Guitar
Maker
Gibson, Inc.
Maker
Gibson
Date1944
Place MadeKalamazoo, Michigan, United States, North America
ModelSoutherner Jumbo (SJ)
Serial No.901 25
SignedGold decal on headstock: GibsonBlack and gold decal on headstock, lettering black on gold banner: ONLY A GIBSON IS GOOD ENOUGH
MarkingsRubber-stamped in purple ink on neck block, the number “25” written in red pencil: 910 25
DescriptionThe Southerner Jumbo, or SJ, was Gibson’s replacement for the Jumbo "55" model in 1944. A very limited number of pre-War instruments with Factory Order Number 910 had rosewood backs and ribs, which on later SJs were made of mahogany. The SJ also had fancier trim than the preceding J-55, with multi-ply, celluloid binding trim, rosette inlay, and a celluloid heel cap. NMM 10867 also features a golden banner decal on the peghead, ONLY A GIBSON IS GOOD ENOUGH. This slogan was used on decals between 1944 and 1946, when it was abandoned because of a rather aggressive Epiphone ad campaign that touted its instruments for "When Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough."
Stringing: six steel strings
Soundboard: two-piece spruce: wide grain narrowing toward the flanks
Back: two-piece rosewood; no back stripe
Ribs: two-piece rosewood; no end graft; reinforced on interior with linen strips
Head: mahogany; face finished in black lacquer; bell-shaped black celluloid truss rod cover secured with nickel-plated steel slot-head screws
Neck: mahogany; integral with head; hole in treble side of neck heel from strap button, now removed
Heel cap: white celluloid with two ply (black-white) celluloid trim
Binding: white celluloid; six ply (alternating black and white) celluloid purfling trim on top; four ply (alternating black and white) celluloid purfling trim on back
Fingerboard: rosewood; 19 nickel-silver frets; mother-of-pearl split block inlays behind 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 17th frets; white celluloid side dots behind 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 17th frets
Nut: bone
Bridge: rosewood with curved lower edge; mother-of-pearl dots inlaid on each side of bridge pins; angled bone saddle; white celluloid bridge pins
Tuners: two sets of chrome-plated steel worm-gear machine tuners with brass-plated steel mechanisms; white celluloid heads
Endpin: white celluloid
Rosette: seven ply (alternating black and white) celluloid purfling strip set in from inside edge, with additional three-ply strip on outside, with natural wood in between
Pick guard: imitation tortoise-shell celluloid (tear-drop shape)
Lacquer: dark red-brown sunburst with fine craquelure
Linings: kerfed maple
Neck block: mahogany; beveled edges
End block: mahogany
Top braces: spruce X-brace, the joint of main cross brace reinforced with white cloth; transverse and finger braces with tapered ends; maple bridge plate
Back braces: spruce back graft; four spruce back braces with tapered ends
DimensionsTotal guitar length: 1026 mm (40-3/8″)
Back length: 514 mm (20-1/4″)
Upper bout width: 292 mm (11-1/2″)
Waist width: 271 mm (10-21/32″)
Lower bout width: 407 mm (16″)
Rib height (including edging) at heel: 98 mm (4-7/8″)
Rib height, at waist: 107 mm (4-3/16″)
Rib height, at end block: 125 mm (4-15/16″)
Head length: 171 mm (6-23/32″)
Head width, top: 75 mm (2-31/32″)
Head width, bottom: 65 mm (2-9/16″)
Neck length (nut to ribs): 349 mm (13-3/4″)
Neck width, nut: 42 mm (1-23/32″)
Neck width, heel: 55 mm (2-5/32″)
Soundhole diameter: 102 mm (4″)
Vibrating string length (nut to bridge edge): high E: 632 mm (24-7/8″); low E: 635 mm (25″)
Published References“Museum’s Guitars Featured on Show,” Yankton Press and Dakotan (June 1, 2006).
David Lias, “Garrison Keillor Revisits Vermillion,” Yankton Press and Dakotan (June 1, 2006).
James Westbrook and Ted Fuller, The Complete Illustrated Book of the Acoustic Guitar (Wigston, UK: Lorenz Books, 2012), p. 218.
Credit LineJohn R. Barmeyer Collection, 2005
Object number10867
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