Gibson Flattops: 1942 through 1945
Beginning in the early
1940s, Gibson's "Only a Gibson is Good Enough" slogan moved from
the ad copy of Gibson's marketers, to the mouths of its artist
endorsers, on to the pages of Gibson's catalogs, and, by 1942,
it came to rest on the golden banners appearing on the headstocks
of Gibson's World War II guitars. There it would reside for four
short years, to disappear sometime in 1945, not again to be seen
until the Gibson Company produced reissues in the 1990s of the
guitars that many players and collectors contend represent Gibson's
zenith.
Our hope with this website is to provide and collect information
about Banner Gibsons. Most importantly, the Registry page may
fill the vacuum created by Gibson's failure to keep records during
the War years. By documenting Factory Order Numbers (FONs) and
identifiable characteristics of the Banner guitars, we might be
able to discover what makes "Good Enough" good enough.
Kalamazoo Gals:
A Story of the Extraordinary
Women and Gibson's 'Banner' Guitars of WWII
by John Thomas
(American History Press, 2013)