PRE-WORLD WAR II HOFNER ARCHTOP GUITAR

PHOTOS COURTESY OF STEFAN LOB OF THE SCHLAGGITARREN WEBSITE, GERMANY:

The only Hofner logo on this guitar is stamped into the body top just below the bridge. Most Hofner archtops made after WWII had exactly the same feature until about 1956/57.

Decoration around the two soundholes, carved into the solid spruce top.

The lack of body binding is apparent from this photograph. The neck heel construction is similar to the archtops made after Hofner set up production again in 1951.

Just nails to hold the tailpiece on.

A five-piece neck, again similar in many ways to the post 1951 Hofner archtops. Those tuners look to be the originals to me.

The headstock on the right is the post-war Hofner archtop. The one on the left is a 1950's/60's Hofner mandolin. Note the similarity in the design of the carving.

Stefan Lob, who kindly supplied the above photos of his very rare Hofner, runs his own website called Schlaggitarren. This features Stefan's large collection of vintage German-made guitars, quite a few of which are Hofners.

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