In the pantheon of prewar Gibson archtops the L-4 had several iterations, starting out as an oval hole 16" guitar before going to a 16" round hole.  Finally, in 1935 as the L-7 trasitioned to a 17" Advanced model, the L-4 took its place as a 16" f-hole archtop.  That left the L-4 as the sole guitar in the lineup with the complete construction specs of the 16" L-5 (the L-50 was the only other model that came close) and it maintained the same decorative level of the 16" L-7.  Due to all of these transitions, the 1935 and later prewar L-4 is often overlooked as last torchbearer of the Lloyd Loar designed guitar.  Post-WW2 the L-4 would give up the raised, cantilevered fretboard extension, spelling the end for the classic pre-war design of the 16" Gibson archtop,  I don't have production numbers for the final years of the prewar L-4, but this is certainly among the last few runs of these made.  This particular example is among an even smaller number that were given the shell inlays that had previously been used on the top of the line Recording King guitar that Gibson made for Montgomery Ward.  This particular guitar shipped on November 3, 1939 to J.H. Troup Music House in Harrisburg, PA.
 
The guitar projects out in front very well with that great mid-range punch that characterizes the classic 16-inch Gibson.  Playability is great on the small frets which appear original. They have clearly been leveled and crowned at some point, but should have quite a bit of life left in them.  The neck has the V-shaped neck that had largely been phased out by this time, but still appeared on a few models that were mostly 16-inch guitars.
 
The overall condition of the guitar is very good for one that is over 80 years old.  There are no cracks or breaks.  There are a few minor finish blemishes, as shown, including a few spots of finish loss on the back of the neck, likely due to a guitar stand.  The binding is in great shape and the finish appears all original.  The vintage tuners work very well.  The rosewood bridge has room to adjust either up or down as the player prefers.  
 
Weight - 4.75 pounds
Nut width - 1.74 inches
1st fret depth - 1.00 inches
9th fret depth - 1.09 inches
Scale length - 24.75 inches
 
The guitar comes with a brand new Epiphone Joe Pass case that fits the guitar perfectly.
 
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