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.
Steel String
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 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.
The Martin D16GT was built from 1999 to 2019 and like the D-18, pairs a Sitka Spruce top with Mahogany for the back, sides, body blocks and neck. The ‘GT’ references the Gloss Top finish – the rest of the guitar’s finish is satin. On these models, the fingerboard and bridge are Richlite, and the head plate is Granadillo.
This instrument has sold
MORE →Seen here is a beautifully figured Flame Maple (blonde) Guild Starfire VI built near Newark, New Jersey around October of 1974. it is in overall rather good condition with a natural wear spot to the back finish, where the body would rest against the player’s belt. The hardware is gold plated, with Guild-branded Schaller tuners at the head (Grover Roto-Matics had been more commonly used), and Guild’s spacing-adjustable roller bridge.