View Full Version : Another great inlaid pickguard
Lovely Shell inlay on one of John West's venerable Gibsons..
http://www.mandolinarchive.com/images/2872_inlay1.jpg
Michael Gowell
Mar-18-2005, 10:00pm
Wow, that is fabulous Dan. #I know that many of the early elaborate banjo fingerboard inlays were cut in Europe & imported here. #Was that the case with the Gibson pickguard inlays, or were they "in-house" work done in Kalamazoo? #Has anyone tried to identify these artisans by their individual styles?
Good question. It's pretty much unstudied as far as I can tell. There's been very little attention to the Orville-label Gibsons.. they are quite rare (only approx 5000 instruments were in the serial range that could have them), so difficult to get good photos of for comparison & study.
Cross reference #3550..
http://www.mandolinarchive.com/images/3550_pickguard.jpg