Homepage Forums Discussion Popular Topics S. S. Stewart/Gibson guitars? Also Elderly’s.

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  • #20846
    Anonymous
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    Here is a synopsis of what I can find out about S.S. Stewart since a recent posting and reply. There is much more info, but nothing confirming that Gibson actually made any S.S. Stewart guitars.

    Firstly S.S. Stewart was formed by the Bauer & Stewart fanilies in 1898 to make Banjos. They let Gibson make their banjos for them, very early. In 1899 S.S. Stewart died. His sons went on to form a new, unrelated company. From 1901 – 1910 Bauer kept on making S.S. Stewart banjos. Sorry, no mention of guitars yet, though some tenor guitars were produced, not confirmed as Gibsons. Even now, the banjos of this time are referred to as either "not Gibsons" or for whatever reason as "possibly by Gibson". In 1911 Feenophone takes over, probably making some guitars. In 1915 the brand became the property of Bugellsein & Jacobsen of New York. They were always involved with guitars but if anyone is interested, feel free to research.

    Here’s the good part. Eventually, Slingerland (drums) acquired B & J, then Gibson bought Slingerland. Just my guess, that would put an end to B & J and any S.S. Stewart guitars – that’s how the biggies swallow competition. Now Slingerland is a premium marque in drums, owned by Gibson. You can see what Gibson currently owns on their website.

    The guitar story is shrouded in rumours & mystery. No confirmations. If anyone can help with the question that was posted earlier, though this gives new direction to research … I recommend either http://www.elderly.com or http://www.mandobros.com. They do this for a living, and do it very well. Personally, I think all guitarists from all over the world should make a pilgrimage to Elderly’s. Strat man Dwight

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    • #79630
      Anonymous
      Guest

      Black arch top. No idea of year. Guessing 1950’s or much earlier. Brass frets
      Trapeze, pickguard missing or there never was one
      Headstock is cream/white with SSStewart across the top and 4 vertical black stripes with a red note in the middle.
      I can find any info on this. Any help is appreciated
      Thanks. Willing to sell for a reasonable offer.

    • #78689
      Anonymous
      Guest

      In 1964 my uncle, a guitar teacher and big band player in and from Medford, MA, gave me an S.S. Stewart hollow body guitar.
      It had the “S.S. Stewart” name at the top, a beautiful sunburst finish, the two s cutouts, white fick guard, etc.
      He also mentioned it was from Gibson, but was a cousin smaller version, from what I remember.

      However it had a tone and volume knob. In all my views on the web I did not see any knobs.
      I was moved around as a kid, so I gave it bak to him, but always treasured its sound and ease in playing for me as a kid.

      Would or does anyone know the Stewart described above with knobs?
      Thank you in advance.
      – Joseph

      • #102898
        Anonymous
        Guest

        Did you ever find out the answer to your question?
        I bid on one on ebay and the pickup and knobs look weird

    • #78571
      Anonymous
      Guest

      I cannot find the model or serial number to my arch top and arch back, serial number 2813 Model 7004 it also has a number stamped inside it is 4683-1422 It is a SS Stewart with 2 F-holes and arched front and back and on the back of the head stock is a sticker that says B&J Could you tell me what it might be worth. It plays in fair shape.

    • #77971
      Anonymous
      Guest

      hey all, i recently inherited a ss stewart electric guitar that was my grand father’s. it was in a fire and has some smoke damage. I am trying to find out some information on it and i can’t find any kind of markings on it other than the s.s. stewart on the top. any info would help thanks.

    • #57091
      Anonymous
      Guest

      I was gift 4008 4009 sss approx 1940. the name was written in red on awhite bsckground have not been able to find detail ssstewart color dunburst with flames on the handle
      Help.
      Joanne.

      • #101576
        Anonymous
        Guest

        help

    • #57083
      Anonymous
      Guest

      I bought one that needed restoration on my local Craigslist. I restored it myself and this guitar is truly a gem. It was in the guys family since the 1920’s. A label inside it said it was purchased in West Virginia music store in 1925. It’s a parlor guitar with Brazilian Rosewood back/sides, Mahogany hard V-shaped neck, ebony fretboard and bridge and some really blinged out shell inlay for the purfling and rossette and a complex binding design. It’s a ladder braced guitar and sounds like everything you would want in an old blues guitar.

