[Please feel free to browse our listing of used Epiphone guitars following this brief history of the original Epiphone Company.]
The original Epiphone Company was founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. Epiphone manufactured guitars, bass guitars, banjos, mandolins and other stringed instruments. At one time Epiphone was Gibson's main rival in the archtop guitar market. Their Emporer, Trimuph, Broadway and Deluxe archtops were equal to, and some even surpassed Gibson's quality guitars. Gibson eventually bought Epiphone in the late 1950s.
The name "Epiphone" is a combination of proprietor Epaminondas Stathopoulo's nickname "Epi" and "phone", Greek for "sound".
History
The history of Epiphone can be traced by to Turkey in the 1870s, where Anastasios Stathopoulos built his own fiddles, lutes and Lioutos.
After moving to the United States in 1903, Stathopoulos added mandolins to his original line of instruments and continued building them from his workshop in Long Island City, Queens, New York. After his death in 1915, his son Epaminondas took over the business and after two years it was called The House Of Stathopoulos.
The company started it's Recording Line of Banjos in 1924, and after four years in production, the company became 'Epiphone Banjo Company.'
In 1928 Epiphone produced their first guitars.
After Epi's death in 1943, his brothers, Orphie and Frixo took control of the company. However, the brothers weren't able to manage the business as well as their brother, and after a four month long labor strike, the company moved from New York to Philadelphia.
In 1957 Epiphone's long time rival, Gibson, bought the company.
Although Epiphone has made some high quality instruments, probably the most popular guitar to ever carry the Epiphone name came into existence after Gibson tookover. The Casino was made in the same shape and configuration as the ES-330, a hollow body guitar with P90 pickups. It's known as an excellent rhythm guitar.
A main reason for it's popularity was due to it being used by the Beatles. After Paul McCartney obtained a Casino, John Lennon and George Harrison both acquired them also. Paul used his Casino on the lead in 'Taxman', and it can be heard on the 'Revolver' and later Beatle albums. John Lennon made his Casino his main guitar and used it throughout his Beatles career, well into the 1970s.
Paul McCartney still uses his Casino in concert and in the studio to this day.
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