View Full Version : Question about Army-Navy Gibsons
Stringbender
May-01-2004, 12:14pm
I overheard a conversation between two mandolin players/collectors recently. One guy said that the original Army-Navy Gibsons were produced especially for soldiers in WWI to carry in their knapsacks. The Army version, he said, was gray in color and the Navy version blue. The other guy said the one he owned was dark brown. I have seen that particular mandolin and it is near the Gibson Sheridan brown color. I have never seen a blue or gray Army-Navy and wonder if this is correct.
Jonathan Reinhardt
May-01-2004, 6:50pm
hmmm- dunno about WWI but I took a 40's A under the sea with me back in the Vietnam era. (Yep, the silent service until I cut loose in the forward torpedo room.) Let's see who's historian enough to fill us in on this.
John Flynn
May-01-2004, 9:32pm
According to some stuff I found on the web, the Gibson Army-Navy was introduced in 1918 and designated the model DY. It was sold in military PX's for $13 and could be purchased by the general public for $15. I have done a bit web surfing on the Army-Navy. I really like the design and have thought of buying one as a knock-around. I have never seen one in anything but dark brown, but I am not expert on Gibsons. They did make a "deluxe version" after WWI, that was blond.
atetone
May-01-2004, 11:55pm
The fancy model was called a Style D and if I remember correctly was made only in 1917. It had a pumpkin type top, red back and sides, a bound top with nicely detailed purfling, matching soundhole purfling, back bound in white, and an abrieviated pickguard very similar to the A models including the same bracket. They were good looking mandolins.
EZpicker
May-02-2004, 5:20am
I believe I saw one on ebay a year or so ago that was described as having a blue tint or something to that effect but the pictures didn't show it. All I have ever seen were brown finish.
8ch(pl)
May-02-2004, 5:30pm
I believe the Army and Navy model was adapted from the Gibson Alrite, which was only made in 1917. It was the similar to, but a bit fancier than the Army and Navy, differing in binding if i remember correctly. They are both considered great instruments, tha Alrite is the rarer of the two models.
in this pic buffalobros (http://www.buffalobrosguitars.com/buffalobros_02_03_03/01_umb11050_gibson_armynavy/index.html#photo1)the headstock appears to have a bluish tint. #other pics don't show it though. #maybe it's just my tired eyes.
bodhi