      The only hint that I can see that this is of Gibson provenance is that the fretboard binding has fret end nibs. That is obviously not a dead give away but it is a reasonably good clue. It’s a great guitar none the less.

      You can see pics of the guitar and restoration here: https://goo.gl/photos/6jyg2r4LN6NoQrUq7

    • #54828
      Anonymous
      Guest

      My aunt was just showing me her Stewart yesterday and I played it a bit, of course. It’s a good guitar and plays well. This one has a plain label inside the body with just the model and serial numbers listed, the metal Stewart placard on the headstock and of course the big S on the truss rod cover. No other markings, though. With the history we know about this particular guitar we’ve been able to date it at around the late 40’s which brings about a question in regard to the serial number. It seems to me there are some serious inconsistencies with following numerical order and I’m seeing posts about older 9010’s with higher numbers than this one. Does anybody know why?

    • #54679
      Anonymous
      Guest

      My Brother has just inherited one from my grandfather. It is in mint condition and the label inside says it is a 1932 Ss stewart made by gibsons serial#2548 and another # that is on the label is 70004. Thank-you Amy Ricard.

    • #54378
      Anonymous
      Guest

      A freind of mine that is 90 gave me this guitar . he played it for his wife they were married for 72 years dating back would make this around1940 . If any one has any information about this guitar please reply thanks
      Mark

    • #112233
      Anonymous
      Guest

      : Here is a synopsis of what I can find out about S.S. Stewart since a recent posting and reply. There is much more info, but nothing confirming that Gibson actually made any S.S. Stewart guitars. : Firstly S.S. Stewart was formed by the Bauer & Stewart fanilies in 1898 to make Banjos. They let Gibson make their banjos for them, very early. In 1899 S.S. Stewart died. His sons went on to form a new, unrelated company. From 1901 – 1910 Bauer kept on making S.S. Stewart banjos. Sorry, no mention of guitars yet, though some tenor guitars were produced, not confirmed as Gibsons. Even now, the banjos of this time are referred to as either "not Gibsons" or for whatever reason as "possibly by Gibson". In 1911 Feenophone takes over, probably making some guitars. In 1915 the brand became the property of Bugellsein & Jacobsen of New York. They were always involved with guitars but if anyone is interested, feel free to research. : Here’s the good part. Eventually, Slingerland (drums) acquired B & J, then Gibson bought Slingerland. Just my guess, that would put an end to B & J and any S.S. Stewart guitars – that’s how the biggies swallow competition. Now Slingerland is a premium marque in drums, owned by Gibson. You can see what Gibson currently owns on their website. : The guitar story is shrouded in rumours & mystery. No confirmations. If anyone can help with the question that was posted earlier, though this gives new direction to research … I recommend either http://www.elderly.com or http://www.mandobros.com. They do this for a living, and do it very well. Personally, I think all guitarists from all over the world should make a pilgrimage to Elderly’s. Strat man Dwight I just found one of these guitars in an Antique store in Mississippi. It is clearly marked B&J Certified Musical Products on the back of the neck. It is extremely old and well played. I don’t know the history behind whose it was, but someone, possibly more than one person, loved it. It plays and sounds amazing. I was so thrilled to find out a little bit about it from these posts. If anyone has any photos of other SS Stewart guitars or would like to see a photo of this one, please reply.

      • #125482
        Anonymous
        Guest

        I read you’re article about finding a B+J guitar in MI. My friend asked me to check out a old guitar he had picked at a property in the Boston area, The building was going to be torn down as it had been vacant for a decade or more. As he was going through the building making sure gas + electric was off and safe he ran across this guitar, It sat in his storage area inside he had forgotten about it for quite a while. I’am doing a little research on it and I found you’re post, If you could send a photo to my email we would be greatfull Thank You Glenn

