Since 1971, New York's Mandolin Bros. Has Sold and Restored the World's Finest Vintage Guitars
New York City boasts more than its fair share of vintage guitar dealers, most of which are located in Manhattan or Brooklyn. But for the past 42 years, Mandolin Brothers, one of the city's most famous, esteemed, and oldest vintage instrument stores, has operated in the much quieter and off-the-beaten-path environs of Staten Island. Although the store is located two and a half miles from the nearest public transportation link with Manhattan—the Staten Island Ferry—countless musicians have made the pilgrimage there to see and play a collection of instruments that the New York Times has compared to a museum.
The shop's plain, beige exterior, with its small windows and simple "Mandolin Bros." signage, offers little hint of the treasures waiting beyond the doorway. Seemingly every inch of the interior is covered with every conceivable variety of stringed instrument: flattop, archtop, and electric guitars, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles, and more. The "stuff that dreams are made of" is found in a chamber that shop owner and founder Stan Jay calls "The High-End Room," which is filled with stunning vintage D'Angelico, Martin, and Gibson guitars as well as impressive new models from Bourgeois, Huss & Dalton, MacPherson, Santa Cruz, and others. Discriminating ears, eyes, and even sensitive noses are drawn to this magical place, where the finest abalone inlay work and the unmistakable grain patterns of Brazilian rosewood vie for one's attention.
"People regularly come in to sell and buy guitars," says Jay, who opened the shop's doors way back in December 1971. "I never know what I'll see on any given day. Pretty much every guitar one could imagine has passed through the store."
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