www.KitGuitarsForum.com

I thought I would check and see if anyone has a idea what this little critter is. I bought it for $50 at a thrift shop a few years ago. No branding whatsoever, perhaps it had a paper label that is long gone. Washburn? Looking at the “upside down” tuners, I am thinking pre 1915.
It will need a bunch of work, binding, bridge, neck reset, ect. Looks to be some kind of rosewood with ebony bridge and fretboard. Any help figuring this instrument out will be appropriated. Thanks!

What an interesting project - I'm interested to see what the experts say. It does not look like a dime-store guitar. Do the tuners function normally as mounted, or are they installed on the wrong sides?

Early Martins (pre 1925?) were oriented that way. Here’s a shot of a 1870s Size1, Style 21.

That might be an old Regal. The purfling and upside-down turners look right. The fb inlay is different. The regal bridge on the guitar in this link doesn't have a pyramid bridge, but over 100 years, it's more than possible that the bridge on the Regal, in this link. has been changed.

Very nice find!

https://reverb.com/item/47708818-regal- ... 9GEALw_wcB

Thanks Diane, I hadn’t explored Regals. Shape of neck and back of headstock match well. Binding very similar. The fingerboard inlays are pretty unusual on my guitar and I haven’t seen anything that matches those. I appreciate your input and hopefully some investigation into Regal may offer additional clues.

Found some fb inlay that is similar, not exact. As you can tell, I love researching old guitars. I have an exceptional archtop that I'm ID'ing. I will search through my Martin reference books for you.

Regal or Washburn used stars. At any rate, it's a heck of a find.

https://pin.it/NyVeJPp

Yea, I am pretty thrilled. I don’t know how much hope there is cosmetically, but I at least want to fix the structural issues and get it playable. What little sounds I have got out of it are real “old timey”. Kinda like the guitar tone of Robert Johnson.

It might be made by Bruno. They made a lot of guitars under various labels.

Thanks, I will check put Bruno!

I found this picture of a Bay State. While not an exact match, fretboard inlays look close.