Kay Kay Kraft Venetian Style A Arch Top Acoustic Guitar, c. 1932, brown chipboard case.

Kay Kay Kraft Venetian Style A Model Arch Top Acoustic Guitar, c. 1932, made in Chicago, sunburst lacquer with stenciling finish, laminated mahogany body, spruce top; mahogany neck with ebonized maple fingerboard, brown chipboard case. This is a generally well-preserved example of Kay's signature early-'30s line of "Venetian Model" asymmetrical-bodied round hole arch-tops, carrying the "house" Kay Kraft brand name. This mahogany-bodied Style "A" guitar was the lowest priced of the three-guitar line, the original list price being $25.00 in 1931. These were quite successful at the time, although not too many survive in this good condition 90+ years along.The triple-bound sunburst top has elaborate stencil decoration typical of a number of Chicago-made instruments on the lower half over a shaded sunburst finish. The very-innovative-for-the-time bolt-on neck is adjustable for angle, secured by a huge wing nut on neck block. This system actually works for setting the action, although it was a rather short-lived feature. The dot-inlaid fingerboard is single bound and the white pearloid headstock is adorned with a gold-painted raised "Kay Kraft" logo and edging decoration. This one has the adjustable Bakelite bridge used briefly around 1932-3 and retains the oft-missing black single-layer pickguard. These early Kays are something of an oddball Depression-era classic, one of the early successes in a laminated-wood design and a snazzy one at that. They have a bright and barky sound, not particularly subtle but effective as fingerpicking guitars or in small combo situations. The Kay Kraft line equipped many cash-strapped players at the time with a decent guitar at a lower price than most, and are still a good value in a cool, authentic pre-WWII guitar.Overall length is 40 in. (101.6 cm.), 14 7/16 in. (36.7 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 9/16 in. (9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.). This is a nice original example, with some light play wear but no major damage or alterations. The finish has some general wear with checking overall and a random collection of dings, chips and scrapes. There are a couple of ply cracks and a few deep scratches, but no cracks to the instrument. All hardware is complete and original including oft-missing pieces like the Waverly strip tuners, Bakelite pickguard and cool adjustable molded bridge. The bridge has a small chip off the treble side base. The fingerboard binding has shrunk up somewhat with a few minor splits but is not flaking or crumbling. The neck is straighter than most of these, the frets are original with some minor wear and this is as good a player as we generally expect Kay Krafts to be, with a bigger, punchier sound than many. It includes an old but later period chipboard case. Overall Excellent - Condition.