The reputation of ladder bracing suffered because of its association with the later cheap Chicago-built guitars like the Stella branded Harmony.
The guitars in the 1920s and 1930s made builders like Oscar Schmidt and the Larson Brothers though were a whole different ballgame. The Schmidt guitars are particulalry coveted because of their association with Charley Patton, Barbecue Bob, Leadbelly, Blind Willie McTell, Bo Weavil Jackson, Blind Blake and a long list of others.
Here is the bracing in an Oscar Schmidt Stella.