Plays 1930s hokum and 1940s swing better than ever
Bares Singing Cowboy's partnership with catalog firm
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© 2016 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved
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| c. 1940 Gene Autry Round-up guitar made by Harmony Company and sold in Sears, Roebuck catalogs at $9.95 |
This Gene Autry Round-up is one of a limited number of signature cowboy guitars made between 1939 and 1941 by Harmony Company of Chicago and sold through Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogs of the day.
It cost $9.95 and included Gene Autry books on writing songs and playing guitar, collection of cowboy songs and mountain ballads, set of guitar strings, pick and capo. An artificial leather case cost $3.00 more.
Built like a poor man’s J-185, it has a small jumbo body with maple back, sides and neck that are finished in a painted flame-pattern sunburst. It has a spruce top with a dark red-brown sunburst, firestripe pickguard and D-shaped neck with 14 frets to the body.
Finally, the top, back and sound hole were edged in white celluloid binding. The dyed pear wood fingerboard has a total of 19 frets and pearl markers at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th frets.
Date stamp, FON and model number
The interior has a smudged black ink stamp indicating 1940 production and faint evidence of a blue and silver Supertone label, the brand Sears used on musical instruments. In addition, a Harmony factory order number (4728) and Round-up model number (244) in white paint are visible on the back surface just below the neck block.
Acquired at the summer 2016 Philadelphia Guitar Show from a Pittsburgh-area dealer, the instrument is in good condition. It has lots of dings, scratches and finish cracks. Likewise, the body, top, fretboard and headstock have an overall dull finish from 75 years of dust, dirt, smoke and what-have-you.
Acquired at the summer 2016 Philadelphia Guitar Show from a Pittsburgh-area dealer, the instrument is in good condition. It has lots of dings, scratches and finish cracks. Likewise, the body, top, fretboard and headstock have an overall dull finish from 75 years of dust, dirt, smoke and what-have-you.
The original machines — nickel-plated plank tuners with white buttons — were replaced by period tuners. Adequate yet balky, these machines were replaced as well by modern repro tuners that
work better.
Long ago a
reinforcement bolt was installed through the neck block and into the heel. It has been patched and finished over.
Converted from
ladder-braced to x-braced
In December 2014 luthier
James Burkett of Dothan AL reset the neck and added a straight Gibson-style rosewood
bridge. This new bridge replaced an oversized bridge that had replaced
the original ebonized wood unit.
Finally, the original frets were ground down. Though somewhat drastic, this fret dressing was
an attempt to maintain playability, Burkett said, yet avoid a more drastic planing and refret
of the entire fingerboard — a measure that could have erased the precious Gene Autry signature.
At my request, the luthier's art has been memorialized with the addition of a wood patch he sent me to place inside the body of the guitar. Above Burkett's signature the patch reads: "Repaired & X-braced 12/14/2014."
At my request, the luthier's art has been memorialized with the addition of a wood patch he sent me to place inside the body of the guitar. Above Burkett's signature the patch reads: "Repaired & X-braced 12/14/2014."
New sound from an old Round-up
Like other x-braced spruce and maple jumbos, this guitar has a focused sound and
distinct maple fade. It also offers the expected percussive bass, clean-as-a-whistle midrange
and crisp treble chime. It handles flatpacking and fingerpicking nicely.
It's a converted guitar, and like other guitars I've owned that were converted from ladder bracing to x-bracing, they were no longer fish, no longer fowl. Kay, Gibson and Harmony conversions, no matter. They seldom offer the wide sonic palette of an x-braced guitar and they didn't deliver the woof and zing of a ladder-braced guitar.
Yet, this Gene Autry Round-up doesn't sound like a ladder-braced guitar or an x-braced guitar. Instead, it is graced with an original sound and a deep-in-the-gut feel. In short, it is now a well-made, played-in older guitar without hairy aroma or stiff demeanor. Here, I'm using words to describe the experience of sound, an effort burdened by personal vanity and the limitations of the English language.
Nevertheless, this Round-up is a gentle beast that was restored to offer musical enjoyment for another 75 years. Performing with this instrument in my Vintage Music Concerts will safeguard the legend of America’s singing cowboy — Gene Autry — even as it preserves the 1930s hokum and 1940s swing music it was born to play.
Yet, this Gene Autry Round-up doesn't sound like a ladder-braced guitar or an x-braced guitar. Instead, it is graced with an original sound and a deep-in-the-gut feel. In short, it is now a well-made, played-in older guitar without hairy aroma or stiff demeanor. Here, I'm using words to describe the experience of sound, an effort burdened by personal vanity and the limitations of the English language.
