C. 1953 HofnerPresident – Sunburst

This Circa 1953 Hofner President features cool, early appointments! The President was a mid-range archtop available through the Selmer catalog, produced from approximately 1952 to 1973. This model was very similar to Hofner’s 457, although it featured some deluxe additions, including a stunning vine pattern mother-of-pearl inlay in the headstock. Featuring a Spruce top and maple back and sides, this model was available in Blonde or Brunette (Sunburst). This guitar features a super early serial number (1503), and an early “Straten” branded compensator tailpiece, while later examples sport a “Hofner” branded tailpiece. All of this suggests that this may be one of the first examples of the model, as the President’s serial numbers began around 1500. Due to some of the specs on this guitar, we believe it is possible that it was not completed until 1953. While we would expect to see Hofner’s slanted headstock at this early stage, we have also seen other examples from around the same period with this headstock design. If there’s one thing we have learned about Hofners, it’s that while there are general guidelines, numerous anomalies and overlaps exist in their transitional features. This Hofner is an acoustic example, although there is evidence of an added and removed neck pickup, as indicated by some holes left at the end of the neck. During this period, Hofner’s body logo would have been located on the treble side under the bridge. This guitar, however, features a logo on the upper bass bout. This could be one of those Hofner anomalies discussed earlier, or perhaps a logo added after the fact by someone more familiar with late 1950s examples. There does not appear to be evidence of another logo present near the bridge, so our guess is the former!

Overall Condition: 6

Sku: H004

$3,495