The Cromwell G-4 archtop guitar was built by Gibson from 1935 to 1939 and sold to various retailers and catalog distributors. Inside this guitar, visible through the bass F-hole is a well-preserved yellow label reading ‘New York Band Instrument Company’ indicating that it was sold by that company, at the time a large music store in New York City, but gone by 1950.
Acoustic
Built around February of 2015, this Martin D-18GE 1934 Golden Era Dreadnought sports an Adirondack Spruce top and a Natural finish. Martin’s Golden Era D-18 models were first built during 1995 and based on a 1937 model. From 1999 to 2016, they were based on a 1934 model, and then replaced by the Authentic series.
Seen here is a Gibson L-4C cutaway archtop acoustic guitar with an original DeArmond Rhythm Chief 1100 pickup with its ‘Monkey on a Stick’ mount. This fine vintage guitar very much looks the part, and it plays well. The 16-inch wide Gibson L-4C was introduced in 1949 and came to replace the non-cutaway L-4. That model first appeared in 1912 as an oval-hole archtop, with F-holes becoming available in 1935 and finally discontinued in 1956.
Seen here is a wartime (WW2!) Martin D-18 Dreadnought, built during 1943 at Nazareth PA and in great playing condition. Accompanied by a recent appraisal from George Gruhn, this piece is in structurally very good condition with wear expected for over 80 years of use. The back of the head does not have a ‘Made in USA’ stamp, which was typically used to identify guitars built for export, particularly to Canada.
Here is a rarity! A John Greven Prairie State Model ‘Doug Jones Special’ jumbo steel string from the early 2000’s. This beautiful piece is built with a Spruce top, Flame Maple for the back, sides and neck, and Brazilian Rosewood for the bridge and bound fingerboard. The binding, heel cap, head plate and pickguard are faux tortoise. Tuners are Waverly open gear models with creme plastic buttons.
Here we have a lovely Josh House 000 12 String, 12 Fret model built during 2023 with Bearclaw figured SitkaSpruce for the top and ‘Fallen Giant’ Mahogany for the sides, back and neck. Mahogany is also used for the body blocks and linings. The head plate, bridge and and fingerboard are African Blackwood, with Box Elder for the headstock logo and Curly Maple for binding.