Nevertheless, this Round-up is a gentle beast that was restored to offer musical enjoyment for another 75 years. Performing with this instrument in my Vintage Music Concerts will safeguard the legend of America’s singing cowboy — Gene Autry — even as it preserves the 1930s hokum and 1940s swing music it was born to play.
Three Gene Autry guitar models from
Sears
Between 1932 and 1955 Harmony
produced three inexpensive guitar models with Gene Autry’s name and
western scenery painted on spruce tops, according to cowboy guitar collector Steve Evans, co-author of Cowboy Guitars, a 2002 book with photos and commentary on hundreds of these vintage instruments.
Offered through the Sears, Roebuck catalog, these musical instruments were not toys. They were built with solid wood tops and bodies and priced just under $10. They sold like hot cakes to young fans of Gene Autry.
Like his other licensing deals, the radio personality, recording artist and matinee movie star earned a royalty (less his agent's 25% fee) on the sale of the Sears guitars. Though the exact amount is unknown, we know he reaped a 5% royalty on the wholesale value of cast-iron cap pistols sold by an Ohio hardware firm.
In 1938, the first year of sales of the guns, which bore Autry's signature below the barrel, Autry netted $15,458 in royalties, according to Holly George-Warren, author of Public Cowboy No. 1, a 2007 biography. The pistols and guitars — along with brushless shave cream, hair tonic, comic books, cowboy hats, song books and other items — were among hundreds of product "tie-ups" decorated with Gene Autry's brand over the next two decades, George-Warren said.
Offered through the Sears, Roebuck catalog, these musical instruments were not toys. They were built with solid wood tops and bodies and priced just under $10. They sold like hot cakes to young fans of Gene Autry.
Like his other licensing deals, the radio personality, recording artist and matinee movie star earned a royalty (less his agent's 25% fee) on the sale of the Sears guitars. Though the exact amount is unknown, we know he reaped a 5% royalty on the wholesale value of cast-iron cap pistols sold by an Ohio hardware firm.
In 1938, the first year of sales of the guns, which bore Autry's signature below the barrel, Autry netted $15,458 in royalties, according to Holly George-Warren, author of Public Cowboy No. 1, a 2007 biography. The pistols and guitars — along with brushless shave cream, hair tonic, comic books, cowboy hats, song books and other items — were among hundreds of product "tie-ups" decorated with Gene Autry's brand over the next two decades, George-Warren said.
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| 1932 Sears catalog listing for the first Gene Autry Roundup guitar |
Roundup — The earliest iteration was a 12¾-inch wide flat-top with mahogany body, spruce top and 12-fret mahogany neck. Made from fall of 1932 to fall of 1933, the first Roundup (different spelling than 1939 – 1941 model) was a decent instrument that sold for $9.75 (without case, which was available for $1.20 more). According to the catalog copy, the spruce top was graced with a “striking western ranch scene” and “a reproduction of Gene Autry’s signature."
In 1934 the Roundup
was produced with a larger (13-in. wide) birch body and lower price of
$8.25. A year later the spruce top took on several color tones and the body width grew to 14 inches to accommodate a longer-scale neck with 14
frets clear of the body.
In 1939 Harmony introduced its grand concert-sized version of the Gene Autry Round-up (different spelling than 1932 - 1933 model) guitar. It featured a maple back and sides, maple neck and "selected spruce top." Named after "the famous cowboy of radio and pictures." It was the largest catalog guitar to bear Autry’s name, yet it cost a modest $9.95.
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| PHOTO: James Burkett Color variations on four mid-1930s Gene Autry Roundup guitars. All have solid spruce tops, body length is 39 inches and the body width is similar to Martin 00 or Gibson LG-2, according to luthier James Burkett, who is restoring them. Scale length is 25¼ inches, same as 1940 Gene Autry Round-up guitar described herein. |
In 1939 Harmony introduced its grand concert-sized version of the Gene Autry Round-up (different spelling than 1932 - 1933 model) guitar. It featured a maple back and sides, maple neck and "selected spruce top." Named after "the famous cowboy of radio and pictures." It was the largest catalog guitar to bear Autry’s name, yet it cost a modest $9.95.
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| 1939 Sears catalog listing for Gene Autry Round-up grand concert guitar |
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| Peghead on 1935 Gene AutryOld Santa Fe archtop |
Melody Ranch — Except for the depths of WWII, these low-cost flat-tops were made from 1941 to 1955 with a sign post and Melody Ranch stenciled on the peghead.
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| Gene Autry Melody Ranch guitar |
Sales of these low-cost guitars were good but the competition was intense. Indeed, between 1930 and the mid-1960s a huge variety of cheaply made guitars with stencil-painted motifs in a host of themes were offered by the major catalog firms, including Sears, Roebuck & Co., Spiegel and Montgomery Ward in the U.S. and the T. Eaton Company in Canada.
