1930 Oscar Schmidt (Stella) Galiano Decalcomania Brownie, Excellent, Soft, $1,199.00

In its seemingly endless strategies to market its guitars, the Oscar Schmidt Co. came up with the 'Decalcomania' ploy as early as 1912, according to catalogs of the period. Decalcomania was a decorative technique popularized during the ceramic transfer craze of the mid-1870s. The Oscar Schmidt Co. simply used 'decals' to fancy-up its factory-produced guitars. This guitar is an attractive example of 'Decalcomania'. Representative of a typical 20s OS guitar, this example sports a solid birch back and sides, spruce top, dyed fingerboard, black-painted bridge. The body is finished in a brown stain (like McTell's 'Brownie'), while the neck is more reddish. The tuners and pins all appear to be original. An 'A. Galiano' label is pasted inside. The neck, frets and fingerboard show very little playing wear, with the fingerboard retaining the oft-seen numbering on the frets, probably for lap players. The original finish is clean and the decals retain their bright colors. The lower bout measures 13 1/2", the scale length is ~ 24 7/8", the neck is a tad over 1 7/8" at the nut and string spacing is 2 1/4" at the saddle. Action is set at 5/64" from top of 12th fret to bottom of both E strings. The neck shape is more C than V. Repairs include a recent neck set, frets leveled and dressed, new nut, and original fret wire saddle replaced with a new bone saddle. A hairline between the three treble bridge pins was glued; two glued back cracks. The guitar plays very well and the sound is way better than most concert-size guitars of its ilk. The trebles and mids are bright and clear, and the bass is punchy and full for a small-ish guitar. The overall sound is round and resonant with the expected ladder brace overtones. Comes with a soft case.