Gibson made Henry L Mason CW-5 / 1936-39 / Ultra Rare Carved Top!

You’ve never seen one of these before and you may never see one again.  This is a Henry L Mason CW-5, made by Gibson, somewhere between 1936 and 1939, and one of only 25 CW-5’s ever made.  That is about as rare as you can get for a production model guitar.  This guitar is so rare that there are no photos of one, anywhere on the internet other than right here.  It is in Excellent condition and set up beautifully.  If you are a Gibson collector or an arch top fan, this is certainly one to add to your collection.  You’ll probably never see another.

Like Harmony, Gibson survived the Great Depression in large part by making guitars under many different brand names, for many different department stores, catalog retailers, and small Mom and Pop shops.  

The Henry L Mason line was made for Coast Wholesale, a musical instrument store located in coastal California.  There were two arch top models, the CW-4 and the CW-5.  The CW-4 was a press top archtop, with X-Bracing and Mahogany Back and Sides.  The fretboard had a center stripe inlay and conventional dot markers, and the headstock logo was a painted stencil.  This was the lower end model, and only 250 of them were made.  The CW-5, on the other hand, featured a carved top, traditional parallel tone-bar bracing, and Flame Maple Back and Sides.  The inlaid center stripe on the fretboard was flanked with triangular markers and the headstock logo was inlaid.  The guitar for sale here is the CW-5 and, as mentioned above, only 25 of these guitars were ever produced.

Here are the Specs:

Top: Carved Spruce with Parallel Tone Bar Bracing

Back and Sides: Flamed Maple

Neck: Mahogany with a Deep V Profile and Grover Tuners

Fretboard: Brazilian Rosewood

Bridge: Brazilian Rosewood

Lower Bout: 16”

Upper Bout: 11 1/2”

Body Depth: 3 1/2”

Nut: 1 13/16”

String Spacing at Bridge: 2 1/8”

Action at 12th Fret: Low E 5/64”, High E 1/16”

Scale: 24 3/4”

This guitar came to us in remarkable condition for a ninety year old instrument, a testament to the build quality of Gibson archtops.  In the shop, we did little more than clean it thoroughly, lubricate the tuners, lightly level and crown some of the frets, string it and set it up.  She’s ready to go!  We’ve strung her with a set of D’Addario Chromes (.011-.050) and procured a Gator Transit Hybrid Case for travel.

This is an absolutely delightful guitar to play!  The V profile neck is entirely comfortable, the action is quick, the neck is dead straight, and the voice is rich and well balanced.  The Maple imparts a certain crispness to the attack, and, as looks go, we think she’s a stunner!

Please be sure to check out the photos carefully and zoom in for greater detail.  There is some finish crazing, as one would expect on a 90 year old guitar, and a few small nicks and dings.  But there are no cracks, splits or open seams, and everything, with the possible exception of the pickguard, is original.

There is no apparent serial number or FON.

This Henry L Mason CW-5 is sold AS IS and is not returnable, unless it arrives in a condition other than as described or photographed, here.

Price: $4200.00 plus $145 shipping (Lower 48 USA, only)