Featured Harp Guitar of the Month |
The Oldest Extant Gibson Harp Guitar
by Gregg Miner with Benoît Meulle-Stef, March, 2007 |
This stunning instrument - with a 21" wide body,
27-1/2" scale, ornate soundhole decoration and rope binding - has caused
a bit of a stir among us Gibson fanatics. It seems that it is - as
far as we are able to determine - the oldest surviving Gibson harp
guitar known. And
it has the lowest known serial number of any Gibson instrument of any
kind. Please join me as I present the findings of Gibson expert Benoît Meulle-Stef, who analyzed the photos graciously donated by Chris Wilhelm, a friend of the instrument's current owner. For aiding us in brainstorming on the serial number and dating issues, thanks also to Dan Beimborn (head of the indispensable Mandolin Archive) and Gibson expert Roger Siminoff. |
Despite the changes, we believe this instrument to be from the same basic time frame - specifically, right at the end of 1902 or beginning of 1903, soon after the formation of the company. Besides the similarities to the catalog, our main evidence is the serial number: 2502. From all the years of serial number collection (and specifically, Dan's recent dedicated efforts at the Mandolin Archives), it appears that this is the lowest Gibson serial number known. Both Dan and Roger Siminoff believe that #2500 was the likely start of the company’s serial number series – possibly coinciding with the October 10, 1902 start of the new "Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Co., Limited" (or soon after; certainly before 1904). |
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Dating the instrument by the features proved more problematic - especially when trying to extrapolate what would have been the original features of the main headstock. |
In this photo one can see the marks from the previous tuners (the three black marks in front of the G tuner and two in front of the B tuner). The wood repair where the headstock was rebuilt is also easily visible. |
Ah...now the back! It appears to be very close to Orville’s own construction style; i.e. a flat middle and double curve carving around the edge. Not surprising, as Orville would have still been consulting for the company when this was built. It's amazing when we find an early Gibson harp guitar with a solid, single-piece back. This instrument goes a step or two further; the back and sides are carved from a single log! We even wondered if the whole thing - back, sides and neck - were out of one giant piece of mahogany like many of Orville's original instruments. | ||
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Without inspecting the actual instrument, it is impossible to say - but judging from this photo, Benoît and I believe there is a separate neck. In the close-up at right, I note (with the arrow) a very faint line that appears to be the seam. |
Another detail that didn’t last
long were the fancy engravings on the lower edge of the bridge (left). There is no “The Gibson” logo engraved on the reinforcement metal plate (right). |
The instrument has the standard catalog measurements of a 21" wide body and extra-long scale of 27-1/2". Another distinctive feature of the very earliest specimens is the unusually wide soundhole. Shown roughly to scale are #2502 and #3250.
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Provenance: The instrument was originally purchased by one Mr. Phillips, conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, where, in April, 1906, it
suffered damage caused by the Great Earthquake. It was
subsequently sold to the current owner's grandmother (Muriel Davis), probably around 1910
when she married and moved to San Diego. The guitar remained there
until about 1970 when the family relocated to Ketchikan, Alaska - where
it was stored in an attic closet until very recently when the owner
happened to mention it to Chris Wilhelm, her daughter's guitar teacher and
supporter of Harpguitars.net. At the request of the current owner, we hereby refer to this important specimen as the "Muriel Davis Gibson." Special thanks to Chris Wilhelm for photographing the instrument for us. All photos of #2502 copyright Chris Wilhelm. |
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