoter, Bohmann was known for his elaborate interior labels. This one, while lacking the many awards he would later garner, is truly a spectacular piece of printing for something that is hidden inside an instrument-possibly the largest ever used as the young luthier/promoter sought to make an impact on the mandolin market.

Joseph Bohmann
Born in Neumarkt (Bohemia) in then-Czechoslovakia, Bohmann emigrated to America and founded Bohmann's American Musical Industry in Chicago by the age of 30 in 1878. He constructed several types of instruments including flattop acoustic guitars, harp guitars, mandolins, banjos, and violins. Of his guitar offerings, Bohmann produced many different configurations and sizes, including 12, 13 14, and 15-inch bodies. By the turn-of-the-century, the luthier furnished thirteen styles of the Concert, Grand Concert, and Standard models.
A relentless and egotistical self-publicist, he called himself "The World's Greatest Musical Instrument Manufacturer." (This stylization, alongside depictions of the numerous awards he received, appear on the labels affixed to his instruments.) Despite his marketing efforts not a great deal is actually known about him, and the vintage guitar market is not awash with Bohmann pieces.
The guitar market during his active years was very competitive, and the sturdier-built Bohmanns -- with their imaginative and incredibly strong internal bracing -- were able to cope with the extra stresses needed for the increasingly popular steel strings without breaking. (The bracing design found on his later models was used as far back as the 1880s.) Strung with light gauge steel, the sound of his parlor models have been said to equal, and possibly better, that of bigger Martins of the same era. He had offered an audacious challenge to other makers to build better-sounding instruments, staking $125,000 of his money as the prize. The money was never claimed.
Bohmann was also a continual innovator and submitted dozens of patents, from inset tuners to hand rests. He also applied some of the knowledge gained from making violin family stringed instruments to his guitars, most notably with his fretboard and string path designs. On some models, the fretboard tilts toward the hand in the higher registers and the fingerboard radius is lower and thinner for the treble strings. When combined with the asymmetrical bridge, playability is substantially improved. Also featured in this auction are Bohmann's actual tools from his workshop, which will undoubtedly give any vintage guitar enthusiast a guided tour of this luthier's extraordinary mind.
No one is quite sure of Bohmans's exact death or when the factory stopped producing instruments. What is known is that the factory was mothballed for several decades until being re-opened sometime in the 1970s or '80s. It apparently contained many finished and unfinished models wrapped in World War II-era newspapers.

G; couple of top cracks, some playing wear on top