The ES-300 was introduced in 1940 as the top-of-the-line model in Gibson's electric archtop range, and went through a number of design changes in its early years, notably the loss of the massive lap-steel style pickup that the guitar originally came with in favor of the much more common (and much loved) "dogear" P90.
As Gibson's head honcho electric archtop model, this guitar came with a range of luxurious features. Its body width was a generous 17" with an "Advanced" design (bigger than the previous 16"), and the construction utilized top-quality spruce for the tops and gorgeous curly maple for the backs, sides, and neck. Gibson's skilled artisans hand-carved both the top and back, as they'd been doing since the days of Orville Gibson. The neck was bound and adorned with double parallelogram inlays, while the headstock featured a pearl script logo. The nut width is 1 11/16th, and the scale is 25.5", longer than most Gibsons.
Notably, the ES-300 introduced the crown peghead to Gibson instruments, although certain variations had a modified split-diamond inlay instead. The pickguards were bound, hardware was nickel-plated, and the bridges were made of rosewood. Both the top and back were triple-bound, and customers had the option to choose between sunburst and natural finishes.
This example, most likely from 1946 based on the logo, is in a beautiful sunburst finish, with a nice coating of checked finish that feels right in line with an instrument from just after the war. The guitar itself is all original minus the tuners (period accurate replacements) and the tailpiece base, which was taken from another archtop of the time period and spliced into the original.
This guitar has no visible serial, and comes with a period correct (likely original) Lifton case with pink interior.
