Weissenborn Style 1 Question

Chris Battis · Post by **Chris Battis** » 4 Feb 2011 9:52 am

I just located a crack-free Weissenborn Style 1 in EX- condition at a local auction house. I have more instruments now than I have time to play them, so I'd probably acquire it to trade or resell. If the bidding starts to go over $500, and given the state of the vintage market, can anyone offer a SWAG (scientific wild-ass guess) on what my upper limit should be? $1000?...

Chris

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 4 Feb 2011 10:07 am

I'd use Gbase as my guideline. See what various vintage dealers are asking for their instruments; subtract some percentage since you're a private party; calculate what you'd want to pay and still make a profit if that's what you're after.

Tony Francis · Post by **Tony Francis** » 4 Feb 2011 2:21 pm

Chris,

For a Weissenborn in Ex- condition, depending on what era it was made, you should expect to get $2000 - $2500+ on ebay, and you could get anywhere up to $3800 from a dealer / specialist, less their commission.

Chris Battis · Post by **Chris Battis** » 4 Feb 2011 4:26 pm

Thanks, gentlemen. This particular guitar appears to be a very early one, if the photo of Hermann W. on the label is any indication. I've been scrounging for information on the web and there seems to be some consensus about the scarcity of instruments with the paper label.

Chris

Tony Francis · Post by **Tony Francis** » 4 Feb 2011 5:04 pm

Chris,

Early Style 1s with the paper label are exceedingly rare. And while perhaps these are more of a collectors instrument than musicians tool, none the less are wonderful sounding guitars.

I recommend you try contacting George (Tom) Noe, for more information about this guitar. http://www.noeenterprises.com/

Chris Battis · Post by **Chris Battis** » 5 Feb 2011 11:59 am

Well, that was interesting--the bidding on the Weissenborn opened and closed with an absentee bid for $2300--way beyond my level of interest.

Chris

Robbie Lee · Post by **Robbie Lee** » 7 Feb 2011 8:27 am

It appears that you've all underestimated the price!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Weissenborn-Hawaiin ... 0193581258

good luck with that one

Chris Battis · Post by **Chris Battis** » 7 Feb 2011 11:51 am

Ha ha!!! That's the same one that got away from me yesterday! If I'd only known it was worth $25k I'd have bid higher

You ask me, the auction house figured out that funny-looking guitar was actually worth something and had one of their employees make a proxy bid.

Chris

Tony Francis · Post by **Tony Francis** » 7 Feb 2011 2:32 pm

Robbie Lee wrote:It appears that you've all underestimated the price!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Weissenborn-Hawaiin ... 0193581258

good luck with that one

Guitars like this are hard to put a figure on, although I think its safe to say that seller is optimistic. It is worth mentioning however, what we expect to pay for a Weissenborn is laughable compared to the equivalent period Martin or Gibson.

Several months back there was a deep body solid-neck Weissenborn, which sold for around the 6.5K figure on ebay. There are a few other paper label Weissenborn's like this, with details that are approximating the production models. Although perhaps as rare, im not sure the market would consider them as unique or desirable as the solid-necks, because the production models are a superior instrument.

I have no doubt the market will determine the price, at auction.

Ben Elder · Post by **Ben Elder** » 8 Feb 2011 1:44 am

Renoauctions is at best delusional. Grasping at spurious and/or outdated information and drawing misapprehensive conclusions from unverified and untested data. Perhaps the Folk Music Center (Ben Harper & family--friends of mine) had only seen a couple at one point, but that's hardly a comprehensive survey of all examples even extant. The info quoted on the .es (Spanish) website was gathered many years ago and is hardly the last word in comprehensive Weissdom.

The photo label Style 1, apart from the label itself, is very conventional, a transitional instrument between some older styles (thinner bodies, spruce/maple guitars, a different look owing to a different factory 1923 and earlier) and what has come to be regarded as "normal" Weissenborns. This one is pretty close to "normal."

Depending on condition and playability as it sits now, Renoauction's price is 8 to 10 times too high. Said by the ultimate Weissenborn admirer and possibly its most exhaustive researcher.

I don't know of ANY THREE Weissenborns--of any Style; Spanish, Hawaiian, tenor, plectrum or ukulele--ever that have sold for $25,000 COMBINED.

I've known of a picture label Style 1 for more than 20 years that I'm sure is not one of "the three." There are more picture Style 1s out there--even with the attrition of time--there have to be.

(But it's late and I'm not going to go tearing through my hundreds/thousands of photos just now, but I'm thinking I could find three or four.)