Live Auction 2276Country Music Sale
Christie’s roundel
Lot 74

HANK THOMPSON

RICHARD C. ALLEN, AN ELECTRIC ARCHTOP GUITAR, IN THE STYLE OF A SUPER 400 CES, EL MONTE, CA, CIRCA 2001

Closed3 December 2009

Price Realised

USD 6,250

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

How to sell

HANK THOMPSON
RICHARD C. ALLEN, AN ELECTRIC ARCHTOP GUITAR, IN THE STYLE OF A SUPER 400 CES, EL MONTE, CA, CIRCA 2001
The headstock inlaid R.C. Allen, labeled Richard C. Allen LUTHIER El Monte, California Model Hank Thompson Serial # H.T. 1925-1-01, the fingerboard inlaid HANK THOMPSON, length of body: 21 11/16 in. (55.1 cm) with case (2)

Specialist note

Southern California guitar maker and musician Richard C. Allen made his first guitar while in high school in 1951. Though an amateur attempt, he would go on to build a reputation as a gifted builder by studying the work of Paul A. Bigsby, Leo Fender and George Fullerton. No stranger to fine guitar making, he owned the second solid body guitar ever produced by P.A. Bigsby with whom he became a close friend.
This guitar was custom built by Allen on the model of a Gibson Super 400 for Hank Thompson.