Earliest known Gibson Archtop 1899?

[GuyBoden]

This 1899 Orville Gibson Archtop instrument caught my attention today.

Orville Gibson started applying the designs of archtop violins to improve the design/sound of his guitars and mandolins around 1893, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA.

(Below) Could this 1899 Archtop Mandolin be one of his earliest surviving instruments?
Catch of the Day: Circa 1899 Orville Gibson A Mandolin - Fretboard Journal



Link to some interesting Orville Gibson History:
Orville Gibson and the dawn of guitar making in Kalamazoo - mlive.com

[Brian859]

That is a good article and always an interesting story.

[enalnitram]

Could this 1899 Archtop Mandolin be one of his earliest surviving instruments?

Yes definitely.

Here is (according to Gruhn at the time of this link) the earliest guitar and the earliest Orville guitar with a dated label.
Featured Inventory Archives 1999-2012 | Gruhn Guitars

I'm about an hour north of Kalamazoo. The old factory (Heritage) is very nearby the Bells Brewery Cafe. I've been there a few times and sat in my car outside of the old Gibson dock and daydreamed about all the guitars that left there to be shipped all over the world, to make musical history. I wanted to get this pic before the last of the GIBSON chimney was gone. I realize this factory had little to do with Orville but construction of it was begun before he died. And it was a continuation of his legacy. It's a tangent, but just felt compelled to share.

[Litterick]

A shipment of Gibson stringed instruments at the port in Auckland, New Zealand.

[GuyBoden]

Yes definitely.

Here is (according to Gruhn at the time of this link) the earliest guitar and the earliest Orville guitar with a dated label.
Featured Inventory Archives 1999-2012 | Gruhn Guitars

I'm about an hour north of Kalamazoo. The old factory (Heritage) is very nearby the Bells Brewery Cafe. I've been there a few times and sat in my car outside of the old Gibson dock and daydreamed about all the guitars that left there to be shipped all over the world, to make musical history. I wanted to get this pic before the last of the GIBSON chimney was gone. I realize this factory had little to do with Orville but construction of it was begun before he died. And it was a continuation of his legacy. It's a tangent, but just felt compelled to share.

Many thanks for a great photo and the link to Orville Gibson's earliest known instrument.

Thanks for the link below.
Below: 'This Orville Gibson guitar (inv. #AG4749) dates it to 1897, making it not only the earliest Orville guitar but the earliest Orville-made instrument of any kind with a dated label.'
Featured Inventory Archives 1999-2012 | Gruhn Guitars