A 12-STRING SEMI-HOLLOW-BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR, 360⁄12 FIREGLO

Founded in Los Angeles as the Rickenbacker Manufacturing Company in 1925, Adolph Rickenbacher’s only experience with guitar making was supplying the metal guitar bodies to the National String Instrument Corporation. In 1931, he teamed up with inventor George Beauchamp to produce Beauchamp’s design for electric guitars with the company name of Electro String Instruments Corporation. These instruments were sold under the brand name Rickenbacker, though the instruments were often labelled with Adolph’s original German spelling of Rickenbacher. The primary production prior to World War II was in Hawaiian lap steels (see lot 332), but also included electric mandolins, string bass, violin and cellos, all employing Beauchamp’s patented horseshoe magnet pickup. In 1953, Adolph Rickenbacher sold the company to F.C. Hall of Radio-Tel, who were the exclusive wholesale distributor for Fender. Hall changed direction by concentrating on the manufacturing of electric guitars and in 1962 renamed Radio-Tel as Rickenbacker Incorporated. The brand Rickenbacker was given a considerable lift in the 1960s with the Beatles’ high-profile use of Rickenbacker guitars, followed by the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn and his exclusive use of Rickenbacker electric 12-string guitars. From 1964 through to 1969, Rickenbacker produced specific models for export to Rose-Morris (see John Lennon's Rose-Morris Rickenbacker in The Jim Irsay Collection: Hall of Fame) and Company Limited in the UK. This international distribution widened Rickenbacker’s market appeal with British and European guitarists, helping to establish its name as a global brand.