restored 1929 SS Stewart Professional

[ssstewart]

looking for anyone that may have info on the pictured guitar i just restored. 1929 SS Stewart Professional Archtop. the older gentleman i bought in from said it was in his family since purchased by his great aunt. states it was made by Gibson. I know it could of been sold via B&J or chicago instrument co ?based on date, but unable to find any markings ( i even had to reset neck and no marks there or any visible from the f holes.) I know there were many makers for the SS Stewart brand: Gibson/harmony/regal/etc. im not sure where else to look. the label on headstock is identical to early ww1 models ( same labels used on the old stewart banjos of early 1900) any advise on where to look, ive exhausted most online opts and guitar stores in canada. the underside of top has no bracing (super sounding with no dead spots) very similar to the Loar designed L-5s in 23-24 before he left gibson and they went more mass produce quick/dirty. the birds eye maple and tortoise shell inlays indicate a very high end guitar, but im guessing now and have spent hundreds of hours researching to no avail...any info or input would be appreciated

[Doons]

I have no answers to your questions. I will simply say...WOW. Beautiful guitar. Wish you luck finding answers. I suspect there are folks here that can help you.

[ssstewart]

Originally Posted by Doons

I have no answers to your questions. I will simply say...WOW. Beautiful guitar. Wish you luck finding answers. I suspect there are folks here that can help you.

thanks Doons, appreciate the wow. spent over 100hrs restoring it, was in pieces, gouged faded dark brown. the neck even had the original dried out hide attached. all original except machine heads were worn out and the tortoise shell pickguard was toast, so made the one on it out of a $5 piece of wood and templated it with a nice swooping grain, to give it nice look. shop in toronto wanted $400.00 for a fake tortoise shell pickguard so the $5 substitute it was has tortoise shell inlays on all sides of body and neck. bought it for the birds eye maple body looks pretty. action is great now as well especially in dadf#ad with a slide, very robert johnsonish.

[ssstewart]

heres the headstock label before i restored it.

[bendingtens]

I am fairly certain that Gibson didn't make guitars for S.S. Stewart, and that Kay/ Harmony/Regal was more likely involved. There is a book called "The Other Brands of Gibson" that might spell things out.

[ssstewart]

thanks for replying, appreciated. i agree that they probably did not make this one, according to ken parker they did make guitars for ss stewart and via B&G, so i dunno and as per the other brands of gibson From 1926 through 1970, Gibson guitars made over 40 different brands and over 300 different models of instruments that didn't carry the Gibson name. The vast majority of the "budget brands" were made during The Great Depression. They include names like Bellson, B&S Barrington, Oriole, Cromwell, Kalamazoo, Ambassador, Capital, Carson Robison, Ray Whitley, Andy Sannella, Fascinator, Francis Day & Hunter, Grinnell, Hayden, Kel Kroydon, Martelle, Marshall Special, Henry L. Mason, Mastertone Special, Mitchell Brothers, Old Kraftsman (Spiegel), Montgomery Wards/Recording King, Reznick Radio Special, S.S. Stewart, Trujo & Truett, Washburn, and Werlein Leader. Gibson also supplied many guitar components for National/Valco.
having a heck of a time finding, waiting to hear back from 12th fret and fret.com after emailing them. appreciate your input though..all info is good and helps iin my journey

[Dadzmad]

SSStewart - boy did you do an excellent job - she looks great - a labor of love but this restoration is something to be proud of

[ssstewart]

Originally Posted by Dadzmad

SSStewart - boy did you do an excellent job - she looks great - a labor of love but this restoration is something to be proud of

thank you very much dad, appreciate that alot

[brent635]

It looks Harmony-built to me. There are some SS Stewart guitars listed on this page, though none that look as good as that one:
Harmony Database
But some of the others have similar f-hole styles.
That maple is just beautiful!

My baby, in progress

[ssstewart]

thanks very much Brent, appreciate the link to harmony database. thats the best lead on it ive gotten in a while, i agree it looks very much like the harmony builds.

btw yours is very very pretty, hope you enjoy yours as much as i do mine
Again, thank you very much for the lead and feedback

Cheers

[Scott Hodge]

Hi there! Very cool guitar! I think if you compare the neck profile with an R S Williams guitar like a Hensel Artist, you will find that the neck is identical but for it being on an archtop. I suspect as well that it will be 1930s as that is when Mr Hensel became their top luthier but I don't know the exact date so 1929 is possible certainly. Gibson only made a flat top folk model branded "S S Stewart". The name was sold to B&J (a distibutor/catalogue company in New York) in 1916 I think. Most "Stewart" guitars were made by Harmony, Kay, United... then a mixture of other companies. So far I have only been able to get a couple of photos of a 1940s "Stewart" branded archtop like yours made of bird's eye maple but it was later... it had a 1940s triangle decal. I operate a website where I share information about collecting catalogue guitars. https://mydirtyguitarhabit.com/s-s-s...banjeau-maker/

[ssstewart]

Hi Scott

thank you very much for the information appreciated. that website of yours is awesome!!! Best one ive seen for SS Stewart, a cornocopia of information. The RS Williams connection would seem to make most sense as the guitar would of originally been purchased by a Canadian as well. the older gentleman i bought it from in horrible condition still swears it was a gibson..but i beleive that may be false and merely repeating a story he had been told over and over by his Great Aunt who was the guitar owner originally in 29.
I still have yet to see any archtop of this age with such a beautiful birds eye top and back and curly sides. i have been guessing at the what the fretboard was with other luthier friends and we thought it was ebony as that was what the bridge (that i rebuilt) appeared to be, but maybe as i see from examples on your site it was braz rosewood. the label on mine is also peculiar and the only one ive seen close to it it the ones on the inside of flattop martin made stewarts but much larger and on paper, not a thick heavy embossed label like on mine. even when i shared it on archtop international, no one had any info to offer but were extremely impressed by the birdseye top and back as one of a kind (which it probably isnt, but i havent found anyone who has seen one close to it in its beauty for that era of archtops) thank you so much again for the info and the website, great stuff !!!!

[OldFrets]

OP's guitar was definitely made by Harmony. It has the standard Harmony body, headstock and f-hole shapes that were used in the first half of the 1930s (I agree 1929 is a bit too early).

[Scott Hodge]

Do you mind if I use your photos on my site in the future?

[ssstewart]

feel free scott, id be honored. heres a couple more pics