Description
Currently ON HOLD for a customer…
Extremely Early Gibson Flattop Guitar – one of the earliest we’ve seen…
Excellent condition. This is one for the museums! Earliest example of a flat top, flat back guitar we’ve ever seen from Gibson. Example of the earliest “A-frame” bracing that Gibson employed until around 1926/27.
24 1/4″ Scale Length. Shellac finish. BIRCH back and sides, with Red Spruce top. Pumpkin color. 1 13/16″ width of fingerboard at nut. Dyed Pearwood fingerboard and peghead overlay. The Gibson silkscreen silver logo. Original Ebony nut. Original small frets. Tuners appear to be original 3 on a plate, with original buttons in good shape. Bridge is Ebony and appears to be original. Who knows – this guitar is early enough that it may be that Gibson just bought a bridge for this early guitar because they hadn’t designed a flat top bridge before this time.
Back and sides may have been refinished at some point… but looks to be also a Shellac finish. Top seems to be original finish with typical “leather dye” sienna color under the shellac finish.
The historical record of the early days of Gibson evolving their L-1 from an arched top and back, to a flat top with arched back, to these first flat top AND flat back A-frame braced examples is rather murky and incomplete. Hopefully this guitar will stand as a useful piece to this ongoing puzzle…
* This cool old Gibson was previously shown on these pages as “display only”, but we are currently offering this guitar for sale.
