Silvertone Aristocrat 1356 Hollow Body Electric Guitar, made by Kay (1952), black tolex hard shell case.

Silvertone Aristocrat 1356 Model Hollow Body Electric Guitar, made by Kay (1952), made in Chicago, red sunburst lacquer finish, spruce top, maple back and sides, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case. This very flashy full-body cutaway electric archtop was one of Sears' very earliest higher-end electric offerings, built for them (as were most in this era) in Chicago by Kay. With a huge cutaway cherry sunburst body decked out with wide top, back, and side binding, topped off with an engraved and painted Celluloid pickguard and headpiece, this guitar makes quite the visual statement. The HUGE chunky neck sports fancy shaped abalone and plastic inlay in the bound rosewood fingerboard. The single pickup is encased in a metal cover and controlled by small cream tone and volume knobs mounted on the lower rim. Obviously not intended for the subtle-minded, this is a quite flashy and imposing guitar, especially when introduced in 1952 for a very reasonable $99.95 list price. Blessed with instant blues-approved street cred, The Aristocrat 1356 is also one of the better Kay instruments of the period, very good sounding compared to many of the Silvertone offerings than-and since! "Want to be more Popular? Play an electric guitar" ran the 1954 Sears blurb for this model, and we can hardly argue with that!Overall length is 42 in. (106.7 cm.), 17 in. (43.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 3/4 in. (654 mm.). This guitar is super clean overall, with very little wear anywhere. Complete and all original with just a strap button added to the heel. The finish shows almost no fade and is resplendent in its bright cherry-to-yellow sunburst hue. The only notable playwear is just some lacquer worn off the sides of the neck around first position and light finish scrapes, checking, and dings. The original tuner buttons are shrinking just a bit but are still fully functional. This is a good player (for a Kay-the neckset os solid at least) with a fairly rip-roaring sound to complement its singular looks. Includes a modern HSC. Excellent + Condition.