1935 Roundup Supertone Gene Autry Acoustic Guitar with Original Case Worldwide Shipping

Hello and thank you for your interest in this beautiful guitar. A little bit about myself. I've been selling high end guitars and stereo components since 1999 on eBay (please look at my 100% perfect feedback under my eBay name Musictherapy) as a way to put myself through graduate school. Fast forward to this year, it felt like the right time to start selling some of my collection. Just last week, I kept up with my New Year's resolution and listed this guitar, a 2001 Martin D17 and a pair of Klipsch Heresy speakers. The high bidders on both the Martin D17 and Klipsch Heresy speakers (just hours after the auction were completed) decided to cancel their bids and not move forward with their purchase. Wowza! I guess the idea of auctions on eBay has changed quite a bit since I first started selling, so I decided to give Reverb a try, and here we are.

I love music and truly believe it has the power to heal.  Hence what I do as a profession, and this advocacy is conveyed in what I am most passionate about - I became a therapist who uses music to help others. I am also a composer, and believe that the quality of the guitar is not only in how it looks, but also in how it sounds and plays.  That’s why I added a video on YouTube to show viewers how incredibly special this guitar sounds. It is a difficult thing to part with any of my guitars as I have developed strong connections with them, but at this certain point in my life, I have come to realize that others should enjoy them as well.  Needless to say, I have taken great enjoyment in maintaining and displaying them for their uniqueness and sometimes rarity.  As music should be shared and appreciated by all, I reopened my International business account through DHL to ensure that Worldwide International Bidders can also bid with confidence and purchase my collections with the best shipping rates possible.  

You are bidding on a circa 1935 Gene Autry Roundup Guitar, that comes with the original case, a rarity onto itself.  It has been played in the past, and recently the strings were removed.  It mostly sat on display, and it was a great conversation piece.  These guitars have become highly collectable, and some suggest leaving them unrestored (yes, even with the tic tac toe on the top), which makes it all the more interesting, as children often destroyed these guitars and few survived.  There are a few cracks on the back, but the integrity of the guitar is still very much present.  It was loved and played as these guitars were often the enjoyment of family gatherings.  This guitar was passed down through the generations of a single family, and I am the second owner.  Most of these guitars undergo full restoration to bring them back to their original shape.  Of great interest is the original case, which although does demonstrate considerable usage, it is still intact.  Please see the detail of the pictures taken, as a way to gauge the current condition.  Both the guitar and case will be packed with the utmost care to ensure it arrives safely to the new owner.

The flat rate shipping cost of $150 is for United States bidders only. Worldwide bidders will be provided with different rates depending on the final shipping destination. Additional tariffs might apply, depending on the Country where the guitar is being delivered.

I found the following information online:

        Roundup  — The earliest iteration was a 12¾-inch wide flat-top with mahogany body, spruce top and 12-fret mahogany neck. Made from fall of 1932 to fall of 1933,the first Roundup (different spelling than 1939 – 1941 model)was a decent instrument that sold for $9.75 (without case, which was available for $1.20 more). According to the catalog copy, the spruce top was graced with a “striking western ranch scene” and “a reproduction of Gene Autry’s signature."

In 1934 the Roundup was produced with a larger (13-in. wide) birch body and lower price of $8.25. A year later the spruce top took on several color tones and the body width grew to 14 inches to accommodate a longer-scale neck with 14 frets clear of the body.

In the 1930s the Harmony company of Chicago cashed in on the popularity of singing cowboy entertainers by marketing cheap guitars with stenciled or decaled western scenes. Gene Autry was the first and most successful of these guitar-playing cowboys.

A Texas native and former telegraph operator, he was a member of the WLS National Barn Dance show in 1932 when he had his first big hit, ‘That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine’. Two years later he starred in his first film, The Phantom Empire, which combined western and science fiction themes.

The giant Sears Roebuck catalog company owned WLS – the call letters stood for World’s Largest Store – as well as Harmony. The company created it’s first themed guitar in 1929 for hillbilly singer and WLS star Bradley Kinkaid.

The Gene Autry Roundup, introduced in 1932, featured a generic lariat-swinging cowboy figure and a coveted wagon. It opened the floodgates for numerous cowboy guitars. The Roundup lasted until 1938 when it was replaced with the Gene Autry Melody Ranch model.