Cortez Bowl Back Mandolin with Hard Case - Commission Sale

More Information about this mandolin

Cortez mandolins are vintage acoustic stringed instruments, with some bowl-back variants originating from European workshops like those in Italy, though the Cortez brand later became widely known for Japanese-manufactured acoustic and electric guitars and mandolins exported globally through the 1970s and 1980s.

This particular mandolin  is a vintage Japanese instrument from the 1970s or early 1980s.

The "Cortez" brand name was owned by the American importer Jack Westheimer, who pioneered global guitar importing. While he started importing acoustic instruments under the Cortez name around 1960, the vast majority of Cortez instruments (including mandolins) were produced in Japanese factories like Hayashi or Matsumoku between 1970 and 1986.

Serial Number (9267) points to a specific production batch or model code running out of a factory like Hayashi in the mid-1970s. 

The German Connection  Many 1970s/1980s Cortez round-bodied mandolins made in Japan were commissioned explicitly for export to Europe via the German distributor C.A. Götz jr (as you see on the internal label)

The Style: Japanese builders in the 70s were masters at copying traditional styles. This mandolin is a Japanese-made reproduction of the classic Italian Neapolitan design.