Alden H1226 H1227
Acoustic archtop - Distributed by Aldens - Based on Harmony H1215
Production year(s) : 1955-1959 (other years possible, not verified)

All birch cosntruction with faux-flame painted finish. Similar to the Harmony Archtone series, and to the same Alden model wearing the "Arcadia" name. These, without name, are found with H1226 or H1227 stamped inside. One reported with a H39 stamp (borrowed to the Harmony electric "Hollywood", same consctruction).

23 images in database mouse over image for file name - click to enlarge

Top wood	Birch
Body wood	Birch
All solid woods

Scale

25"1/4

642 mm

5 comments | Add your comment !

• Duke Mayle - 2009-01-17
  Thanks for this terrific site. Very informative. I have found the info here about the Acoustic Archtop guitar that was handed down to me from an aunt about 20 years ago.
  It is virtually identical appearance wise to the Alden H1226 1227 model in the pictures from this site, the only thing that it doesn't match on is the Serial Number that should be stamped on the inside. Mine has "1085H39" stamped on the inside and the inside of the soundboard(top) has the initials "FVP" other than that it is the exact guitar.
  My Aunt and her husband were country/blue grass pickers in the 50's and 60's. This was one of the guitars that they used at the numerous road houses and barn dances they used to play at. They were pretty poor in those days and i am sure it was bought thru a mail order catalog and that is how i started my search, Sears, Aldens and Montgomery Wards and i came to find this site.
  Thanks Again
• Duke Mayle - 2009-01-17
  To add to my last comment, after reading the forum at this site, i got a mirror and looked for the stamp on the inside of the top(sound board) of this guitar. Besides the initials "FVP", stamped on the right hand side of the inside top, there was the serial and model number of "1080H39" which didn't match the stamp on the bottom of "1085H39". I found that odd.
  Also, this guitar spent a good many years in the attic of my aunts house, probably more that 20 years before she died in the late 1990's. and after a little bit of adjustment to the bridge height, the action and playability of this guitar is almost perfect. Nearly as good as my ovation.
• François (webmaster) - 2009-03-27
  Duke, the FVP is a common stamp in archtops from this period but no meaning known. The H39 you found is the model number of the one pickup Hollywood electric model. They were built the same way, on the same lines at Harmony's factory, and these shifts on numbers are common between similar models.
• BklynMoonshiner - 2009-10-27
  Hey guys, I just bought an archtop acoustic, definitely Harmony with an F 60 stamp. At first the H1227 had me thrown for a loop, it's not a 12 string. Now if I can just find out who Harmony made it for...
• JB - 2010-05-23
  I have a Alden just like these pictured but mine has H1216 stamped inside and F-57-T indicating made in 57 Any additional info would be appreciated.