1946 Gibson print ad with Perry Botkin. Note the ad mentions, 'reserve yours at your dealer's now'. A sign that the war was over and post-production was beginning.
December 1946. Les Paul playing what looks like a modified Epiphone with 2 late '30's bar pickups. Note the headstock is missing the Gibson logo and the tuners look like early Epiphone tuners.
December 1946.
1946 Gibson ad featuring Les Paul with his modified prewar L-5 (note the difference between this guitar and he Epi in the photo above) boasting a late '30's bar pickup.
This ad mentions 'they're worth the wait'......alluding to post war manufacture of instruments.
1946 Joe Sodja and his late '30's prewar ES-150. Note that most of the early post war ads featured artists with prewar instruments!
Tommy Kay with his prewar Gibson L-5 featured in a 1946 post war Gibson ad.
Gibson's 1946 ad mentioning 'after the war' instruments and ensuring post-production to begin soon.
Gibson strings appearing in an August, as well as a December (below) 1946 ad.
December 1946. Gibson ad with the old prewar logo....soon to change to the newer corporate logo after being purchased by CMI in May 1944.
Roy Smeck with his Gibson Ultratone.
Alvino Rey Orchestra playing at a military Easter Ball, 1948. Note, Alvino Rey is taking a break from playing his Gibson ElectraHarp (created in 1940).
September 1949. Gibson ElectraHarp....just like the one in Alvino Rey photo above.
'Music Dealer', July-August, 1948. Note this ad is for the new Gibson ES-350.....one of many cutaway designs to come out of the late '40's.
Military Easter Ball, 1948. The ballroom appears to be the same one Gibson Inc. used for the Army Navy E Award Ceremony.
Military Easter Ball, 1948.
Gibson Post-war Catalogs
Gibson's 1946 Catalog featuring the 'new and improved' ES-300 on the cover. Note the early ES-300 had the prewar Gibson logo, a new tailpiece with a quick debut and a new P-90 without polepieces.
Backside of the Gibson 1946 Catalog.
Gibson Catalog 1947.
Gibson Catalog 1947.
Gibson Catalog 1948.
Gibson Catalog 1948.
Gibson Catalog 1949. Featuring the first look at the 'New' ES-5.
Backside of the 1949 Gibson Catalog featuring the new Electraharp.
Gibson Catalog 1950.
Gibson Catalog 1950.
Gibson Catalog 1951.
Gibson Catalog 1951.
1946 De Armond print ad.
1946 De Armond print ad.
There will be lots more post-war Gibson items posted later this year from the late '40's to the late '50's................................
News
This site will continually be updated over the next few years. Over the long-haul, I have managed to collect lots of Gibson pre-war ephemera and historical items. I
really enjoy adding pieces and hope that each item will help to shed more light on the early years of Gibson......in the meantime, enjoy the site and let me know what you think in the comment
section!
Keep checking back. This is a busy year for me and as I get back to myinflightschedule
(April 8, 2015) I will have A LOT of new prewar items from my collection that I will be sharing........also, don't forget to post a note in the Guestbook about your thoughts on this site!