1906 Gibson A4? in pieces - Frank info would be most welcome.

[Mike Keen]

I recently bought a 1906 Gibson 5655 in London England which had been dropped. Frank according to the archive I think you might have seen this before - any info on it's history very welcome.

 I was just going to repair the neck but further examination showed that the tailblock was loose, that the glue was fragile, with seam separation, and there were a couple of small cracks to deal with. Also there was white plaster splashed on the inside. I decided to take it completely apart and am going to clean and repair (keep as much of the original finish as possible).

I thought I'd post an unusual before (looks like it's complete but was in 3 bits), and after (in pieces) pictures. You will see that the pickguard is a very unusual design (no others like in in the archive). The peghead has been expertly repaired in the distant past and the inlay on it is not original.

Will post on my progress later.

[Frank Ford]

Don't recall seeing that one. Many of the numbers I submitted to Dan for the archive were from listings I'd seen on eBay and other sources.

Looks like it was the recipient of a new peghead inlay, overlay or something like that. I think the A-4 of that period had a fleur-de-lis inlay rather than the flowerpot.

[Mike Keen]

Thanks Frank. The peghead has been repaired at some point and the flowerpot veneer cut in.

Cheers Mike