1939-40 National New Yorker Lap Steel

The 1939 National New Yorker is a beautiful example of pre-war American electric guitar design. With its dramatic Art Deco styling, black-and-white striped body, distinctive fretboard and early electric pickup technology, it is both a playable vintage instrument and a collectible piece of musical history.

What makes this 1939/40 version especially interesting is that it represents a transitional stage in the New Yorker’s development: National had moved away from the earliest three-pickup configuration to a simpler design built around a single string thru pickup and a variable tone selector.

The New Yorker emerged from National's early Electric Hawaiian designs. Its development is generally traced to the mid-1930s, with the New Yorker name becoming established around 1937. The design is associated with Victor Smith and the Art Deco aesthetic of the period. The guitar's appearance is one of its greatest attractions with the angular outline, and black and white stripes, giving it the distinctive Art Deco character. This example has the shield style National headstock logo and parallelogram-shaped markers typical of the 1939 construction.

The guitar is in great condition still featuring its original tuners and original Lifton hard case. It is missing its metal handrest and the cover plate for the tone selector looks to have been replaced as it is missing the usual script for the three-position “Hawaiian–Chimes–Harp” selector. Additionally, the jack has been changed to a more traditional ¼” jack point.

Shipping within mainland UK using fully insured 24-hour courier service @ £35.00.

Shipping to US/Canada, using UPS, is £185.00. Shipping to EU is £65.00

Customers outside of UK/EU/US/Canada should contact Vintage Rare & Retro Guitars for a shipping quotation. Free pick-up is always available at our Gullane shop.