LGOberean
Doctor of Teleocity
I thought for sure that we have talked about the date stamp controversy in this thread before. I did search for the topic, but while individual references to specific date stamps on specific instruments have been made, it doesn't seem that a discussion of the date stamps in general--and what the stamped information signified.--has been done. I used search words such as date, stamp, production and so forth to locate such a discussion in this thread, but those terms yielded no posts of such a discussion. That surprised me. So, assuming I haven't somehow missed posts of such a discussion, here goes...
As most here no doubt know, the basic date stamp inside a Harmony guitar features either an F or an S, followed by a two-digit number indicating the year. What remains something of a mystery is what those letters signify. Many claim F stands for "Fall" and S, "Spring." However, I remember reading about an interview of a factory worker that referred to the production year being divided in two, and the instruments made during the first half of the year were designaed "F" for First, and those in the second half "S" for Second. That is a plausible explanation, as it would be expected that production would run the year through, and not just in the Spring and Fall seasons only.
However, one proponent of the Fall/Spring designations is S. Nathaniel Adams, who in March of last year published on his website an article on the subject of "Identifying and Dating Harmony Guitars." Adams has evidently had quite a bit of experience in repairing and restoring old guitars, and the article comes out of that experience. He points to the fact of the existence of "FL" date stamps and of Christmas-exclusive models bearing "F" stamps (for Fall) as supporting the Fall/Spring meanings. This too is a plausible explanation.
I've wondered if the answer to this controversy might not be an "either/or" proposition, but rather a "both/and." We know that Harmony and Sears began doing business together in 1897, and their instruments were sold through the Sears, Roebuck & Company catalog. And the Sears published a Spring and Fall catalog every year from 1896 to 1993. So I believe the factory worker's testimony is accurate as to the length of the year's production run, and how it was divided up. But I also believe that Harmony could have adopted the Spring/Fall designations early in their history to refer to those two halves of the production year.
Anyway, that's my current take on the subject. Anyone else care to shed some light on the subject, or perhaps set me straight if I'm off-base?
As most here no doubt know, the basic date stamp inside a Harmony guitar features either an F or an S, followed by a two-digit number indicating the year. What remains something of a mystery is what those letters signify. Many claim F stands for "Fall" and S, "Spring." However, I remember reading about an interview of a factory worker that referred to the production year being divided in two, and the instruments made during the first half of the year were designaed "F" for First, and those in the second half "S" for Second. That is a plausible explanation, as it would be expected that production would run the year through, and not just in the Spring and Fall seasons only.
However, one proponent of the Fall/Spring designations is S. Nathaniel Adams, who in March of last year published on his website an article on the subject of "Identifying and Dating Harmony Guitars." Adams has evidently had quite a bit of experience in repairing and restoring old guitars, and the article comes out of that experience. He points to the fact of the existence of "FL" date stamps and of Christmas-exclusive models bearing "F" stamps (for Fall) as supporting the Fall/Spring meanings. This too is a plausible explanation.
I've wondered if the answer to this controversy might not be an "either/or" proposition, but rather a "both/and." We know that Harmony and Sears began doing business together in 1897, and their instruments were sold through the Sears, Roebuck & Company catalog. And the Sears published a Spring and Fall catalog every year from 1896 to 1993. So I believe the factory worker's testimony is accurate as to the length of the year's production run, and how it was divided up. But I also believe that Harmony could have adopted the Spring/Fall designations early in their history to refer to those two halves of the production year.
Anyway, that's my current take on the subject. Anyone else care to shed some light on the subject, or perhaps set me straight if I'm off-base?
