Isana - Isana - - Archtop guitar

Vintage Archtop / Jazz Guitar – Isana / Josef Sandner attributed – ca. late 1950s to 1960s – Music House Härtel, Liezen, Austria
An extraordinary and characterful vintage archtop or jazz guitar from the postwar era is for sale, presumably of German manufacture and, due to various construction and design features, attributed to the Isana / Josef Sandner milieu.
The exact manufacturer attribution is not finally secured. There is no manufacturer logo on the headstock today, and inside no clearly legible manufacturer or date stamp has been identified so far. However, various features of the guitar show clear parallels to preserved Isana/Sandner archtops of this era.
A particularly interesting detail is the still-present historical dealer sticker from Musikhaus Härtel in Liezen, Styria, Austria. It documents the Austrian distribution history of this instrument and is a nice preserved testament to its former distribution path.
Whether the guitar was consciously ordered or sold by the Austrian dealer at the time without a manufacturer logo, or whether an originally present logo disappeared over the decades, cannot be determined with certainty today.
Construction and characteristic details
The guitar features a large carved archtop body with a cutaway and an attractive red-black sunburst finish. The body is edged with a light binding.
Particularly striking are the elegantly curved, scythe-shaped sound holes, which give the instrument its unmistakable appearance.
The dark fingerboard has round dot inlays. Notably, there is an unusual triple dot marking at the 12th fret.
The fingerboard extends fairly far over the body. Under this area there is a wedge-shaped wooden support.
At the end of the fingerboard, or on the top just beneath it, there are clearly visible traces of an earlier pickup or mounting. The guitar was apparently equipped at an earlier time with a floating or neck-mounted pickup. The pickup itself is no longer present.
The open gear tuners with white plastic knobs are present and functional.
Condition and playability
The guitar is in an authentic vintage condition corresponding to its considerable age.
The neck has suffered somewhat from aging over the decades and shows corresponding changes and signs of use. Despite its age, the guitar still has good string action and is nicely playable.
It is explicitly not claimed that the neck is in a like-new or perfectly straight state. For an instrument of this age, the current playability is nevertheless pleasingly good.
The original old finish shows clearly visible aging and wear, including craquelure or finish cracks, scratches, wear, and other traces of decades of use. This patina was intentionally not cosmetically removed and gives the instrument its authentic vintage character.
There is a visible hairline crack on the top around an soundhole. This does not affect current playability. Given the instrument’s age, having it checked by an experienced luthier would still be advisable.
The guitar is offered in its existing historical condition and has not been restored to an optically near-new state.
Missing or no longer present parts
An earlier pickup including its full mounting is no longer present. The corresponding traces of the former mounting are still clearly visible.
A potentially originally present pickguard is also no longer present.
There is currently no manufacturer logo on the headstock. Whether there was originally an Isana inscription or another marking is not certain.
On Isana / Josef Sandner provenance
Several features of the instrument show interesting similarities to historic guitars by Isana or Josef Sandner. These include, among other things, the general archtop construction, the cutaway, certain details of the fretboard and its overhang, the dot markers, the open tuners, and indications of a previously mounted floating pickup.
Even comparable historic Isana instruments are known with different fretboard markings and pickup configurations.
Since this guitar has neither a clearly identifiable manufacturer stamp nor a preserved Isana logo, it is explicitly offered only as “Isana / Josef Sandner attributed” and not as unambiguously authenticated Isana.
This open attribution is part of the instrument’s history and typical for many European guitars of that era, distributed through regional music dealers.
Austrian dealer provenance
Particularly appealing is the preserved historical reference to Austrian distribution.
The instrument still bears the old dealer sticker of Musikhaus Härtel in Liezen, Styria. This creates a direct link of the instrument to the Austrian musical instrument trade and is a beautiful historical detail.
Thus the guitar possesses not only the character of an old European archtop but also a traceable connection to its Austrian use and distribution history.
Accessories
Included with the guitar is an old blue fabric bag with light trim, which suits the instrument in shape and size very well.
The bag is also noticeably aged and has corresponding vintage character. It cannot be proven that it was included with the guitar at the original sale through Musikhaus Härtel, and this is not claimed.
Summary
An extraordinary, visibly played and authentically aged European archtop with a lot of character and an interesting Austrian dealer history.
The red-black sunburst, the unusual scythe-shaped sound holes, the fretboard with the triple dot marking at the 12th fret, the traces of the former pickup, and the preserved Härtel dealer note make this guitar an interesting piece for collectors of historic German and Austrian instruments.
Manufacturer: not clearly marked; Isana / Josef Sandner attributed
Origin: probably Germany
Historical distribution: Musikhaus Härtel, Liezen, Styria, Austria
Dating: probably late 1950s to 1960s
Instrument type: archtop/jazz guitar with cutaway
Finish: red-black sunburst
Fretboard: dark wood with dot markers and three dots at the 12th fret
Tuners: open tuners with white plastic buttons
Electrics: former pickup not present; mounting traces visible
Condition: authentic vintage condition with clear aging and wear
Playability: good string action, currently well playable; neck somewhat aged
Damage: visible hairline crack on the top
Accessories: old matching blue fabric bag
The guitar is offered in the described condition and in the condition shown in the photos. Due to its age, the photographs are an important part of the condition description.