Gibson Electro Spanish-150, Prototype Batch (1936)

At the end of October, 1935, Gibson entered the electric guitar market
with the E-150, a cast aluminum electric Hawaiian. By the summer of
1936 the sales stuff was reposting to management that dealers were
expressing a need for an electric Spanish-style guitar. True to the
conservative nature of the company, and not yet confident the electric
market was anything more than a passing fad, Gibson assembled a
batch of ten test model electric Spanish guitar. The body was
basically that of the acoustic Gibson L-50. As was the practice for low-
cost models, all of the test models were painted black. This allowed
for the use of wood that was not cosmetically suited for the nicer
sunburst finish instruments. There must have been some immediate
discussions about the look of the new black $75 electric guitar not
living up the Gibson standards; before all but a few of the black
models left the factory, the new sunburst replacements were being
shipped.

This instruments, the 1058-9 B, is one of two known surviving
examples of the black 1058 B batch. The other, the 1058-8 B, has been
examined and, although of the same construction, it is cosmetically
different. This guitar has a bound fingerboard, back, and top and the
machine heads are plastic buttons instead of the upgraded metal
tuners. But what really sets this early example apart as an economy
instrument, is the Gibson logo stenciled in white paint on the front of
the peghead. The more traditional sunburst versions that follow have
the Gibson name inlaid in pearl.

On Loan from Lyan Wheeburight