This L-4 shipped from Kalamazoo on December 10, 1940 and landed at a shop called Wirsing Music House which I can find no current record of.  I presume it is long out of business. I don't know of any verified, published account of the number of L-4s shipped in the pre-WW2 era; however, this one falls into a special category of rare examples.  Starting in 1935, the L-4 slotted into the 16-inch void of the preceding L-7 which became a 17-inch "Advanced" model.  For all intents and purposes the usual pre-war specs for an f-hole L-4 are the same as that of the 16-inch L-7 that was made from 1933 and into early 1935.  Those guitars featured a carved spruce top with maple back and sides with a mahogany neck that had a scale length of 24.75 inches.  However this guitar is one of a very small number of L-4 guitars that was fitted with a long scale (25.5 inches) onto its 16-inch body.  The neck is also a 3-ply maple neck, as would be found on the upscale L-5.  The combination of the smaller 16-inch body with long scale is exceedingly rare in Gibson archtops. It's unknown how many of these exist, but only a few have been documented to date.

This example is free of cracks or breaks with a beautifully straight neck that allows exceptional playability.  The bridge has ample room for adjustment of the action either up or down as the player prefers.  The neck has a remarkably comfortable C-shaped carve which isn't as thick as many from this era are, feeling and measuring very much in line with that the typical modern Gibson '59 carve, considered the ideal by many. The frets have wear, but still have a fair amount of life left in them and allow for great ease of play.  The finish shows wear consistent with a guitar of its age for a guitar that has been well-played, but never abused.

This guitar has a wonderful sound, and is one of those smaller numbers that has both nice punch and a warm, singing tone that makes it at home either comping for a band or at use in chord-solo work.

Weight - 4.8 pounds

Nut width - 1.71 inches

1st fret neck depth - 0.91 inches

9th fret neck depth - 0.98 inches

Scale length - 25.5 inches

Lower bout width - 16 inches

Body depth at rim - 3.28 inches

The guitar comes with a hardshell case that appears made for a dreadnought, but fits very well.  The case is in very good condition with all latches and hinges functional.

Ships free in the United States and for reasonable rates worldwide.