cqlove87 Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Good morning. I figured I would try here since this is the Gibson site. My Nanny recently passed away and she left this guitar for me in her will. She stated that out of all the grandkids that I was the only one who played music and she wanted the guitar to be played. So she passed it down to me. My question is what kind of guitar is this? It is a very great sounding instrument. It says gibson on the headstock and under it it says only a gibson is good enough. I will include some videos of me playing it. Thank you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 (edited) 9 minutes ago, cqlove87 said: Good morning. I figured I would try here since this is the Gibson site. My Nanny recently passed away and she left this guitar for me in her will. She stated that out of all the grandkids that I was the only one who played music and she wanted the guitar to be played. So she passed it down to me. My question is what kind of guitar is this? It is a very great sounding instrument. It says gibson on the headstock and under it it says only a gibson is good enough. I will include some videos of me playing it. Thank you. Damn! That's a nice "Banner Gibson"! It was probably made during the War (1940's).... looks big enough to be a J-45, but others are much better at giving you an exact identification. We have a "Gibson Banner" expert on here, John Thomas, who wrote the book on these guitars. It's called "Kalamazoo Gals...A Story of Extraordinary Womern & Gibson's "Banner" Guitars of WWII" Edited July 14, 2021 by DanvillRob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Oooohhh, , , hot stuff. You sit with GOLD there, beware. The whole situation actually appears so fairytalish that some would think it was a set-up to make fun of the readers. From now on every step and detail with and about this guitar must be watched with focus and care. You have inherited a Picasso. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Kalamazoo+Gals...A+Story+of+Extraordinary+Womern+%26+Gibson's+"Banner"+Guitars+of+WWII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Gobsmacked I forgot : CONGRATULATIONS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfish Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 This will be a good one to follow. You came to the right place, wait until some of the other members have a look. That looks like a treasure, and it being from your grandmother so sweet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 (edited) I think it's worthless and he should sell it to me for $100! I would like John Thomas to weigh in.... hopefully CQ can provide a serial number, and back-story. I'm going to be following this thread closely! Edited July 14, 2021 by DanvillRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cqlove87 Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 How can i tell what year this guitar was made? My electrics have serial numbers but there is not one stamp or number to be found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Just now, cqlove87 said: How can i tell what year this guitar was made? My electrics have serial numbers but there is not one stamp or number to be found. Can you find a serial number? Probably inside the guitar up close to the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cqlove87 Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 1 minute ago, DanvillRob said: Can you find a serial number? Probably inside the guitar up close to the neck. I cant find one. Might need a flashlight to look up in the sound hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Just now, cqlove87 said: I cant find one. Might need a flashlight to look up in the sound hole. The "Banners" were made during WWII....so you can figure between 1942 and 1946 (my best guess).....but the Serial Number might narrow it down further. Would be worth while to get a flashlight and mirror to see what's in there. Keep a close eye on this guitar..... don't leave it laying around in the sun or take it out by the pool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cqlove87 Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 I tried to upload some pictures from my phone but says max size 500kb and they wont upload. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 The ”Banner” guitars did not have serial numbers in the traditional sense. They had FONs, Factory Order Numbers. You can learn more here: http://www.bannergibsons.com/registry.html It looks like a wonderful and potentially quite valuable guitar. Congratulations! Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 2 minutes ago, cqlove87 said: I tried to upload some pictures from my phone but says max size 500kb and they wont upload. Different people use different methods....I post photos to mt Facebook page, then just drag them into the forum. Like this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cqlove87 Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 1 minute ago, DanvillRob said: Different people use different methods....I post photos to mt Facebook page, then just drag them into the forum. Like this: Oops I dont have a facebook! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 You should tell us about this guitar..... what do you know about it? Was your Nanny a musician? When she said she got it? Where? Where did she keep it? Did you have to do anything to it once you got it? It looks like it's been well played...so someone must have truly loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Just now, cqlove87 said: Oops I dont have a facebook! There are other methods.... but I can't tell you what they are....years ago I used "Photobucket" but they went south! