• The Complete Guide to the Gibson Mandolins

    The Complete Guide to the Gibson Mandolins

    Milwaukee, Wisc. — Centersteam Publishers, creators of rare and collectible books distributed exclusively by Hal Leonard Corporation has announced a November 4 release for Paul Fox's The Complete Guide to the Gibson Mandolins, with foreword by Walter Carter.

    About the new book, from the publisher:

    The Complete Guide to the Gibson Mandolins is a definitive source of information about the company that defined the modern mandolin. From the very beginning when Orville H. Gibson built the first carved-top instruments in the 19th Century to the instruments still being made by Gibson today, this book is a complete guide to the vast array of instruments the company produced in the mandolin family, including historical documentation, images, illustrations, detailed descriptions, photos and rare examples of existing instruments from sources around the world.

    In addition to all the information on these incredible instruments, this book also reveals some of the secrets behind many of the proprietary construction techniques used by Gibson throughout the decades. Many years of research have culminated in instrument histories that are well-documented, comprehensive and complete.

    Table of Contents

    • Foreword
    • Introduction
    • Chapter1: A Brief story of the Mandolin
    • Chapter 2: Orville H. Gibson - From the Beginning
    • Chapter 3: Orville H. Gibson - Musical Instrument Manufacturer
    • Chapter 4: Orville H. Gibson - The Final Curtain
    • Chapter 5: Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co., Ltd. - The Early Years - 1902-1909
    • Chapter 6: Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co., Ltd. - The Early Years - Part 2
    • Chapter 7: Sales and Advertising - 1903-1909
    • Chapter 8: Gibson Instruments - 1903-1909
    • Chapter 9: Gibson Parts & Accessories - 1903-1909
    • Chapter10: Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Co. - 1910-1919
    • Chapter 11: Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Co. - 1910-1919 - Part 2
    • Chapter12: Gibson Instruments - 1910-1919
    • Chapter 13: Gibson Parts & Accessories - 1910-1919
    • Chapter14: Gibson Publishing - 1910-1919
    • Chapter 15: The Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Co. - 1920-1923
    • Chapter16: Gibson, Inc. - 1920-1929
    • Chapter 17: Gibson Instruments - 1924-1929
    • Chapter 18: Gibson Parts & Accessories - 1920-1929
    • Chapter19: Gibson Publishing - 1920-1929
    • Chapter 20: Gibson, Inc. - 1930-1939
    • Chapter 21: Gibson Instruments - 1930-1939
    • Chapter 22: Gibson Parts & Accessories - 1930-1939
    • Chapter 23: Gibson Publishing - 1930-1939
    • Chapter 24: Gibson, Inc. - 1940-1949
    • Chapter 25: Gibson Instruments - 1940-1949
    • Chapter 26: Gibson Publishing and Advertising -1940-1949
    • Chapter 27: Gibson, Inc. - 1950-1959
    • Chapter 28: Gibson Instruments - 1950-1959
    • Chapter 29: Gibson, Inc. - 1960-1969
    • Chapter 30: Gibson Instruments - 1960-1969
    • Chapter 31: Gibson, Inc. - 1970-1986 - The Norlin Era
    • Chapter 32: Gibson Instruments - 1970-1986
    • Chapter 33: Gibson Guitar Corporation - 1986-Present
    • Chapter 34: Gibson Instruments - 1986-Present
    • Chpater 35: Gibson Instrument Shipping Totals -1935-1979
    • Glossary
    • Gibson Customs and Prototypes
    • Gallery of Gibson Instruments
    • Index

    Additional Information



    The Complete Guide to the Gibson Mandolins
    Comments 17 Comments
    1. Oliver A.'s Avatar
      Oliver A. -
      What a fantastic resource! I've got one pre-ordered.

      Hats off to Paul Fox for putting together this comprehensive book.

