Gibson ES-140 Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1953), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # Y3501-81, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, brown alligator chipboard case. The diminutive ES-140 is an extremely cool little Gibson creation and a surprisingly great-sounding guitar. The small 3/4 size ES-140 electric archtop was offered through much of the 1950s, described by Gibson as perfect for students, "ladies," or just guitarists desiring a compact fully hollow archtop. This one shows only light signs of use and remains in superb original condition. Looking deceptively almost like a toy ES-175, the ES-140 is in fact a fully professional quality instrument with a great-feeling round profile neck, single P-90 pickup and simple but classic Gibson appointments. With a smaller body cavity, the tone is a bit brighter and snappier than the typical ES-175. This 1953 ES-140 -- one of 409 shipped that peak production year -- plays beautifully and has an amazingly big honking tone for such a small instrument -- we think it sounds better than many full-sized archtops!Overall length is 36 1/2 in. (92.7 cm.), 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 23 in. (584 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.). This guitar shows only very light playwear and remains a super nice playing example. The all original dark sunburst lacquer finish is very clean overall showing only some light checking and very tiny chips, scuffs and dings. There is one lamination check on the back near the lower waist that does not go through the wood past the surface. There are no noticeable repairs. The Kluson Deluxe tuners are original with newer buttons; all other hardware remains original with some light wear to the nickel plating. This example has a very good neck angle and shows only very light wear to the original frets. This is a super cool little Gibson; light, incredibly handy and great fun to play. It lives in a slightly oversize period brown Gibson alligator chipboard case intended for an LG flat top; this ES-140 appears to have been in it since new and two old Xeroxes of the original Gibson ads for this model are included. Overall Excellent Condition.