Number under top of Gibson A?

[Darryl Wolfe]

1940 a-1

[f5loar]

Been out of the USA for a week so missed this one and seeing the photos that were sent to me direct and bounced back due to photo files being too big for my small town server to handle. I do see the A-1 however more like 1941 to 1943 since 1940 still had the big 11 inch body and this one is the 10 inch body. The logo and tuners with this type sunburst finish point to the early 40's. Many lower end models did not have the FON or serial no. In 1941 the A-1 without case cost you $38.00.

[Russ Donahue]

Thanks all. I appreciate the experienced eyes interpreting this.

[MikeEdgerton]

Did they drop the back binding in the 40's? Gruhn shows it had it when it was reintroduced. Is this simply another Gibson anomaly meant to confuse people years later?

[f5loar]

Some were taken out, others just feel out and it is possible it never got one. The 40's was a slow time with limited materials.