Epiphone Ritz

Ritz : serialnumbers

Wiedler wrote us July 2015: “The Ritz was first mentioned in the “New prices” list of October 10, 1940 as a “new model” see picture and listed as “temporarily discontinued” in 1946 and never listed with a price again. It was last mentioned in the March 1948 price list see picture. Production obviously never resumed after the war – latest SN in registry is from c. 1944.” See also Wiedler : The first Ritz

Sound sample Ritz Dave Richard

The model was unique among Epiphone instruments because it was available only in a blonde finish and had a tortoiseshell celluloid binding front and back. The 1941 catalog states:

According to Wiedler Epiphone produced from 1940-’44 around 550 Ritzes of which now 41 examples have been registered.