Early electric guitars were “Hawaiian” models, designed to be laid horizontally on the player’s lap.

Gibson introduced it’s first “Electric Spanish”-style 6-string standard guitar. The ES-150 was a 16 1/4-inch wide model with a solid spruce arched top, maple back and sides, and a single “bar-type” pickup. The adjustable bridge is considerably more elaborate than the basic wooden unit fitted to the ES-150s produced between 1936 and 1942.

It’s entry in the company’s catalog contained some words of advice for would-be purchasers unfamiliar with electric instruments. They were told to “strike the strings lightly and you (will) have a tone that can be amplified to any volume you desire.”