Vintage 1950s fabric identification - help needed
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Vintage 1950s fabric identification - help needed
Hi everyone! This is my first post.
I'm a 34 year old working musician and recording studio owner, and I'm very much into vintage guitar amplifiers and guitars from the 50s and 60s. I've started to collect a rare lineup of tube amplifiers made by Gibson for Epiphone in 1959. This particular lineup was introduced in 1959 and only sold in 1959, and featured an aesthetic that hasn't been reproduced since that single year.
The amplifiers are wrapped in what seems to be some sort of dyed cotton fabric with a jeweled diamond design. It appears silver/grey in certain lighting, and almost this champagne hue at other angles, so the fabric itself is slightly iridescent. The small diamond pattern has spacing of about 6mm on center.
I'm trying to determine the origin of the fabric. I can't tell if it was some sort of upholstery fabric, or curtain fabric, or some other utilitarian fabric. It seems too "nice" to be relegated to the use of wrapping guitar amplifiers, and my hunch is that it was manufactured for use in other industries.
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Tracing the lineage of this rare 1959 product lineup has been quite the challenge, even in 2018. Here are pictures of the fabric below...





I'm a 34 year old working musician and recording studio owner, and I'm very much into vintage guitar amplifiers and guitars from the 50s and 60s. I've started to collect a rare lineup of tube amplifiers made by Gibson for Epiphone in 1959. This particular lineup was introduced in 1959 and only sold in 1959, and featured an aesthetic that hasn't been reproduced since that single year.
The amplifiers are wrapped in what seems to be some sort of dyed cotton fabric with a jeweled diamond design. It appears silver/grey in certain lighting, and almost this champagne hue at other angles, so the fabric itself is slightly iridescent. The small diamond pattern has spacing of about 6mm on center.
I'm trying to determine the origin of the fabric. I can't tell if it was some sort of upholstery fabric, or curtain fabric, or some other utilitarian fabric. It seems too "nice" to be relegated to the use of wrapping guitar amplifiers, and my hunch is that it was manufactured for use in other industries.
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Tracing the lineage of this rare 1959 product lineup has been quite the challenge, even in 2018. Here are pictures of the fabric below...





kingdanielm- Number of posts : 3
Location : Boston
Registration date : 2018-02-16
Re: Vintage 1950s fabric identification - help needed
Boston Lincolnshire or Boston USA ?
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Christ is for life and not just for dogmas
dantheman- Consultant
-
Number of posts : 15376
Location : Lincolnshire ( the veg patch of England)
Registration date : 2008-02-03
Re: Vintage 1950s fabric identification - help needed
dantheman wrote:Boston Lincolnshire or Boston USA ?
Is this a style of fabric? Or brand?
kingdanielm- Number of posts : 3
Location : Boston
Registration date : 2018-02-16
Re: Vintage 1950s fabric identification - help needed
I think you missed the point there King!
However, do you think the fabric is original?
Have you other examples of these amps with similar fabric covering?
However, do you think the fabric is original?
Have you other examples of these amps with similar fabric covering?
Re: Vintage 1950s fabric identification - help needed
no it's a question about where you live
Uk or USA?
Uk or USA?
_________________
Christ is for life and not just for dogmas
dantheman- Consultant
-
Number of posts : 15376
Location : Lincolnshire ( the veg patch of England)
Registration date : 2008-02-03
Re: Vintage 1950s fabric identification - help needed
Oh boy! That one went right by me! I'm in Boston USA.
This is original fabric. The amplifiers were built in 1959. Sold only through mid 1960. I haven't seen a trace of this fabric used on anything else in the musical instrument world or otherwise. I can tell you it's not a covering typical of a musical instrument company to use.
This is original fabric. The amplifiers were built in 1959. Sold only through mid 1960. I haven't seen a trace of this fabric used on anything else in the musical instrument world or otherwise. I can tell you it's not a covering typical of a musical instrument company to use.
kingdanielm- Number of posts : 3
Location : Boston
Registration date : 2018-02-16
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