Blue Ridge Mountain Mandolin / Various

Blue Ridge Mountain Mandolin / Various

The mandolin, a descendent of the lute, reaches back to some of the earliest musical instruments known to man. It entered mainstream American pop culture from eastern and southern Europe in the 1800's. Americas most noted mandolin maker, Orville Gibson, began designing mandolins in the 1880's. By the late 1890's, the mandolin was highly popular in the Montgomery Ward catalog. In the early 1900's, Gibson broke away from traditional Italian mandolin making and began designing the mandolin closer to what we know of it to be today.