Thanks to one of our readers, Dick in Connecticut, USA, for sending in some vintage magazine adverts featuring Ibanez Mandolins and Bill Monroe. Dick says:

I went into my archive, as I remembered various ads for Ibanez mandolins. In the meantime, I found three copies of the old Pickin’ magazine, where the inner back cover was a full page 4 color ad showing an Ibanez banjo and mandolin under a shade tree, including the name of two US companies apparently doing the distribution: Elger Co. of Cornwells Heights PA and Chesbro Music of Idaho Falls ID.

This same ad appears identically in August 1975, October 1975 and January 1977 issues, as inner back cover. Perhaps it appears more often than this, I just found these three easily at hand. August 75 cover is Mac Wiseman, October 75 cover is Eddie Adcock, and Jan. 77 cover is Earl Scruggs.

There is also one where Bill Monroe endorsed the Ibanez, a nice upper body shot of him playing an Ibanez, and I remember it distinctly because he was wearing a suede leather cowboy hat, very unusual for him.

I found it in the August/September 1976 issue of Pickin’, inner back cover, a 4 color ad showing Monroe in the unusual suede leather cowboy hat, and Blue Grass Boy Randy Davis behind him playing bass. I remember being absolutely SHOCKED by this ad, and at the time I concluded (and I still believe) that someone put this mandolin in Monroe’s hands while he was touring Japan, told him it was a gift and furiously snapped some promotional photos before he laid it down. I would be fascinated to learn the whole story, especially if I was wrong about Monroe’s “acceptance” or “endorsement” of the mandolin. Of course, in later years Gibson “woke up”, patched things up with Bill and started running ads with his endorsements of Gibson mandolins.

The Pennsylvania and Idaho mailing addresses are now called “Ibanez”, in this ad. The cover of this issue of Pickin’ shows a wind up Victrola record player in sepia tones.

Editor’s note: the August 1975 ad is the earliest documented advertisement for an Ibanez mandolin. Has anyone got an earlier reference? The 524 mandolin that Monroe is shown playing is one of several he was given by Ibanez on a Japanese tour. Still looking for more pictures of him playing an Ibanez live.