Gibson Advertisements
When you think of guitarists associated with Gibson, Wes Montgomery often comes to mind first. Gibson has extensively used Wes in their advertisements to enhance their image over the years.
The advertisement described above features two items. On the left, from the summer 1965 issue of a quarterly publication titled “Gibson Newspaper,” a 6-page booklet aimed at promoting Gibson guitars across all genres of musicians. It likely circulated through music stores, evidenced by a store stamp on the back cover.
On the right, a more recent advertisement showcasing the Gibson L-5 Single ’57 Classic HB Pickup guitar, a hit product released as the Wes Montgomery model.
Recently, I’ve noticed two items frequently appearing in online auctions:
- Framed advertisements from 1960s magazines, notably DownBeat, where certain collectors have added premiums. These advertisements were carefully extracted from old DownBeat magazines, purchased in bulk by a U.S. commercial firm. They also feature ads for Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, and others.
While these are recognized as advertisements, the approach of framing them for premium sales raises some questions, especially since they are not pamphlet-style like the earlier “Gibson Newspaper” I mentioned.
