This is a very rare K-48 manufactured by the Kay Musical Instrument Company. Limited nubmers were produced from 1947 through 1951. This was Kay's answer to the Gibson L-5 and Epiphone Deluxe. The guitar featured a solid handcarved spruce top, highly flamed handcarved maple back with laminated maple sides. The body was bound both front and back with 5 ply cream/black binding. The ebony and pearl headstock sported Kluson Sealfast tuners. The 17 inch body was available in either blonde or sunburst finish.
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Jay Scott sums it up best in his book 50's Cool: Kay Guitars:
"A thick carved, solid spruce top, highly flamed maple back, sides and neck, scads of extra white and black celluloid binding and a Gibson Super 400-style ebony and real mother-of-pearl headstock and fingerboard motif highlight the K-48. Chrome plated Kluson "double ring" tuners, as used on the era's very besat archtops. and a large extension tailpiece reminicsent of that used on the gibson ES-300, emphasize the guitar's quality. The rare, blonde version offers contrasting tortoiseshell-plastic body, heel, fingerboard and headstock binding. The Artist model K-48 was not an archtop to be trifled with and a good example can sound as good as many a non-cutaway L-5."
Sources: 50's Cool: Kay Guitars by Jay Scott and The Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars 9th Edition by Zachary R. Fjestad
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