Who made it and when was it made?
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Please see previous posts on vintage Regal guitars:
Hi there Kenneth:
I didn’t know that Regal had five established styles of flattops in the first half of 1930s. Until now I'd only encountered Regal-made Dobros, as I have one in my collection. Here in Australia the quantity of pre-war instruments is small.
I didn’t know that Regal had five established styles of flattops in the first half of 1930s. Until now I'd only encountered Regal-made Dobros, as I have one in my collection. Here in Australia the quantity of pre-war instruments is small.
I like collecting,
performing with, and restoring old instruments. A client of mine has
this week given me this S.S. Stewart archtop guitar, which has been in her family
since new. It’s lightweight and very toneful, as we like to find, with a spruce top, arched mahogany back and sides, and a big, deep V
mahogany neck.
I have noticed a faint production number “3195” stamped on the inside of the back, visible through the bass f hole. There is also a small Made in USA decal on the back of the headstock. Vintage afficionados here believe these decals were applied to instruments scheduled for export to UK, Canada or, in our case, Australia.
mahogany neck.
I have noticed a faint production number “3195” stamped on the inside of the back, visible through the bass f hole. There is also a small Made in USA decal on the back of the headstock. Vintage afficionados here believe these decals were applied to instruments scheduled for export to UK, Canada or, in our case, Australia.
Vintage dealer Walter Carter once made a comment that S.S. Stewart archtops were "probably Regal made," and thus similar to flattops you've documented, despite the lack of production or sales records. I’m currently calling it “mid to late 1930s,” but I'd be keen to find if any dating is possible from details and production number mentioned above?
Best wishes, and thanks
again for time and care put into your fine website.
Ian Stehlik - Largs Bay, South Australia
Ian Stehlik - Largs Bay, South Australia
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Hello Ian:
Hello Ian:
Your guitar is a gutsy thing. It seems in good shape. I bet it makes a nice noise.
Over the last 20 years I've examined several S.S. Stewart archtops. A few were solid wood guitars, while most had a pressed-wood body. A few were made by Regal in the 1930s, while most were made by Harmony sometime between the late 1930s and 1950s. Absent an in-hand exam and more details on your model, I'd say the design elements visible in your photos point to a medium-grade build from the late 1930s or early 1940s.
A timeline for your cheeky ArtDeco head- stock is the mid- 1930s to early 1940s. At left is the headstock of a Harmony-made Stewart from 1940. Like your guitar, it displays an artistic splash of plastic to draw some attention. At right are the economy three-on-a-plate tuning machines installed on the same guitar.
I suspected the tuner buttons on your headstock date to 1940 or later, so below are actual tuners on Regal or Harmony archtops made between about 1935 and early 1940s. Although rare and pricey in today's vintage markets, they would be suitable for your Stewart.
At left are Grover tuners used on a Nite Hawk archtop (Style No. 83). It was made by Regal or Harmony and sold by retailer Slingerland Musical Instrument Mfg. Co. in the mid-1930s.
At right Waverly "teddy bear" tuners grace a 1930s archtop. On its opposite face the mother-of-toilet-seat plastic headstock proclaims the obscure Pitt brand. This guitar was likely made by Regal for a wholesaler client.
Your instrument appears to have a solid top and a deep body edged with top and back binding. The tailpiece and bridge look fairly common, so I wondered if there are patent dates, logos or other marks not visible in the main photo across the tailpiece strut or bridge base.
The fingerboard inlays are similar to some I've seen on MarvelTone flattops that Regal made for a wholesaler called Targ & Dinner Music Co. in the early 1930s. And last, the pickguard shape and color on your guitar remind me of some I've seen on 1940s Epiphone archtops.
Dating Regal guitars from the 1930s
A timeline for your cheeky ArtDeco head- stock is the mid- 1930s to early 1940s. At left is the headstock of a Harmony-made Stewart from 1940. Like your guitar, it displays an artistic splash of plastic to draw some attention. At right are the economy three-on-a-plate tuning machines installed on the same guitar.I suspected the tuner buttons on your headstock date to 1940 or later, so below are actual tuners on Regal or Harmony archtops made between about 1935 and early 1940s. Although rare and pricey in today's vintage markets, they would be suitable for your Stewart.
At right Waverly "teddy bear" tuners grace a 1930s archtop. On its opposite face the mother-of-toilet-seat plastic headstock proclaims the obscure Pitt brand. This guitar was likely made by Regal for a wholesaler client. The fingerboard inlays are similar to some I've seen on MarvelTone flattops that Regal made for a wholesaler called Targ & Dinner Music Co. in the early 1930s. And last, the pickguard shape and color on your guitar remind me of some I've seen on 1940s Epiphone archtops.
Dating Regal guitars from the 1930s
Although numerous, serial number stamped inside Regal guitars do not afford us a way to affix a viable build date. Such numbers are seen on interior labels, rear face of headstocks and back braces of Regal flattop and archtop guitars, whether built for wholesale customers or its own brand.
To date, no period-accurate chart of serial numbers, shipment ledgers or retail receipts has surfaced. Neither has anyone offered suitable provenance by which we can ascertain and/or interpolate production or sale dates.
Regal was hired to
build guitars for many retailers, wholesalers and independent brands in the years
between the two world wars. One was S.S. Stewart, a banjo maker established in 1878. The Philadelphia firm produced some 25,000 banjos in its 37-year lifetime.
In 1915 the S.S. Stewart brand was acquired by Buegeleisen & Jacobson, a N.Y. City wholesaler called B & J. It put the Stewart name on a diverse list of musical products until the 1960s. This included re-labeled guitars from Regal, Harmony, Gibson, Weymann, Vega and other makers that B & J sold to its retail clients.
Finally, it's not uncommon to find an archtop guitar made by Harmony or Regal that we weren't previously aware of. I hope some of this history on S.S. Stewart guitars will feed your heart as you play the instrument.
Cheers, Ken
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