    • #93573
      Anonymous
      Guest

      : Here is a synopsis of what I can find out about S.S. Stewart since a recent posting and reply. There is much more info, but nothing confirming that Gibson actually made any S.S. Stewart guitars. : Firstly S.S. Stewart was formed by the Bauer & Stewart fanilies in 1898 to make Banjos. They let Gibson make their banjos for them, very early. In 1899 S.S. Stewart died. His sons went on to form a new, unrelated company. From 1901 – 1910 Bauer kept on making S.S. Stewart banjos. Sorry, no mention of guitars yet, though some tenor guitars were produced, not confirmed as Gibsons. Even now, the banjos of this time are referred to as either "not Gibsons" or for whatever reason as "possibly by Gibson". In 1911 Feenophone takes over, probably making some guitars. In 1915 the brand became the property of Bugellsein & Jacobsen of New York. They were always involved with guitars but if anyone is interested, feel free to research. : Here’s the good part. Eventually, Slingerland (drums) acquired B & J, then Gibson bought Slingerland. Just my guess, that would put an end to B & J and any S.S. Stewart guitars – that’s how the biggies swallow competition. Now Slingerland is a premium marque in drums, owned by Gibson. You can see what Gibson currently owns on their website. : The guitar story is shrouded in rumours & mystery. No confirmations. If anyone can help with the question that was posted earlier, though this gives new direction to research … I recommend either http://www.elderly.com or http://www.mandobros.com. They do this for a living, and do it very well. Personally, I think all guitarists from all over the world should make a pilgrimage to Elderly’s. Strat man Dwight

      • #96325
        Anonymous
        Guest

        I own an S. S. Stewart in a natural finish that was made by Gibson in the early ’30s.It was made exactally like my ’31 L-2 that has gold-sparkle binding, an Argentine Gray sunburst with a 12-fret neck.On my L-2 the neck-block is stamped 97XX. On the neckblock on the S. S. Stewart it is also stamped with a 97XX. The lower bouts on both measure 14 3/4". All the other dimensions are exact including the string scale length.The S. S. Stewart also has a floating pickguard that also appears on several 13-fret rosewood L-2s and 13-fret Lucases as well. I have owned dozens and dozens of L-shaped Gibsons ( L-1s, L-2s,L-00s, Nick Lucases,etc). In the Gruhn guide to vintage instruments it clearly states that Gibson made a version of the L-2 in ’31.I have one. I will gladly send photos to anyone who wants a set………..Mystery solved……………All The Best….Neil

        • #102149
          Anonymous
          Guest

          Neil,

          I’d like to learn more about your 31 L-2 gold sparkle. Email me [email protected]

          Steve

    • #125957
      Anonymous
      Guest

      Mine’s a black archtop – possibly 1930’s with separated ends to F holes. According to research S.S.Stewart had their guitars made for them – possibly by Regal as is also believed to be my similar Radiotone.

    • #91963
      Anonymous
      Guest

      Most Steward guitars were made by harmony who bought them out in around 1945. Type in Harmony and go to Harmony central for the whole story… : Here is a synopsis of what I can find out about S.S. Stewart since a recent posting and reply. There is much more info, but nothing confirming that Gibson actually made any S.S. Stewart guitars. : Firstly S.S. Stewart was formed by the Bauer & Stewart fanilies in 1898 to make Banjos. They let Gibson make their banjos for them, very early. In 1899 S.S. Stewart died. His sons went on to form a new, unrelated company. From 1901 – 1910 Bauer kept on making S.S. Stewart banjos. Sorry, no mention of guitars yet, though some tenor guitars were produced, not confirmed as Gibsons. Even now, the banjos of this time are referred to as either "not Gibsons" or for whatever reason as "possibly by Gibson". In 1911 Feenophone takes over, probably making some guitars. In 1915 the brand became the property of Bugellsein & Jacobsen of New York. They were always involved with guitars but if anyone is interested, feel free to research. : Here’s the good part. Eventually, Slingerland (drums) acquired B & J, then Gibson bought Slingerland. Just my guess, that would put an end to B & J and any S.S. Stewart guitars – that’s how the biggies swallow competition. Now Slingerland is a premium marque in drums, owned by Gibson. You can see what Gibson currently owns on their website. : The guitar story is shrouded in rumours & mystery. No confirmations. If anyone can help with the question that was posted earlier, though this gives new direction to research … I recommend either http://www.elderly.com or http://www.mandobros.com. They do this for a living, and do it very well. Personally, I think all guitarists from all over the world should make a pilgrimage to Elderly’s. Strat man Dwight

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