Mutual promotion by radio stars and catalog firms spurs guitar sales
Mutual promotion by radio stars and catalog firms spurs guitar sales
The Round-up, Old Santa Fe and Melody Ranch guitars made by Harmony and sold through Sears catalogs drew lavish
attention to Gene Autry. They helped him promote and sell his movies, recordings, music books, personal appearances, guitar
playing, even his horse.
Other singing cowboys — including Wilf Carter, the Lone Ranger, Carson J. Robison and Roy Rogers — saw a chance to promote their radio shows, recordings, oater movies and personal appearances by obtaining endorsement deals of their own. They all figured instrument makers and catalog companies could make, promote and sell cowboy guitars emblazoned with their names.
Other singing cowboys — including Wilf Carter, the Lone Ranger, Carson J. Robison and Roy Rogers — saw a chance to promote their radio shows, recordings, oater movies and personal appearances by obtaining endorsement deals of their own. They all figured instrument makers and catalog companies could make, promote and sell cowboy guitars emblazoned with their names.
Soon enough guitar makers and catalog companies realized they could sell these low-cost, high-volume items with generic motifs — sans endorsement deals that cost them royalty fees. This meant cowboy guitars would not only be adorned with artful renderings of wagon wheels, bronco busters and singing cowboys, but you could find guitars covered with boats, volcanoes, flowers, lily pads, stars and stripes, flamenco dancers and palm trees as well.
More than three dozen examples of these stencil-painted guitars from the 1930s to 1960s with western, nautical, patriotic, floral and other motifs have come up for sale at Matt Umanov Guitars in New York City. Offered in a single lot, they are part of the dealer's huge collection of vintage catalog guitars amassed over several decades. Below are a few examples:
For more on Matt Umanov's catalog guitar collection, see References at end.
More than three dozen examples of these stencil-painted guitars from the 1930s to 1960s with western, nautical, patriotic, floral and other motifs have come up for sale at Matt Umanov Guitars in New York City. Offered in a single lot, they are part of the dealer's huge collection of vintage catalog guitars amassed over several decades. Below are a few examples:
For more on Matt Umanov's catalog guitar collection, see References at end.
Merchandising madness of musicians who "partner" with product firms
Over time, instrument makers and catalog companies offered guitars in cheaper and coarser materials, including plastic and fiberboard. They also began to put western motifs on other objects — clothing, toys, furniture — and pitch these wares to younger and younger buckaroos.
Over time, instrument makers and catalog companies offered guitars in cheaper and coarser materials, including plastic and fiberboard. They also began to put western motifs on other objects — clothing, toys, furniture — and pitch these wares to younger and younger buckaroos.
These last few measures represented the epitome of creative marketing for vendors in the 1930s, 1940s
and 1950s. Today, we’d just call it line extension. Indeed, Autry's product "tie-ups" resemble the retail promotions, on-line sales and merch table displays of cheap imported goods with an arena rocker's name.
Still, the variety of promotional merchandise offered today may be broader. Of course, it includes tee shirts, baseball caps, posters, baby bodysuits, tank tops, stationery and bumper stickers.
But such merchandising madness extends to hoodies, perfumes, gloves, leather bracelets, scarfs, cell phone hardcases, refrigerator magnets, sneakers, thongs, and, oh yes, $428 signature guitars.
Still, the variety of promotional merchandise offered today may be broader. Of course, it includes tee shirts, baseball caps, posters, baby bodysuits, tank tops, stationery and bumper stickers.
But such merchandising madness extends to hoodies, perfumes, gloves, leather bracelets, scarfs, cell phone hardcases, refrigerator magnets, sneakers, thongs, and, oh yes, $428 signature guitars.
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© 2016 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved
REFERENCES
James Burkett, luthier, Dothan AL — jtb @ burkettguitars.com
Ed Hyp, guitar dealer, North Huntingdon PA — alleghenyvalleyguitars @ aol.com
Matt Umanov + catalog guitars, New York NY — http:// umanovguitars.com
Public Cowboy No. 1 — The Life and Times of Gene Autry — by Holly George-Warren, Oxford University Press, © 2007.
Singing Cowboys — by Douglas B. Green, Gibbs Smith, Publr., © 2006.
Singing in the Saddle — The History of the Singing Cowboy
— by Douglas B. Green, Vanderbuilt Univ. Press, © 2002.
Cowboy Guitars — By Steve Evans and Ron Middlebrook, Centerstream
Publg., © 2002.
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© 2016 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved
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