Designed for the 1933/4 Chicago World’s Fair, formally titled “A Century of Progress International Exposition” Gibson’s line of ‘Century of Progress’ models featured pearloid-clad fretboards and headstocks, sunburst finish over maple back and sides, and unique framed inlays. The L-Century is the most common Century model, but we use that term loosely. We’ve had a total of 7 of these through the store for sale over the last 15 years, and that’s likely more than any other shop in the world.

Unique among Gibson L-size flat-tops, the L-Century’s maple back and sides and celluloid-clad maple fretboard add mid-range clarity and punch to a 14-fret L, and early thinner-top versions like this one still have the open and dark bass end presence that the first 14 fret Ls are famous for.

This example is a wonderful sounding guitar. It offers excellent definition and note separation, warmth in the bass, and rounded, meaty clarity in the trebles. It’s slightly more fundamentally pure than a comparable L-1 or L-00 but offers lovely overtones and a touch of smokiness when you lighten your attack.

With the exception of a single 2” side crack, this L-Century is crack-free. The frets, aged bone saddle and bridge pins were installed in our shop; everything else is original. The bracing and bridge plate are in excellent condition with only a few cleanly reglued brace ends. Original full-height bridge, original tuners, and the original nut has been shimmed for correct 1st fret action. The neck was reset before arriving at our store; there is finish damage on the heel from the steam used in disassembly. While it’s there and obvious upon inspection, the finish damage is easy to miss from three feet away.

We’ve set the guitar up with 12-54 strings and an action of 5-7 64ths. The saddle is full-height, allowing a lower fingerstyle setup if desired.

Rounded V neck carve with a 1st fret depth of .888”. 1-3/4” nut, 2-3/8” string spread at the saddle, 24.75” scale.

With modern hardshell case.