1932 Dobro Guitar - Vintage pre-National Resophonic Art

This auction is for a set of two reproduction prints of drawings that Rudolph Dopyera submitted to the United States Patent Office on June 29, 1929 for the first Dobro resonator guitar.

Background of the Present Invention

In 1928, John Dopyera left National and introduced an affordable single cone resonator guitar under the Dobro name (representing the Dopyera Brothers; John, Rudy, Louis, Robert, and Emile). 

One year later, these drawings were submitted to the United States Patent Office for a 'Stringed Musical Instrument' and on August 16, 1932 a patent was awarded. That same year, the Dopyeras rejoined National to form the National-Dobro company.

Though John Dopyera had patented the tricone resonator guitar in the 1920's, and was the true inventor of the device described in this patent, these drawings were submitted in the name of brother Rudolph to help avoid the possibility of George Beauchamp (John's estranged National partner) or his financial backers from again asserting ownership of his work.

There are two separate patent drawings included in this auction and each will be provided on artist quality, acid-free, 60-pound parchment style paper as shown above.

Prints are 8.5" by 11.0" (21.6 by 27.9 cm) in size and are ready to frame for display. 

They are packaged in archive-safe, acid-free sleeves and shipped flat in a stiffened mailer to ensure safe arrival.

Your Satisfaction is Guaranteed

It's not possible to illustrate the quality of these prints on a web page!

These are the finest available reproductions of the original patent drawings. They are prepared using documents that I personally obtained from the United States Patent Office that I have painstakingly restored to ensure gallery-grade image quality.

If for any reason you are not happy with these prints, return them to me and I will refund the amount of your winning bid. Check my feedback; these prints really are great!

I combine shipping on multiple print set orders: Additional print sets ship FREE!

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