Gibson Army & Navy Special Model GY 1918-1921

Here we have an amazing piece of history. Circa 1920s. A real survivor. It's the Gibson made Army & Navy Special Model GY flat top. Very rare instrument. Made for servicemen in WWI. Made 1918-1921. Similar to a Gibson L-1 of Robert Johnson fame. These guitars have a large v-neck. The typical Gibson logo was never added to the headstock of these guitars, but the label inside the sound hole is pretty amazing. This is a beefy huge neck. A "manly" neck to assure it would make it thru the war. No truss rod in here and it is straight with ebony finger board. Unsure top/back/side woods...maybe birch? The finish is mostly original with maybe a bit of overspray in it's long life. Repro tuners on there.

It just had a full service here in Seattle where it was refretted and all body cracks and bracing was glued and stabilized. This thing is built like a Sherman tank. Will last another 💯 yrs.

She has seen a rough road and maybe some war trenches but it survives today and playing as well as it can. Some repaired back and top cracks. Everything is stable and repaired.

It has a nice "old time" parlor feel and would sound great with a slide on the lap or Spanish style. It has a very unique tone. Fingerpicks well and hit it with a pick it's loud and punchy similar to Martin 0-15. The action is low at 1st fret at 2/64 all the way till about 12th fret at 9/64. Great for slide or where the money is made (position I). This is largely because of the flat neck angle of these early guitars. The bridge could go down a little but have to balance break angle on the tailpiece.

Jack White plays one and was featured on Jimmy Fallon with one. Search YouTube for that one. Below is another video of him playing it as well, in France. Sounds great! I am sure it records well.

On Fallon Jack says: "It's a beautiful thing I picked up. It's called an Army Navy Special, they made in World War I for soldiers to have on Army bases and in trenches but by the time they finished making them the war was over."

Ships in a thrashed period correct chipboard case.

This thing just had alot of work into it and have well more than I am asking....let's make a deal. It could benefit from a neck set some day to make the neck angle less flat but alas it is original and is straight the way it is.