Orville Gibson's Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co. Ltd. Logo, usually a star and crescent moon logo
Original Gibson Inc. Slanted “The Gibson” Logo
Late 1920s "The Gibson" No Slant Logo
Early and Mid 1930s "Gibson" Thin Script Logo
Mid 1940s "Gibson" Slanted Thick Script Logo
Mid 1940s "Only A Gibson Is Good Enough"
Very Late 1940s "Gibson" Modern Logo with “i” touching “G” and open “b” and “o”
1950s Modern "Gibson" Logo with floating dot over the “i”
Late 1960s "Gibson" Logo with no dot over the “i”
Early 1970s "Gibson" logo with no dot over the “i” closed “b” and “o”A brief note on Gibson factory repairs
Before many modern techniques for high quality musical instrument repair were invented, it was common for musicians to return their instruments to the Gibson factory for major repairs and cosmetic updates, especially on professional caliber guitars. As a result, it's not uncommon to find instruments whose headstock logo does not match the original era they're truly from. If a guitar was dropped and its headstock or neck was broken, rather than having that repair work done locally with its original parts, the instrument would be sent back for a factory re-neck and refinish. At that point, other, more modern features may also be added. Therefore, for example, finding a professional instrument from the 40s with a neck from the 60s is not as uncommon as one might expect. As with all elements of vintage guitar appraisal and evaluation, each element should be scrutinized closely when establishing what is truly being seen.
We hope that this Definitive History of Gibson Guitar Headstock Logos will help you to establish the year or era of manufacture of your favorite Gibson instrument. If you need further help in evaluating it please feel free to contact AntiquiTone!