The History of Vintage Cases

[MikeEdgerton]

I believe I may have posted this before but I just ran into Steve Kirtley's Vintage Musical Instrument Cases site. It's a really wonderful piece of history that most of us take for granted.

http://www.stevekirtley.org/vintagecases.htm

[Loudloar]

Hey Mike,

That's so kind of you to mention. I also have a Facebook group where we discuss all types of vintage instrument cases. https://www.facebook.com/groups/vintagemusicalinstrumentcases/

Regards, Steve Kirtley

[Timbofood]

Steve, I don't Facebook but, do you do repro period cases? I'm not in need but, it's a good piece of information to have.
I appreciate all the information you have amassed, it makes some research much more accessible.
Nice work!

[Loudloar]

Hi Timothy,

Thanks for your kind comments.

I get asked nearly every week if I restore cases or build vintage style cases. Unfortunately, the answer is no. I have done a fair amount of both for myself. But actually the amount of labor and difficulty of getting materials would make it cost more than a reasonable person would be willing to pay. Plus I have too many other priorities in life, and I'm having fun providing online guidance to others.

Steve

[Timbofood]

Fair enough!
I am one of those "compartmentalizer" people, it's good to have things in their place, you know.
I have cases for all my insrtruments but, there are still things which should have a home. Hmmm, sounds like I have a winner project!

[Dennis Satterlee]

Over the past summer I had the good fortune of stumbling across a 1945 Martin D-28 still in the possession of the original owner's family. I purchased it with a brown Lifton case, which, through the help of Steve's online information I was able to trace to the correct period for it to be original to the guitar. That put a smile on my face. Thanks for your research and great site Steve.

Dennis Satterlee

[Timbofood]

Cool story, cool find!

[Loudloar]

a 1945 Martin D-28 with a brown Lifton case, which I was able to trace to the correct period for it to be original to the guitar.

Dennis, Recently I found information that more precisely dates the change to the Lifton label. The Red/Black/Gold label didn't appear until at least February, 1946. If your case has the Black & Silver label it would be 1945 or earlier. If it has the Red/Black/Gold label it could still be original to your guitar if it didn't leave the music store until 1946. (I can see I need to update that webpage.)

Steve
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vintagemusicalinstrumentcases/

141835

[f5joe]

Steve is the real deal. A great guy willing to share his knowledge. That makes the world go 'round.

[Dennis Satterlee]

The badge is black and silver and the buckles are the gun metal style you described. You did an excellent job of identifying the war years guitar case and, except for a red interior, your photo looks exactly like my case.

[dustyamps]

This is the first time I've seen a vintage case with orange inside.

[Scott Tichenor]

Thanks for posting. I've seen maybe one or two of them and would love to have one just for the coolness. Always wondered if it was just a small batch they made only a few of or a custom order. Maybe someone here knows and I'm guessing some may have also seen one or maybe someone here owns one.

[Loudloar]

Agreed, I've never seen that orange lining before. You'd think it was 1960's if you didn't know better. There were some 30's cases with a deep gold plush but it's not orange like that.

Just a guess but maybe Geib was doing orange for some manufacturer other than Gibson and decided to use up leftover plush. Or maybe the company that supplied plush sent Geib a sample and said "What do you think about this color?" So Geib used it on a few cases and sent them to Gibson, who said "Naw, lets stick with green and red."

Steve
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vintagemusicalinstrumentcases/

[Ken Waltham]

I have had A model cases from the teens that were yellow, three different greens and a copper colour. . Never orange though.

[Scott Tichenor]

Happened to see this thread and through a specific Google search found the reference to the one I was pretty sure was listed on the Mandolin Archive here (http://www.mandolinarchive.com/gibson/serial/30499). Not a great picture. There was one on eBay a few years ago but I think you had to buy the mandolin that came with it. Dan has seen a couple others I believe and we discussed the one on eBay a few years back I recall.

147001

[dustyamps]

So now I need a red, yellow and orange case.

[dustyamps]

... and mandolins to go in them.

[Timbofood]

Fun!