Several years ago, I restored, then sold, this lovely Supertone Venetian mandolin. Supertone was the house brand for Sear's and Roebuck before Silvertone and while they were made by multiple builders, was built by Regal, probably in the 30's.
I just completed restoring another Venetian, this one, with birch back and sides and mahogany top, finished in black with it's original decal decoration. And like the original, it has a striking tone and excellent action and playability.
The fingerboard appears to be ebonized maple, the tuners, frets and tailpiece are all original and in excellent shape. The kidney shaped tailpiece cover is missing. It has a well made replacement bone nut that was already on the mandolin when I got it. White/black/white binding on the top, mother of toilet seat pickguard.
Work done:
Removed the back, removed, cleaned and re-glued 2 loose braces, glued 2 other loose braces.
Neck re-set
Repaired loose top brace beneath the fingerboard extension, Flattened warped top
Re-enforced top beneath fingerboard
Added popsicle braces at sound the sound hole
Minor finish touch up
Original finish hand rubbed with micro mesh
Frets leveled, crowned and polished
Fit and adjusted a new ebony and bone bridge
Set up the mandolin for low action
The mandolin plays beautifully with easy action and no buzzes anywhere up and down the neck. A full rich tone that combines the warmth of the mahogany top, with all the punch and clarity of the birch back and sides.
Comes with a new, oversized cardboard case (originally for a tenor Uke).
Both of these have sold, but I am always on the lookout for this model!