Beneath is a general history of Gibson
guitars and below that is a current listing of any
auctions of Gibson guitars on ebay that are not finalized. When
you click on any of the auction links you will find the
ebay site opens in a new window. So you can continue to
browse this page of Gibson guitars on ebay while you look
for more detail on the Gibson guitars on eBay's site.
Gibson Company founder, Orville Gibson made mandolins in
Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the late 1890s. He invented archtop
guitars by using the same type of carved, arched tops in
guitars. Orville Gibson's mandolin design, with its
single-pieced carved sides and a single-pieced neck, was
patented in 1898; it would be the only innovation he actually
patented.
During the 1920s the Gibson company was responsible for many
innovations in guitar and mandolin design. By the 1930s, the
company was making flattop acoustic guitars, as well as the
first commercially available hollow-body electric guitars. In
1936 they introduced their first "Electric Spanish" model, the
ES-150, which is generally recognized as being the first
commercially successful electric guitar.
In the early 1950s, as a result of the strong sales of the
Fender Telecaster, Gibson introduced its first solid-body
electric guitar and its most popular guitar to date—the Les
Paul. The Les Paul was released in 1952. The late 1950s saw the
introduction of the "humbucker" pickup, as well as a number of
innovative new designs, including the eccentrically-shaped
Explorer and Flying V and the semi-hollowbody ES-335.
In 1961, the body design of the Les Paul was changed, due to
the demand for a double-cutaway body design. Les Paul did not
care for the new body style and let his endorsement lapse.The
new body design became known as the SG (for "solid
guitar"). The Les Paul returned to the Gibson catalogue in 1968
due to the influence of players such as Keith Richards, Eric
Clapton and Peter Green.
After being bought by the Norlin corporation in the late
1960s Gibson's quality and fortunes took a steep decline until
early 1986, when the company was rescued by its present owners.
Between 1974 and 1984 production of Gibson guitars was shifted
from Kalamazoo to Nashville, Tennessee. Currently, Juszkiewicz
stands as CEO and Berryman as president of the company. Gibson
Guitar company stock is not publicly traded on a stock
exchange.
In 1994, Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz farsightedly
established relationships with environmentally aware
operations. In 1998, Gibson released a new line consisted
of six guitars featuring tops fashioned from unusual, "smartly"
harvested tropical woods. Each guitar listed for $1299 new, and
philanthropically, Gibson donates a portion of the profits from
the Les Paul SmartWood Exotics guitar sales to the Rainforest
Alliance.
Following is a listing of current auctions of gibson guitars
on ebay
