vintagebluesguitars.com

National Gibson Model 1155 (J-45) circa 1949 | $2995 | Post WWII, Gibson was owned by CMI, which also controlled the distribution rights to National Valco instruments. At this time, Gibson began to make guitar bodies that would eventually be joined with a National-branded neck. This guitar is part of that historic lineage. The small metal tag on the back of the headstock is impressed V...

Epiphone Newport EBS, made in the Kalamazoo Gibson factory and a sibling of the Gibson EB0. Quality materials and construction, cool 60s look, and short scale made for a pretty nifty bass back in the 60s, and today a Newport is really good vintage value. The body is mahogany with a cherry red finish. The neck is mahogany neck topped with a rosewood finger board. The metal parts are chrome,...

Gibson Style O Artist c. 1922 | $7350 | The Gibson Style O Artist had a run from 1908 to 1925. It was the most expensive of Gibson's offerings, and it was certainly a guitar that stood out from the crowd, especially in those early days! Many makers were still producing the parlor-type guitars, built lightly with a soft voice. But Orville Gibson and his cohorts had others ideas for the...

We quest for the odd and unusual vintage guitar. This singular example is one of the more peculiar we've owned. At first blush, it appears to be a 12-fret slot-head catalog guitar made in the thirties in one of the large Chicago factories. Upon closer inspection, a few details emerge that make you go 'hmmmm'. First, the body ..top, back, sides.. is solid birch, not unusual for a catalog...

Vega C-46 Archtop Acoustic c. 1940 | A nice example of a fairly rare and well made guitar. Made in Boston, likely during WWII, based on the riveted tuners and wood on the tailpiece. Although much better known for their banjos, the Vega company produced a line of quality guitars, too. Back and sides are maple. Top is carved spruce. The neck is mahogany, with a Brazilian rosewood...

Weymann Banjo Ukulele No. 225 c.1929 |$650 | Weymann Banjo Ukulele No. 225 c. 1929 | $650 | Another instrument that will just tug at your heart strings is this c. 1929 Weymann banjo uke made in Philadelphia, PA. Originally costing $20 in this open-back form, the No. 225 was a plain but well-crafted instrument, as were all the Weymann products that left the factory. It features a 7" head...

Avalon Banjo Ukulele ca 1929 | Banjo uke of the type made by Wm. Lange in the 1920s and marketed by various jobbers. The rim is appears to be a walnut laminate with the inside and the stick painted black. The neck is likely three-piece walnut with the heel cap also painted black. The head stock face is painted black with 'Avalon' stenciled in white. What appears to be an inlay is...

OAHU Jumbo c. 1935 Style 68B (Kay) | $1950 | An argument can be made that The OAHU Publishing Co., Cleveland, Ohio, facilitated more acoustic guitars to be bought pre-WWII than any other company, and the company didn't even build guitars! With its origins in Michigan, and later moving to Cleveland, OAHU Publishing was essentially a music publishing company, selling sheet music, guitars and...

A Grand Concert-size Stella is automatically considered a pretty rare find; the addition of the deluxe fingerboard makes it rarer still. The Decalcomania ornamented instruments appeared in the 1920s, and were pretty typical on the Oscar Schmidt production line once the depression was in full swing. The ornamentation on cheaper birch was a more economical way to build a guitar than it was to use...

All original Vega Style N from the 20s with serial # 57771. The 'N' was the Vega entry-level tenor, but nonetheless, constructed to a very high Vega quality. There are 26 hooks around the laminate rim, and 17 frets on the fingerboard. The head measures 10 15/16" and the scale length is 19 1/2". There is a 'No Knot' tail piece and planet type tuners. The banjo is in excellent, unmolested...

In the throes of the Great Depression, many guitar makers altered their manufacturing to weather the hard times, some more radically than others. The Oscar Schmidt Company, in Jersey City, NJ, introduced a line of guitars produced from less expensive materials, but gave them a glitzy look to attract buyers in these grim times. These instruments were cataloged as 'Decalcomania', and the guitars...

In the throes of the Great Depression, many guitar makers altered their manufacturing to weather the hard times, some more radically than others. The Oscar Schmidt Company, in Jersey City, NJ, introduced a line of guitars produced from less expensive materials, but gave them a glitzy look to attract buyers in these grim times. These instruments were cataloged as 'Decalcomania', and the guitars...

Open back five-string banjo in the Buckbee style. The neck is nicely carved into a soft 'V' and is made from walnut with a thin veneer fingerboard. The rim is spun over with 38 brackets. The four head stock friction tuners appear original, and the fifth string friction tuner is a replacement. The rim measures about 10 3/4" and the scale length is ~ 25 1/2". The fingerboard measures ~1 1/4"...