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cqlove87 Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 5 minutes ago, DanvillRob said: You should tell us about this guitar..... what do you know about it? Was your Nanny a musician? When she said she got it? Where? Where did she keep it? Did you have to do anything to it once you got it? It looks like it's been well played...so someone must have truly loved it. My Nanny was a musician and mainly played the mandolin. She had an old Gibson Mandolin that my aunt acquired after she passed. This particular guitar from what my dad tells me is that it was bought by my Nannys dad(my great grandpa) who was an avid fiddler. He bought the guitar to have for a player in his western swing band. He did open for Bob Wills i was told and would win 1st place in the county fairs fiddling contests.My dad believes the time frame was in fact in the 40s.His friend played the heck out of it from the looks of it! My dad did tell me that my great grandpas friend did some live recordings with this guitar and he also played guitar for the song The Harper Valley Pta now with this guitar i do not know? Ultimately it was my great granpas and he never gave it to his friend. They lived on the Spade Ranch in Colorado City, Texas and musical get togethers were the norm and was pretty much all their entertainment way out there on the ranch.The guitar was bought in Sweetwater, Texas. A few miles down the road from Colorado City. My Nanny acquired the guitar after my great grandpa passed on and kept it in the her house until she passed. I havent done anything but put new strings on it. Plays great in my opinion and has very unique sound. Almost like a woody type bassy airness to it if that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 3 minutes ago, cqlove87 said: My Nanny was a musician and mainly played the mandolin. She had an old Gibson Mandolin that my aunt acquired after she passed. This particular guitar from what my dad tells me is that it was bought by my Nannys dad(my great grandpa) who was an avid fiddler. He bought the guitar to have for a player in his western swing band. He did open for Bob Wills i was told and would win 1st place in the county fairs fiddling contests.My dad believes the time frame was in fact in the 40s.His friend played the heck out of it from the looks of it! My dad did tell me that my great grandpas friend did some live recordings with this guitar and he also played guitar for the song The Harper Valley Pta now with this guitar i do not know? Ultimately it was my great granpas and he never gave it to his friend. They lived on the Spade Ranch in Colorado City, Texas and musical get togethers were the norm and was pretty much all their entertainment way out there on the ranch.The guitar was bought in Sweetwater, Texas. A few miles down the road from Colorado City. My Nanny acquired the guitar after my great grandpa passed on and kept it in the her house until she passed. I havent done anything but put new strings on it. Plays great in my opinion and has very unique sound. Almost like a woody type bassy airness to it if that makes sense. You should write this out...print it and put it in the guitar case. If you'd like to send some photos to me on my email, I'll post them on here. My email is: DanvillRob@aol.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 (edited) Hey Joe where you goin with that Banner in your hand... What a treat. I would also consider lobbing a call into Gruhn Guitars in Nashville. Especially if it is something you were going to sell. There are some who might try to take advantage of your lack of knowledge about your guitar should that be the case, and an appraisal cost will be worth it in my opinion. https://guitars.com/ https://guitars.com/appraisals I'd also consider posting here: https://umgf.com/the-vintage-corner-f3/ While that is a Martin forum, it is a guitar lover's forum - especially older gems. They can be quite helpful and have an amazing amount of knowledge of especially Martins and Gibsons. Depending on condition, these guitars are not cheap. For example, here are some that appear to be in better condition than yours, but you get the idea. Yours could be worth $5k - $10k depending on... quite a bit (time frame, condition, right place right time): https://reverb.com/p/gibson-j-45-banner-logo-1942-1945 Or you cant even try to contact John Thomas. He knows a thing or two about old Gibsons, and he is a member here still I think... : Edited July 14, 2021 by Salfromchatham 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Just now, Salfromchatham said: I would also consider lobbing a call into Gruhn Guitars in Nashville. Especially if it is something you were going to sell. PLEASE don't sell this guitar...it's a treasure that should be kept in your family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 I hear you Dan... But sometimes also... life can be tough... and those decisions are certainly personal. I hope the OP never has a financial situation that would call for his parting ways with his family heirloom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Just now, Salfromchatham said: I hear you Dan... But sometimes also... life can be tough... and those decisions are certainly personal. I hope the OP never has a financial situation that would call for his parting ways with his family heirloom. I totally understand..... but it's something he didn't own.... once he did own it, he had no idea it was valuable...... so I'd hope he'd explore other options.....but ....if things are dire....I understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cqlove87 Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 19 minutes ago, DanvillRob said: I totally understand..... but it's something he didn't own.... once he did own it, he had no idea it was valuable...... so I'd hope he'd explore other options.....but ....if things are dire....I understand. I intend to play it until I die and then pass it down to my son. Here are some pictures of my Nanny with her mandolin when she was a teenager and then one of her a year before she passed on. Also a pic of her at my wedding. Best woman I ever knew. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cunningham26 Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 This thread is incredible and in addition to being an awesome woman, she had great taste in guitars! congrats on having something so magical 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.