Restored 1904 Gibson A

[Ginridge]

Here's a shot of my 1904 Gibson A which I restored several years ago. You can read the story of it's re-birth at this link: http://ginridge.com/extras/on-the-bench/.

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Thanks!

[mrmando]

If this photo shows the original finish, then what you've got here is not from 1904 but from 1918 or later, since that's the year that this Sheraton brown color was introduced.
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Your pickguard has a 1909 patent date and its clamp has a 1911 patent date ... further signs that the instrument is from later than 1904 (assuming the pickguard is original).

Do you have the serial number and factory order number?

[Ginridge]

Thanks. You could very well be right. The serial number is 58867. I believe I was told this was a 1904 and that seemed early to me too.

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RE, the finish, yes that's the original finish but the instrument had been over sprayed at that point. Clearly, though, it did have the dark brown finish originally. The finish was so severely damaged that I lightly sanded off the overspray and french polished it.

Old finish marks indicated that the pick guard clamp is not original. It looks like it had the style that clamped to the back. The current pickguard arm is attached to the pickguard with a blob of silicone. The pickguard itself does appear to be original.

Any more info would be appreciated.

[mrmando]

Excellent work on the repair/refinish from what I can see. The serial number indicates an early 1920 ship date. There's usually also a factory order number stamped on the neck block, which could help determine the build date (which might be a bit earlier than the ship date).

I didn't catch that the pickguard support was not original. You're right, the original would have been clamped to the side.

Gibson designs changed a lot between 1904 and 1920, so I knew this wasn't that old unless it had been extensively, extensively redone.

[Shelagh Moore]

Thanks for posting the restoration story... I always enjoy reading these and learn a lot from them. Nice work on the repairs!

[Ginridge]

Thanks for the additional info. I did check the rather extensive set if pictures I took while restoring this and there does not appear to be a number stamped on the neck block. Of course, this was a very basic A, there never was any Gibson logo on the peg head.

Glad to know it'd real sort. Now I just have to change my web site!