Broadway s/n 5319 : pictures

The museum purchased the Broadway s/n 5319 May 2012 online from Robert S. Lee, Lafayette, New York. Before that it was offered for sale on ebay by Kirk Sales, 6th Avenue, Portland, OR. No further history known.

Robert wrote us: “Peter Kohman helped me pack it, and he was marveling at the design again.  The top is very flat by design, and seems to be supported by very unusual and big braces.  I asked Peter if it was possible that the neck had been reset and over-set to that angle and he said definitely not — the size of the heel dictates the fit, and to reset it at that angle, they would have had to remove so much material from the heel, and it’s clearly un-alterred.  It also sounds better than I remembered, though a couple frets will need attention before you can really play it.  With the flatness of the top and the height of the bridge, there’s a very unusual feeling to playing it.  Peter said “There’s definitely a story behind this guitar, it was done this way for a reason, but anybody who can tell us that reason is dead.”

In 2018 the instrument has been in the workshop of Dutch luthier Hans de Louter for inspection and repair. See pictures January 2018