 H1414 - Patrician
Acoustic archtop - Top with a contrasting central panel
Production year(s) : 1940-1954 (other years possible, not verified)
Mahogany top with spruce central panel. Fretboard has a central contrasting wood strip as well, until 1950. late models have a fancier "vine" engraved headstock.
 33 images in database
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| Top wood | Mahogany and Spruce
| | Body wood | Mahogany
| All solid woods
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12 comments | Add your comment ! - John Meacham - 2007-06-15
I Have a model 1414 serial # 27776H1414 S-48 The Tailpiece is prone to pulling in and crushing the binding, also cracks on the sound board follow the sides of the upper braces, quite difficult to reach and repair, I think my model is older than 1940 Does anybody know if it was made earlier to this time. - Charlie - 2008-06-30
I have a confirmed 1939 Patrician ,purchased in NC on the outer banks . the young man joined the army in 1941 and while away his froend inlaid the neck with bone trapiziods replacing original dots and completly refinised it removing the pick guard . I have a couple of cracks to glue and the front and back need gluing down good .I may take it back down to natural and re finish or replace the pick guard glue it and have the tailpeice re nickel plated ,and new Grover tuners with lite gauge strings nad she will play rihgt away. It has sit in the original Case in a controled climate car garage since 1950,when the original owner went to work and started a Family .after 47 years with the same company he retired and I did an addition to his home .When he found out I was looking for an arch-top to add to my Acoustic Show ,he presented it to me 1999 as a Christmas gift .No Charge ,He knew I would take care of it for him . Passing along the music it still holds. She is coming up on 70 years old and I can tell just by Holding it that it was meant for me to be the caretaker of this 1939 confirmed Patrician.So yes there were patricians before 1940.Mr. Joe will be proud if I can get her ready and playing before he passes. I was told that the only luthier worthy of working on it would be Dan Erlewhine with Sterwart Macdonald parts and guitar works in Ohio. The fella in New Zealand made 10 of of a Patrician owned by the Family who had owned Harmony .1 went to the Family two went to Museums and all the rest sold for over 10,000 at Auction, and these were Repro's . I'm going to take extremly good care of this one . - François (webmaster) - 2008-06-30
John, the S-48 stamp in yours clearly says that it was made in 1948. Charly, some Patrician may have been built before 1940, but I never saw any pictures of one, with evidence by the datestamp. Btw, I don't understand what you're saying about this New Zealand connection. - DMills - 2008-09-29
I have a Patrician Model #3209H1414. Excellent condition.I bought it in Washington State at a garage sale in 2003, I paid $15.00. Pictures available upon request. - Kevin - 2009-11-18
I have a model 1414 serial # 2519H1414 Patrician. My grandfather left this to my dad which in turn left it to me. It is in fair condition and has all orginial parts however it has a hairline crack on the back toward the bottowm left side. - Dawnco - 2011-11-02
I am the very proud owner of a 1939 Patrician that was given to me when my father died. he use to play in bands with it. I even have the primal case. my fondest memories. Ere when dad would sit on the bed with us singing and strumming that
Guitar. To see this guitar is to see my father. strong, beautiful
And full of character. - Jim W. - 2013-07-09
I own 7 Harmony archtops, and aside from my Brilliant, this by far is my favorite. The date stamp is faint, (hard to read on the mahogany), but I made out Fall of '48. The serial number is: 485H1414, and it is a peach! Just a few surface scratches - that's it! Only real problem was missing pieces. Tailpice, bridge, and original tuners gone. It did have some nice, vintage Harmony tuners, but they weren't original. It did have the original pickguard and 65 years of scum & lint. After cleaning and polishing, also had to re-glue and smooth the rectangular MOP inlay in the fretboard as they were all loose and curling. I added some open-back Gretsch tuners, Kluson tailpiece and a nice rosewood bridge from Germany. It really sings and has the lowest action of any acoustic guitar I've ever played - ever! Bonus: The neck was tight and straight as an arrow. I like this guitar. - Jim in NC - 2014-04-23
I have a Patrician that I believe is a model H1414, and am trying to date it, the only number I find is stamped black ink inside the low E string side F hole, and it does not seem to match the pattern of the other numbers posted here, so I am not sure this is the correct number. 1911H1 is what I'm seeing and the last 1 is at the edge of a reinforcing rib, and if this is stamped before assembly, the rib may cover the last digits of the number. I hope to find information about where serial numbers should be found and how to read the date from them. I am wondering about the bridges as I find it hard to believe mine is original but there is so little detailed information that I've found. Love this guitar! - Cal - 2014-06-10
My Dad had one he got from a friend who bought it in the commissary in the Philippines in about 1949. My brother has it now. I love the Maple strip down the finger board and the inlaid binding. These were a lot of fun. - Uy8r06vu - 2015-09-01
Most help articles on the web are inaccurate or inecoerhnt. Not this! - Mark Jaeger - 2016-04-15
Just picked up a Patrician from a gentleman off of CraigsList. No real provenance other than the original owner was a man named "Don" (his name is carved into the upper bout) and the seller acquired it at an auction near Pine Village, Warren County, Indiana. From what I can tell, the date stamp is "S-48" (Summer 1948) and production stamp is "2774H1414" which seems correct. Interestingly, given that the guitar is 1948 production, the fretboard does NOT feature the light colored strip supposedly featured on the Patrician until 1950. My Patrician is in reasonably good shape, but will need a fair amount of TLC to get it back into playing shape. There is a stabilized crack on the back toward the bottom and the celluloid tuning pegs are either completely missing or seriously deteriorated. The lower portion of the pickguard is curled a bit (not surprising given the guitar is nearly 70 years old) but in otherwise respectable shape. A quick check of the neck suggests it's basically straight and will probably just need some minor adjusting. The best news is that even chording the guitar in unrestored condition gives me every reason it'll be a sweet player once a luthier works his magic on it! - Vic Johanson - 2018-03-24
I can confirm with certainty that there are H1414s from 1939. Mine is badged "Sonata Classic," and is stamped S-39 and 2712H1414. The pickguard is missing, but otherwise it appears to be all original. In decent shape; just some dings. As would be expected, it needs a neck reset. I have a matching H1415 which is also from 1939; that one is badged Marvel Deluxe. I believe it's stamped F-39, but the leading character is mostly off the edge of the brace. The 39 is legible, however. Serial # on that is 3178H1415. Neck is detached and the heel is broken in half, but it's not mangled up or anything and is eminently repairable. One day I'll fix them up and have a pair if inverse twins!
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