c. 1940 S.S. Stewart 17.25" Professional Archtop Guitar- Buegeleisen & Jacobson - Natural Blonde - w/Case

For your consideration, a c. 1940 S.S. Stewart 17.25-inch Professional Archtop with a cool old tweed case. This is one of those guitars that is hard to appreciate fully until it is standing in front of you. It is big, bold, substantial, and absolutely stunning in person.

By this period, S.S. Stewart was a Buegeleisen & Jacobson brand rather than a single-builder operation, with B&J in New York sourcing instruments from outside manufacturers. We spent a fair amount of time trying to pin this one down, and while the exact factory remains uncertain, the construction, styling, and surviving comparisons place it comfortably in the early-1940s professional archtop world.

The guitar itself is a beauty. It has a spruce top, striking figured maple back, sides, and neck, a chunky substantial neck profile, and a great blonde finish with little splashes of orangish-red around the body. The tortoiseshell-looking celluloid binding ties the whole thing together. The headstock overlay is in excellent shape and is one of the coolest visual details on the guitar.

It remains all original. The body binding is crumbling in a few spots, which is not unusual at all for this type of old celluloid binding. The neck is straight, and while there is no adjustable truss rod, it simply does not need one. The frets have a ton of life left in them.

The neck has been reset, and whoever did the work got the math right. Action is low and comfortable, with room to come down further if desired. The bridge currently does not have adjustment thumbwheels, but those could easily be added if you wanted a little more adjustability.

Dimensions are substantial: approximately 17.25 inches across the lower bout, 3.5 inches deep, with a 1 5/8-inch nut width. It feels like a proper professional archtop in your hands and has the sound to match — dry, woody, punchy, and exactly what you want from a big period jazz box.

It is a blast to play, feels solid rather than fragile, and has real presence both visually and acoustically.

A cool old tweed case, possibly original, is included.

Available for a test drive in our Jamestown, Kentucky showroom, and we ship worldwide. Let us know if you have any questions.

Weight: 5lbs 2oz