Orville Gibson

Orville H. Gibson was an American instrument maker who started the Gibson Guitar Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1902, producing guitars, mandolins, and other instruments. He was born on May 8, 1856, and died on August 19, 1918.

The earliest instrument known to be made by him is a 10-string mandolin-guitar dated 1894. According to music historian Paul Sparks, Gibson’s mandolins were unlike any flatback instrument that had come before. His company set high manufacturing standards and marketed its instruments heavily.

Gibson was born on a farm near Chateaugay, New York, the youngest of five children. His father, John W. Gibson, was English; his mother, Amy Nichols Gibson, was American and came from Peru, New York.

He began working in his home workshop in Kalamazoo in 1894 and patented his mandolin design in 1898. Without formal training, he created a new style of mandolin and guitar based on violin construction: the top and bottom were carved into an arched shape, not pressed or bent, and the sides were carved from a single block of wood rather than bent strips. His instruments were louder and more durable than other fretted instruments of the time, and demand soon exceeded what he could build alone.

In 1902, five Kalamazoo businessmen formed the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co., Ltd., based on Gibson’s ideas. Shortly after, the company’s board decided that Gibson would be paid only for the actual time he worked. It is unclear whether he worked full-time or as a consultant after that. Julius Bellson, in his 1973 book *The Gibson Story*, wrote that Gibson had visions and dreams considered eccentric.

The company used music teachers to market its instruments and ran strong print advertisements to replace round-backed mandolins. They succeeded in eliminating round-backed instruments from the U.S. market. Gibson’s guitar designs were also influential, and his patterns are still recognizable in modern jazz guitars. According to George Gruhn, the idea of carving tops and bottoms appears to have originated with Gibson and is not based on any mandolin or guitar tradition, though it was inspired by violin carving. He did not use violin manufacturing techniques or patterns.

With help from instrument designer Lloyd Loar, the company produced the Gibson F-5 mandolin, which Sparks called the finest flat-back mandolin ever made. Loar also designed the L-5 guitar. Among Loar’s changes was the introduction of f-holes instead of round or oval sound holes, another feature borrowed from violins. Bluegrass musicians treasure these mandolins, while classical musicians have mixed feelings of admiration or contempt. The L-5 guitar became a favorite among jazz musicians.

Starting in 1908, Gibson received a salary of $500 a year from the company, equivalent to about $20,000 today. He had several hospital stays between 1907 and 1911, was hospitalized again in 1916, and died at age 62 in St. Lawrence State Hospital in Ogdensburg, New York. He is buried at Morningside Cemetery in Malone, New York. According to the 1900 U.S. Census, he was born in May; his obituary in *The Malone Farmer* on August 21, 1918, states his funeral was held at his brother O. M. Gibson’s home.