      While flipping through the sample pages I did find one typo. A photo of an ivory topped F-5 is credited to "Ford Ford". It looks like Frank Ford's work to me.
    1. DataNick's Avatar
      DataNick -
      Can't wait!
    1. William Smith's Avatar
      William Smith -
      Quote Originally Posted by DataNick View Post
      Can't wait!
      I hear ya, I just ordered this one and the Walter Carter mando book coming out in January "I think thats when its due" I may have one of my mandos photoed in Walter's book. Kool anyways.
    1. Jason Stein's Avatar
      Jason Stein -
      I placed my pre-order. Yay! Congratulations to Paul Fox and to Walter Carter!
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      Anyone receive a copy yet?
    1. pfox14's Avatar
      pfox14 -
      My sincere apologies to everyone for the long delay. The publisher promised to have my book out Nov. 4 but as you are all probably aware it was delayed for well over a month. As of today 12/15 - Amazon is showing it as "out of stock" and I don't know why. However, there are some other sources selling new copies for as little as $24-25.00 (retail is $45.00) so you can grab a copy that way. Believe it or not, I don't even have a copy yet. Welcome to wonderful world of publishing. Thanks for all of your support and I really hope you enjoy the book. It is a real labor of love.
    1. dustyamps's Avatar
      dustyamps -
      Congratulations and thanks to Mr. Fox on putting together such a comprehensive and informative book for all us Gibsonites. Well organized and all the illustrations and photos are cool.
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      Ah, so amazon says in stock now. That's good. Link for anyone interested.
    1. Oliver A.'s Avatar
      Oliver A. -
      Quote Originally Posted by Mandolin Cafe View Post
      Ah, so amazon says in stock now. That's good. Link for anyone interested.
      When I check that link it is still saying that the book is "unreleased". I hope I get my pre-ordered copy soon.
    1. Bill McCall's Avatar
      Bill McCall -
      I clicked the link and it says "in stock"

      Go figure
    1. jmkatcher's Avatar
      jmkatcher -
      I see the issue - Amazon Canada still shows "not yet released" while Amazon US shows "in stock".
    1. brunello97's Avatar
      brunello97 -
      I received my copy today--feels like a belated Christmas gift.

      Congratulations to Paul on this fine piece of work. Really too much information to take in even with a quick look this morning. Lots of depth of material to dig into over repeated readings. I am sure it will be a helpful reference guide to supplement Joe Spann's book in our regular discussions here.

      I hate to point out a fly in the ointment, though, and this in no way points to Paul at all. I do appreciate Centerstream Press for putting out this great series of books on vintage instruments. I own a number of them.

      But in Paul's book there is an inexcusable amount of typo errors, discontinuity or cropped out text, clumsy formatting and in one case a pair of flipped pages (4+5 in Chapter 1.) Very poor proofreading for a book sold at this price level (or any level.)

      Maybe I got an advanced copy and (hopefully) y'all will have improved versions. The content is there under any circumstances. That's why I got the book, anyhow.

      Mick
    1. sprucetop1's Avatar
      sprucetop1 -
      Got mine yesterday and have read the whole book. Congrats. to Paul for a fine study of the very complex story of Gibson mandolins. I particularly appreciated the research into Orville Gibson's early years. Seems to be a lot of new information there.

      Yes, as brunello says there are typos and evidence of proofreading errors but they did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. Thanks Paul!!
    1. Jim Garber's Avatar
      Jim Garber -
      I got my copy today. I ordered it through (of all places) Target and got it discounted. I also see that Amazon third-party sellers had it much cheaper than directly through Amazon (even with factoring in the shipping cost for non-prime).

      Very nice book with the exception of the typos and other errors. I flipped through the color section first and I was amazed and entertained by the oddballs and custom instruments that Gibson made. I look forward to reading it cover to cover. Comgratulations to Paul for a job well done.

      Now, I am looking fwd also to Walter Carter's book. All of a sudden we have three tomes on vintage mandolins (including Graham's). Excellent!
    1. MikeEdgerton's Avatar
      MikeEdgerton -
      I bought a copy off an Amazon seller for $25.00 including shipping.
    1. goaty76's Avatar
      goaty76 -
      I'm sure I will get a copy of this book eventually. Just curious though, besides the pics of some one off instruments is there any new information brought to light on Gibson mandolins that we haven't seen before?

      Phil
    1. MikeEdgerton's Avatar
      MikeEdgerton -
      The description of Monroe and his F5 on page 152 needs to be changed to "Bill Monroe with his Gibson F-7".