Gibson Electric-Acoustic Guitar
date: label: date made
content: 1937
name: label: maker
content: Gibson Co.
notes: label: Description
content: This electric-acoustic guitar, serial #EH4685, was made by Gibson, Inc. in Kalamazoo, Michigan around 1937. Introduced in 1936, this was the first Spanish-style electric guitar to achieve commercial significance, thanks in part to Charlie Christian, an inventive jazz soloist who gained prominence with the Benny Goodman Sextet. Christian took what had been considered a novelty and brought it to the forefront as a lead instrument. Gibson's first electric Spanish guitar, the ES-150's design featured a one-piece steel bar surrounded by the pickup coil and two magnets below the strings, rather than the earlier horseshoe configuration with magnets directly surrounding the strings. This new pickup was nicknamed the "Christian" in honor of the great guitarist with whom it is associated.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Michigan, Kalamazoo
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
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content: Music & Musical Instruments
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content: Guitars
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1997.0085.01
label: catalog number
content: 1997.0085.01
label: accession number
content: 1997.0085
objectType: label: Object Name
content: guitar
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 40 1/2 in x 16 in x 4 1/4 in; 102.87 cm x 40.64 cm x 10.795 cm