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 Early labels
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Lefty665 |
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Joined: December 2018 Posts: 38 Location: Richmond, VA | I've get several guitars with early paper labels and some anomalies that have led me to dig into the labels a little deeper. There is considerable label conversation over the years but if there was any place that consolidates it I have missed it. Here's what it looks like to me. I welcome conversation, corrections or refinements. There appear to be 3 variations on these labels. The first 2 are Bloomfield and New Hartford. The third is a simplified version of the New Hartford label that was used on guitars that got back to the factory for repairs or upgrades. The layout on the Bloomfield and New Hartford labels is the same, the location and print colors vary. The layout is Ovation printed on the upper left over a "fingerprint". Location is printed on the right. There are three fill in lines. They are labeled Model, Serial, Approved. Below that is Pat applied for. Color varies. On the Bloomfield labels the fingerprint is red, as are the line labels and lines. On the New Hartford labels the fingerprint is gray and the line labels and lines are black. Pat Applied for is black on both. The simplified label is the New Hartford label with the Approved and Patent Applied for lines removed. The Bloomfield labels have the model name pre printed in black, large, bold fancy font and serial number typed in. Earlier ones have the serial number typed in red ink and later ones in tend to be, although not invariably, in black. The low number guitars 006-319 were produced in Bloomfield and higher numbers at New Hartford. These are both 3 and 4 digit numbers. Pre printed model names were the original 4 models, Balladeer, Deluxe, Classic and Josh White. The New Hartford labels have model number and serial numbers typed in black ink. Some New Hartford labels have typed model names. The Approved line seems to have been rarely used on either label, and occasionally used for other information. One label where the Approved line was used was on the guitar built for Josh White. On another the model was pre printed Balladeer and on the Approved line was typed "12 string". The pre printed Bloomfield labels seem to have been used until they either A, ran out, B new models were added, or C were superseded by numeric model numbers. An example of B might be the pre printed Balladeer label with the typed in 12 string (model 5 introduced in January 1968), that made the need for new blank labels clear. It seems safe to say that most of the Bloomfield labels are numeric serial numbers, both 3 and 4 digit, with perhaps A xxx near the end, although I have not seen any of those. The New Hartford labels appear to have been universally used by the introduction of the K prefix model numbers in November of 1968. That for sure is the end of the use of the Bloomfield labels. There was considerable overlap in the the usage of Bloomfield and New Hartford labels, although I have not looked specifically for that. A Josh White at # 2471 is an early guitar with a New Hartford label. The simplified New Hartford labels were used on many guitars that came back to the factory for repairs, upgrades or otherwise special features. Dunno when they started, but were in use at least through the early 1990s. The Glen Campbell signature label is an early example of a simple New Hartford label. There are considerable anomalies between model and serial numbers on those labels and features on guitars, or evidence of factory repairs. I've got 3 of those that I'll present in the near future. Hope y'all have as much fun playing detective and sorting through those as I have. Edited by Lefty665 2024-06-23 4:24 PM (Ovation_GC_1127-4_M_294-b.jpg) (Joshwhitelabel2471.jpg) Attachments ----------------  ovationbloomfieldjoshwhite.webp (34KB - 6 downloads) ovationbloomfieldlabel.webp (50KB - 7 downloads) Ovation_GC_1127-4_M_294-b.jpg (66KB - 5 downloads) Joshwhitelabel2471.jpg (70KB - 3 downloads) | ||
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