1910 Gibson Model U Harp Guitar
Maker
Gibson
(American, founded 1902)
Date1910
ClassificationsMusic
Description1910 Gibson Model U Harp Guitar, serial number V8821, in ebony finish. In hardshell case. The guitar includes ten sub-bass strings and six strings in standard guitar tuning, along with a spruce top and birch body. Gibson produced the U Harp guitar between 1902 and 1927. It served as the ancestral forerunner to the double-neck guitars that came nearly 50 years later. Gibson’s harp guitar features an archtop body, which was a Gibson advancement that allowed the body to resonate more than the traditional flattop style. The harp guitar served as a complimentary instrument to the mandolin, the most popular instrument in popular music at the time of the harp guitar’s creation. Its popularity waned by the 1920s as music tastes changed.
