Authentic Achille Jacomoni mandolin

Overview of this Achille Jacomoni mandolin

A very old and venerable lady arrived at the Esprit Guitare workshop. The owner brought it to me at the latest Reuse and Repair Village.

It is a very old, but very beautiful mandoline Achille Jacomoni.

Given the age of the instrument, some research was needed.

It is a more-than-century-old instrument, made in Marseille by the Jacomoni family. And clearly, given its age, it has suffered – but it is still restorable.

Achille Jacomoni was a Marseille luthier active in the early 20th century, known especially for building mandolins. Although specific details about his life and work are relatively scarce, Jacomoni left a mark on French lutherie history through the quality of his instruments.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Marseille was a major cultural and craft hub in France. The mandolin – a plucked-string instrument of Italian origin – was very popular there, especially among working-class communities and Italian immigrants. Local luthiers such as Jacomoni met that demand by building quality instruments.Characteristics of Jacomoni mandolins

Mandolins made by Achille Jacomoni were known for their clear tone and careful finish. They generally followed the Neapolitan model, with an almond-shaped body, a spruce top and a arched back in maple or another hardwood. Jacomoni used quality materials and paid special attention to decorative details such as mother-of-pearl inlays and purfling on the soundboard.

Today, Achille Jacomoni mandolins are sought after by collectors and musicians specializing in historical instruments. They testify to Marseille craftsmanship of the period and to the richness of Mediterranean musical tradition.

Still, this one has suffered: a large part of the top had come unglued under string tension and time. The ribs of the bowl-back also have several open glue joints. Part of the binding is missing. The tuners have oxidized.

In short: plenty of work ahead!

Work completed

First everything had to be glued back correctly to restore the instrument to its original shape. String tension is high on a mandolin, and the unglued wood had warped. So it is patience work: glue a section, clamp it, wait for it to dry, then move to another spot…

Obviously I started by re-gluing the top, which defines the curvature of the body.

Between glue sessions, I tackled the tuners: full disassembly, elbow-grease cleaning, and careful work again because this metal is fragile.

Then I had to make the missing binding. Finding the right wood species was no small task to match the worn tint of the instrument. Then bend it, glue it and shape it to recover the original outline as well as possible.

A deep clean, a few tint corrections, waxing the wood and polishing the tortoiseshell pickguard section (yes, that was done back then). Then it was time to reassemble.

Obviously there was no question of putting the strings back to normal tension. At this age the instrument is too fragile to take standard mandolin tuning.

It will remain a beautiful decorative piece – all the more so because its owner has an emotional attachment to it.

Conclusion

This Achille Jacomoni mandolin is a very lovely instrument, which today becomes a beautiful decorative piece.

And it is a privilege for me to have helped make it presentable again.

Photos

A few photos before, during and after the work on this Achille Jacomoni mandolin.

The Esprit Guitare workshop

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