Catalogues and advertising
A round up of some of the interesting and collectible catalogues and brochures issued by Gibson around the time that the L-5 was being sold in the shops and advertised in music magazine





Image courtesy of Fox Guitars





Right – Arnold McGarvey with an Advanced L-5. Both are advertisements from a 1937 edition of Downbeat Magazine. Images courtesy of Fox Guitars





“Premiere “Cut-Away” Model Illustrated at left Super “400” and L-5
Quickly and easily – without the slightest extra effort – you can reach all 20 frets in this new body design. It gives you more notes, more chords, greater variety, and much greater playing comfort – Premiere models made in either regular or natural finish.
Prices: Super “400” Premiere Model (including case and zipper cover) $425.00
L-5 P Premiere Model $290.00 Case $28″
Collection of Paul Alcantara

“Right from the start – the L-5 became a most popular orchestra guitar. It has everything that is needed for a brilliant outstanding performance in the modern manner. Its tone is full and melodious with a vitalizing verve that cuts through for pleasing rhythmic effects.
Some of the newer features of this great favourite are: your choice of the regular dark finish or the new natural finish – both unbelievably beautiful; white ivroid binding around the sound holes; a new, heavy, non-vibrating tailpiece; new gold plated enclosed Kluson “Seal-Fast” individual machine heads; and the Vari-tone Control.
Price $275.00″
Collection of Paul Alcantara


Pictures courtesy of Lynn Wheelwright

Gibson match book – we do not have a date for this item but it presumably harks from from around the same time as the cigarette packet, above.

Image courtesy of Michael Simmons of Fretboard Journal

With thanks to Gary Deacon


published by Nicomede Music co. Altoona, PA. printed in U.S.A. 1925
See notes on Lloyd Loar

Published by Nicomede Music, Altoona, Pennsylvania USA
Rock You Sinners
The 1957 film, Rock You Sinners, which takes a look at Britain’s nascent Rock and Roll scene, includes a number of musical performances in which the guitarists take turns in playing the mid-1930s Type Three L-5 pictured below. The guitar has been fitted with a pickup (Hofner?).
Directed by Denis Kavanagh, the film follows the story of a disc jockey and his friend, a writer, who want to put a rock show on the television.





Two very nice dot neck 16 inch L-5s pictured either side of a D’Aquisto New Yorker from the collection of Laurence Wexer

Guitar Player L-5
Written by the late Tom Wheeler (author of ‘American Guitars’), this feature appeared in Guitar Player magazine several decades ago. Some of the information presented is incorrect (the earliest L-5s on record were shipped in 1923, not 1922) but that is forgivable given the publication date.

