PAUL VERNON CHESTER

Manouche Maestro

Gibson FDH Special

Francis Day & Hunter:- 1936-1940

Best known as one of largest music publishers, FDH was also a Gibson distributor in the UK and starting in 1936, Gibson made a private label guitar called the “Style FDH” – “Specially constructed to meet the requirements of British Guitarists”. The FDH was very similar to the Cromwell G-8 arch-top guitar, but had fancier fingerboard inlays that looked like bull’s-eyes with a dot inside a rectangle.

Model:

Style FDH or FDH Special Arch-top guitar – 1936-1940
Body size: 16 ¼” x 20 ¼” (same as Cromwell G-8)
Curly maple veneer back & sides – carved spruce top
Mahogany 14-fret neck with BRW fingerboard
“Bulls eye” MOP FB & peghead inlays
Black & white “chequered” top binding
Single bound back, FB & elevated celluloid pickguard
Brazilian RW adjustable bridge
Nickel tuners & trapeze tailpiece
“Pointed dome” shaped peghead with MOP FDH logo
Mahogany finish with sunburst shading on top, back & sides

Right: 1937 Style FDH page from British Gibson catalogue. - Only 18 Guineas = £18.90
Above: FDH special body with checker-board binding. The Bar Pickup, Jack Socket and  electronics are not original.

On the way to the pub, the friend I came with said, "Let's not go to the pub! Let's go home for a drink!" Django said, "Okay."  We got back to my friend's house. He had a great bar and we had a few drinks. I then asked Django, "If I got my guitars, would you play?"
He said, "Yes," if I played with him. So, off I went to get my guitars. I lived close to my friend's house. I had two Gibsons. One I'd bought from Len Williams, the father of John Williams for £5 and the other was a Gibson FDH Special.   What a thrill to play for Django!  My young brother was a much better player than I was and he had taken the solo of "Limehouse Blues" off the Django record.  When Django heard my brother play he was delighted!  Django was very modest and never realised he had such a big following. Albert Offenbach

Greetings, I have one of those FDH Gibson guitars.  I've owned it for years and love it dearly.  What a quality instrument!  It even has Grover gears.  Wards had a sweet arrangement with Gibson.  Too bad that it didn't last,  Cheers,  Larry Heatwole

Gibson FDH Special - F-hole archtop Francis, Day and Hunter Gibson model. Apparently, this is a similar guitar to the Recording King which was made for Mail Order Specialist Montgomery Ward Department Stores, although this is a highly graded deluxe guitar.  "It has very unusual checker binding with a four-inch body. This guitar was made around 1935 and production for this model was from around 1934 to about 1942. The instrument also has a very unusual headstock for a Gibson. I've only seen one identical to this in England and it was blonde. The inlay on the neck was originally the same as the inlay on the headstock but was replaced in the 1970s. "The guitar plays wonderfully, sounds individual and looks, bold, and very 'late '30s.' It was referred to in the shipping ledgers as the "FDH Special" a custom made guitar for UK distributor Francis, Day & Hunter. The only "budget brand" to carry the Gibson name inlaid in pearl. This is one of the high-end guitars, so budget brand really doesn't apply. FD&H model (Francis Day & Hunter)this was made for the Charing Cross road shop specially by Gibson, it is a carved top, back and sides model, Not a cheap USA dept store model like Montgomery Ward & Cromwell that they did for USA stores. This is on a par with L series etc.

Gibson manufactured guitars for sale at Sears, Montgomery Wards, etc. Gibson also made Cromwell and Kalamazoo guitars, and made flat top as well as archtop bodies for National. Some other brands that included Gibson-made guitars: Ambassador, Capital, Carson Robison, Coast Wholesale, Fascinator, Francis Day & Hunter, Grinnell, Hayden, Kel Kroydon, Liberty, Martelle, MarShall, Mason, Mastertone, Mitchell Brothers, Nouveau by Gibson, Old Kraftsman, Oriole, Orville, Paynes, Recording King (Montgomery Ward), Reznick Radio, Spiegel, S.S. Stewart, Tex Star, Trujo, Ward, Washburn, and Werlein Leader.

Francis, Day & Hunter Ltd 138-140 Charing Cross Road London WC2H 0LD
Founded 1877 by William & James Francis, David Day, Harry Hunter joined 1880
The FDH shop enjoyed a double frontage at the top of Charing Cross Road on the East side, the windows of which displayed a gleaming array of musical instruments and sheet music. Customers and artists alike would use this entrance. But at the side of the building, on Denmark Street, was an anonymous faded doorway for the use of lesser mortals, behind which three flights of stone stairway with iron handrail led to a top floor landing, home to an ancient gas stove and a butler sink.

From there a dim, windowless passageway led to the offices of the arrangers and copyists overlooking Charing Cross Road. Halfway along the passage on the left was Leon Young's office, a small room, perhaps eight or nine feet square, which looked out over Denmark Street. It was sparsely furnished with a desk and chair, an elderly leather visitor's chair and an upright piano of doubtful parentage. It had all the ambience of an Edward Hopper scene. The aforementioned facilities on the tiny landing afforded these professional musicians complete autonomy. They could brew their own tea and coffee by setting the hob burners to p, mp, mf, f and even ff according to the intensity of heat required. Occasionally they were summoned to the sumptuous offices on the floor below, there to meet a visiting artist in need of a special arrangement.

Among the fledgling artists whose careers Leon helped to launch in this way were the then schoolgirl, Petula Clark, and the young Max Bygraves.

Leon Young Composer and Arranger

Fox Guitars - Gibson and Epiphone Histories

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Last modified: 13/09/2011