Extraordinarily rare, "Pre-Banner" early Gibson J-45 model, produced just prior to the second World War amidst supply shortages, which caused the scaling back of Gibson's offerings & specifications in 1943. Combining knowledge gleamed from the development of the preceding transitional Jumbo, and J-35 models, the Jumbo 45 in this early iteration boasts a Thirties-esque solid mahogany neck, with adjustable truss rod construction, with double-traversed, x-braced top, rectangular rosewood bridge with dual pins, original teardrop pickguard, tapered peghead shape, and large gold silkscreen logo. No FON present, it certainly is an interesting and particularly unique example.

The fully bound slope shoulder body has mahogany back and sides, two-piece straight grained spruce top, with rectangular rosewood bridge. Externally, one will notice this example has a very nice burst compared to many Gibsons more typical typical tighter burst. This original finish is in good condition for its age, with expected checking throughout, and standard nicks and dings present. A small pickguard crack that does not penetrate the top is present near its pickguard. The kerfing and internal braces are all in tact in good shape, notably with a nice maple bridge plate that appears original. Very subtle binding shrinkage is present with only one separation present in the back side waist. Two parallel finish cracks are present in the treble side waist, which do not appear to penetrate the wood deeper than the surface. A longer crack is present in the back that has been sealed and cleated behind its last ladder brace.

It is constructed with a 24.9" scale length, again with a mahogany neck with a dark rosewood fingerboard - and featuring an original truss rod in functional condition with no threading protruding its nut. Original open geared plate tuners function as they should, albeit with (very) shrunken buttons. The finish, again as expected is well checked with some smaller chips missing along its fingerboard edge. The original nut is present, with a wider 1 13/16" width. It appears to retain its original frets, which are in good condition with some wear mostly at its treble strings around the cowboy chord zone. The neck profile measures about .95" at the first fret, tapering up to about 1.1" at the eleventh fret (before the curvature of the heel). It does not appear to have had a neck reset in its past, nor does it really need one, albeit with its original saddle having been taken down. It plays well with even low action that measures about 5-6/64" in height at the twelfth fret.

This heavy hitter could be a jewel amongst any flat top collection, both sonically and certainly in rarity.
Includes modern hardshell case.