The magic sound of Johnny Smith was very popular during the late 50’s…so much so that he had his own signature guitar called the Guild Johnny Smith Award model from 1958 – 1961. At that time Gibson picked up Johnny Smith & made him what became his legendary personal model starting in 1961. This example we have just acquired from its original owners family is simply the finest 1st year example we have ever discovered. It’s an incredible find in its beautiful Reddish-Brown Sunburst factory finish that shows off its hand carved Spruce Top along w/its extraordinarily quilted/birdseye Maple back & sides. Its flamey 3 piece maple neck is very wide & flat for those who like that sort of neck such as us !!!! Its multi-bound 3 piece pearl inlaid ebony fingerboard is like butter w/virtually perfect original frets. The most interesting thing from the 1st few years of production was its 1st ever floating Mini-Humbucker having no adjustable screw pole pieces but having a piece of Tortoiseshell material in place that allows it to show thru each hole prior to its redesign by mid-1963. Its Kluson Deluxe Sealfast Gold tuners hold tune well & work perfectly. Its beautiful bound tortoise’gard has 1 volume knob sporting its gold/silver capped knob in place. Finally its pearl inlaid ebony bridge & its ornate Gold tailpiece make this one of the finest guitars ever made by Gibson. She’s had a pro-refret (not sure why). She’s had a small top repair & a large crack repaired on the very lower bout bottom side very nicely restored…see attached pic…thanx UPS. Otherwise she’s truly Exceptional & 100% original & comes w/its original cord in its original Black Gator Tolex/Yellow lined hard case.