DESCRIPTION:
This short video was made to accompany a picture spread in Nightflying Magazine from February, 2014 and an article in Antique Trader Magazines from April, 2014.
The music is a loose interpretation of a song by Crosby, Stills and Nash called "Helplessly Hoping" and was played on a 1932 Gene Autry "Roundup" guitar.

Art Guitars - by Steve Evans

All of these guitars were made in the USA with the exception of the German-made Fasan brand guitar, which features a fascinating "Waterskiing Scene."
Most were produced in the 1930's and 1940's and all came from the manufacturer painted with attractive artwork. The art was applied either by stencil-painting or silk-screening. The Harmony Guitar Company preferred "stencil-painted" scenes, and their models typically have a slight over-spray. Kay and Regal used the "silk-screen" method, which gave more detail and sharper edges to the art.
The "Amateur Hour" and the "Big Band" scene guitars both have pick-shaped decals near the artwork. This gives a hint of the original owner's name because these decals show the initials of the owner, an option available when ordering a guitar from the Montgomery Ward or Spiegel catalogs (circa 1934 through 1942). If the original owner was a teenager when receiving the guitar, that person is now 90 - 95 years old.
In the 30's and 40's these guitars were referred to as "standard size," but today are considered more of a 3/4 size when compared to the modern big dreadnought guitars.
These guitars are on display at the Jacksonville Guitar Museum, 1105 Burman Drive in Jacksonville, Arkansas.

The fourteen guitars shown in this video:
#1.
1935 "Hawaiian Scene" guitar. Many different versions of Hawaiian scenes were produced, but this one is particularly fanciful with a girl in bell bottoms watching sailboats come and go. Note that the guitar's painted rosette is a ship's steering wheel.

#2
1932 "Black Knight" has a scene showing a group of minstrels serenading before a castle of olden days. This guitar was made by Harmony and sold through Sears under the Supertone brand name.

#3
1945 Harmony "Patriotic Scene" guitar painted in red, white and blue. This guitar has a WWII era "wooden" tailpiece because of restrictions on using metal for luxury items.

#4
1936 "Polo Scene" guitar as sold by Spiegel. Polo players in serious action with mallets swinging and horses galloping. Art guitars usually have a round sound hole, but this model came with Dobro style "f" holes.

#5
1934 "Hawaiian Scene" guitar shows a hula girl playing a ukulele. Details include tropical plants and a starfish washed up on the beach. When this guitar was purchased new, it came with an extension nut and steel slide bar for playing Hawaiian style music.

#6
1935 "Hillbilly Band Scene" guitar sold by Montgomery Ward. Scene painted in black and white shows five musicians playing their instruments: harmonica, fiddle, clarinet, guitar and accordion.

#7
1936 "Amateur Hour" sold by Spiegel. This scene depicts the radio broadcast of a talent show in progress with electronic signals beaming across the world. Note the original owner's initials "R. B."

#8
1949 "Cabin in the Woods Scene" made by Harmony in Chicago. Stencil-painted scene in orange and forest green shows a boy playing his guitar and girl nearby (probably singing) with cabin and mountains in background.

#9
1939 "Spirit of Rhythm" guitar made by Kay and sold through Spiegel. The art was painted in gold on a "plumwood finish" guitar and shows a big city skyline with continuous music and dancing throughout the night.

#10
Circa 1940's "Two Indians Scene" stencil guitar, made by Harmony and distributed by Bugeleisen & Jacobson of New York. Art Deco scene shows two Indians with headdresses and bows.

#11
1950's "Waterskiing Scene" shows a girl in bikini being pulled by ski boat. Stencil-painted art in white on a brown shaded birch guitar. Label inside sound hole reads, "FASAN, Josef B. Sholz, Wuppertal."

#12
Circa 1940 "Big Band Scene" guitar made by Kay Musical Instrument Company in Chicago. Wonderful scene of a girl in red dress gracefully dancing to the music of a band resembling the Artie Shaw Orchestra.

#13
Late 1930's "Hawaiian Scene" guitar with cream colored art silk-screened onto a chocolate brown guitar. Romantic moonlit scene shows a couple sitting on the beach.

#14
Late 1930's "Western Scene" shows a cowboy showing-off to a cowgirl. The silk-screened art includes plenty of detail with the cowboy wearing chaps, vest and neckerchief, and the girl with lace-up boots, lasso of her own, and holstered pistol.