Serial number unknown

Year shipped: c. mid-1930s

FON: 1498-5 – the first four digits in black ink followed by a dash with the ‘5’ written in red

Headstock: Horizontal ‘Gibson’ script logo

Neck/fingerboard: 19 fret fingerboard with square end and wide block inlays from the third fret

Body: Maple back and sides

Hardware: Gold-plated metal parts including regular tailpiece. Long bound pickguard

Notes: The neck has been re-set and the fingerboard re-fretted. Divots in the fingerboard have been filled. The tuners and nut have been replaced

This guitar is one of just eight 16-inch L-5s shipped in 1938. Two more were shipped the following year after which the 16-inch L-5 was finally discontinued

Images courtesy of Carter Vintage