Woody Guthrie - Gibson Southern Jumbo

Woody Guthrie owned and played numerous acoustic guitars during his career including Slingerland, Martin and a number of Gibson models.

While on leave from the Merchant Marine in December 1943, Woody purchased his beloved Gibson Southern Jumbo in New York City.

Gibson introduced the J-45 dreadnought guitar in 1942 to compete with popular Martin D style dreadnought guitars.  The J-45′s sunburst finish started as a way to hide imperfections in the wood.

Gibson then introduced the Southern Jumbo which was essentially a J-45 with better trim including trapezoid mother-of-pearl inlays on the fretboard.

1943 Gibson Southern Jumbo - Sunburst