Triolian tenor with screen coverplate

[mendax]

So I just got this tonight. No serial number that I can find, and by electric light the body color is rather more green than in these photos.
I was going to ask Mark if this one would have originally had the purple edge shading and flower decals, but underneath the almost olive drab paint is silver.
The silver paint seems to be the first layer of paint over the bare wood--looking inside it appears to be silver too, as is the biscuit. So if this is not the
original color someone went to the trouble of spraying it over bare wood. Did they use a metallic silver primer? The cone has no spirals, and under the 2 layers
of paint the neck appears to be mahogany, at least color and pore wise. The coverplate paint looks original but the more or less matching paint on the fretboard
has been slopped on, covering some of the pearl dots. Could National have used one the the silver tenor necks and just painted it over?
I have tuned it to Chicago tuning and of course it sounds great.

[Mark Makin]

Hi Mendax, this is only the second one of these that I’ve seen. As you suggest, it should be mustard coloured with lilac and purple spray patches. It would have had the anemone flower decals front and back. Like you say, they have a light colour base layer. The first wooden tenors do seem to have necks with a standard banjo head that were later changed to the flat plate Triolian heads. I don’t suppose it has any numbers? The other one didn’t.

[mendax]

No Mark, no serial number, unless it is hidden somewhere under the rather thick olive paint. The more I look at the fretboard paint I believe it is original as it matches that on the cover plate, which would make me think the color would have been the same base color on the body more than the mustard yellow on my ukulele. However, the silver paint appears to be the only thing under the olive layer. As soon as I can I'm taking it to David Flood as someone has put a bone saddle on the biscuit.

[mckinleybe1]

I have a wood body tenor with screen holes and the banjo shaped headstock. It has been stripped of paint and refinished and appears that binding has been added. The cone is non-ribbed and appears original. I could find no number anywhere on it. The neck and tuners are as old as the rest of the guitar. It plays beautifully. The cover plate appears to have been refinished in nickel or chrome or whatever was used. I believe the headstock decal was added much more recently. The wood used on these guitars is very thick (top and back). I can date back ownership 30 plus years and the guitar must have been stripped and refinished prior to that. The binding is very similar to my 30 Triolian and a 1914 Gibson A4 mandolin I own. I’ll never know the story of this one but I can say that I’m extremely happy to play it daily.

I’ll see if I can post a couple pics. I may have to do that from my computer. I seem to recall that may not work from a phone.

Congrats on the outstanding National tenor!

Brian