Electar Lap Steel Electric Guitar

Epiphone

ca. 1937 · Maple, etched metal, rosewood, chrome · Musical Instruments

Epiphone Electar Model M Lap Steel Electric Guitar, serial # 1062, black lacquer finish, maple body and etched aluminum top. A very early lap steel guitar produced by Epiphone, supposedly designed by Epi Staphopolo, the founder. The Model M was the company's first steel string guitar and features a black wooden body with Art Deco ornamentation etched onto a metal overlay. The shape of the body is also stepped, another Art Deco feature. The horseshoe-magnet pickup is similar to Rickenbacker pickups of the same era. The fingerboard is made of rosewood and has colorful dot inlays. The fret lines are inlaid (not raised like on a traditional guitar). The nut and tailpiece/bridge are aluminum. The tuners arne individual Grovers with metal knobs. A metal plate pinned to the headstock reads: Epiphone Electar. This example bears a very low serial number and is one of the earliest Electar instruments produced.

Artist

Epiphone

Date

ca. 1937

Medium

Maple, etched metal, rosewood, chrome

Culture

American

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

Gift of Steve Uhrik, 2016