This 848 has a mahogany neck, ebony nut, and 18-fret fingerboard (25 3/4″ scale) with 12 frets clear of the body. While Weymanns typically had slotted pegheads and three-on-a-strip side-mount tuners, the 848’s solid peghead and banjo tuners offered “…neater construction, and a far more attractive appearance.” The back served the practical function of hosting the Weymann logo and die-stamped serial and model numbers. And while most Spanish-style Weymanns had rectangular pin-type bridges, the 648, 748, and 848 were given a fixed Brazilian-rosewood bridge with a straight saddle made from fine fret wire strings pass through holes at the rear and terminate in a trapeze-style tailpiece that rests directly on the top. Made in 1928, it has an Auditorium-size (14 1/2″) flat-top body meant to be played Spanish-style, and in many ways resembles Weymann’s smaller 648 and 748 concert models, both of which were Hawaiian-style guitars with spruce tops, f-shaped sound holes, ladder bracing, and mahogany back and sides. They’re generally very lightweight, with a sharper peghead angle than most guitars of the period, and produce a unique tone. Weymann’s greatest commercial success came via banjo sales, but its Jimmie Rodgers Special guitar proved fairly popular.īeginning circa 1900, Weymann guitars were given serial numbers, and those produced after 1910 have their model name/number and serial number die-stamped on the end of the peghead. Their Keystone State brand can be traced to at least 1894, and while some of their fretted instruments were built in-house, others were produced by Stewart, Regal, and Vega.

The earliest evidence of Weymann’s in-house instrument manufacture dates to the early 1890s, after control of the company was turned over to Henry’s son, Harry W. He soon began to stock accordions, harmonicas, sheet music, and violin strings as with most immigrant shop owners, most of his stock came from his home country. Twelve years later, he started a business selling clocks, jewelry, and other small goods. Heinrich “Henry” Arnold Weymann (1829-’92) arrived in Philadelphia from Germany in 1852. made, imported, and sold marching band, orchestral, percussion, and other instruments through its own mail-order catalog.

The sound holes may reflect a response to Gibson designs of the period. The 848 was meant for Spanish-style playing, but its straight saddle was used on Weymann’s Hawaiian models.

Vintage guitar serial tags